Posted by: Admin | June 21, 2009

Strategic blunder in Iran

Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and the country’s Little Dictator, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, have made a serious strategic blunder in trying to quell protests of the country’s sham elections.

Late Saturday, authorities arrested Faezeh Hashemi, the eldest daughter of former Iranian president Hashemi Rafsanjani, who may be the single most powerful man in Iran. Rafsanjani heads the the Assembly of Experts, a group of senior clerics who have the power to select and remove the country’s supreme leader.

Rafsanjani has been openly critical of Ahmadinejad, who in turn has accused Rafsanjani and his family of corruption. Khamenei has unequivocally supported Ahmadinejad, despite the fact the election was patently fraudulent.

So the strategy Khamenei and Ahmadinejad seize upon to neutralize Rafsanjani — the one man in the country who has the power to topple Khamenei and send Ahmadinejad to the hell he deserves –  is to arrest his daughter and four other of his relatives?

I don’t know about Mr. Rafsanjani, but I know how I would react — and it wouldn’t be to slink off into the shadows. Somehow I doubt a man like Mr. Rafsanjani is so easily intimidated. Make a move like that against him, and you haven’t cowed him into silence. You have upped the stakes and guaranteed he is going to do everything in his power to take you out.

Iran’s petty tyrants have done precisely what they should not have done, and we pray they all get what they deserve.

And for all the fussing I have done about President Obama’s low-key approach to this crisis, he has done precisely what he ought to have done too. Empty pronouncements against Khamenei and Ahmadinejad would only strengthen their resolve to destroy their opposition. Give them enough rope, on the other hand, and they’ll hang themselves.

If we’re lucky, it will be a public execution.

Posted by: Admin | June 18, 2009

PETA and insecticide

DOOFUS WATCH:

PETA bugged that Obama committed insecticide

click to read the news article

Posted by: Admin | June 14, 2009

Church? or just a Jesus Fan Club?

Jesus didn’t tell us to grow a church; he told us to make disciples.

If we make disciples, church growth takes care of itself. Naturally. Organically. Authentically.

If we grow a church without making disciples, we have harmed the Kingdom of God — no matter how large the congregation becomes.

And what we have probably isn’t even a church. When it comes time to pay the cost of discipleship, we’ll find out whether you have a church or just a Jesus Fan Club.

Let the person who has ears listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. The number is that of a verse and the number is 6:66 (well, and 6:60-65 too).

Posted by: Admin | June 13, 2009

HIV infection ‘not a major event’?

The infection of a woman with HIV is “not a major event,” according to the Adult Industry Medical Healthcare Foundation, which certifies :actors” in the multibillion-dollar U.S. porn industry as disease free, allowing them to work.

A woman tested positive for HIV immediately after making an adult film, according to the Associated Press. The “co-stars” of the woman have been quarantined from “acting,” although they have so far have tested negative.

Two things are striking about this story.

First, it says California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health “is attempting to identify the filmmaker.” In what sort of legitimate industry would the identity of an employer not already be known?

The article says Los Angeles County health officials confirm there have been 22 HIV cases in San Fernando Valley porn industry performers since 2004. Reuters reports that 16 of those cases were never publicized and that in the same time period 1,357 porn performers tested positive for gonorrhea and 15 for syphilis. The AP quotes an official of one of the industry’s largest “filmmakers” acknowledging their sets are “condom optional.” It’s just more proof, if we needed any, that people can rationalize anything when they want something bad enough — and that we pay in our flesh the price of refusing to honor God with our lives (Romans 1).

But, second, and far more important, how callous does a soul have to be to call this woman’s infection with HIV “not a major event”? In a vice industry where billions of dollars are made exploiting the weaknesses of human nature, I guess the health of one woman is nothing. LA is full of beautiful young women desperate for their “big break.” A little surgery and anyone can be a porn star.

Being infected with HIV isn’t like catching a cold. It’s a traumatic, life-altering development. I’m very sure the young woman involved sees this as a very major event.

I just hope there is someone in her life who can help her understand how much God loves her and what an awful price has been paid so she can experience that love for herself.

Posted by: Admin | June 11, 2009

Letterman’s under the bus

David Letterman’s crude sexual joke about Sarah Palin’s daughter has really cut it with me. I’m done with him. And CBS appears to be giving him a pass.

There was a time when all politicians were fair game to comedians, but the election’s seven months in the past and clowns like Letterman still can’t figure out what to talk about except Republican politicians. That’s because his ilk doesn’t actually have a sense of humor. All they’ve got is ill will and sarcasm. It shows you what’s in Letterman’s heart.

I wouldn’t be so ticked with him if I thought the comment had been off the cuff. But when you stop to think that some writer came up with that line and Letterman decided to use it. Then he offers the lame excuse that he was making the joke about the 18-year-old daughter, not the 14-year-old. Like that makes a difference. 

Well, he’s under the bus, as far as I’m concerned. It still doesn’t make me any more likely, however, to watch Conan, who’s got his own issues.

Related: lalate.com, abcnews.com

Posted by: Admin | June 4, 2009

Obama’s meaningless words

President Barack Obama should be commended for his speech at Cairo University today. He did a marvelous job of articulating principles on which opponents can agree, thereby pointing the way toward common ground on which peaceful coexistence can be built.

While the President undoubtedly has a gift for telling people what they want to hear, his visionary speeches often do not give adequate weight to the intractable problems inherent in a situation. At times, he speaks in platitudes that, while agreeable to his audience, have no foundation in his own worldview.

The President spoke plainly about Islamic extremism, the rights of women and girls in Muslim countries, the rights of Jews to a homeland, Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons, and the legitimate aspirations of all people who live under tyranny to live in peace and freedom – and he did it in a way that would displease few in his audience. We would all love to live in the world Mr. Obama envisions. “The people of the world can live together in peace,” he said.

Like utopians of all ages, however, Mr. Obama fails to give human depravity the weight it deserves. He admits there are some who “eager to stoke the flames of division” and that others are “skeptical that real change can occur.” But he insists that ” We have the power to make the world we seek, but only if we have the courage to make a new beginning.” If only we would trust each other. If only we would listen to each other. If only we would do what reasonable people of integrity should do.

If only.

Mr. Obama’s speech should be praised, and people all over the world should work at living by the principles he espoused. But not everyone will. In fact, most will not.

One reason for that is sinful human nature. Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked.” No amount of Pollyanna platitudinization will change that. Those who believe they are strong will always strive to establish themselves above those who are weaker. Many of them will resort to any measure necessary to achieve their goals. Many will tell people what they want to hear, then proceed to do the opposite. A few will be elected to the highest office in the land.

What troubles me most about Mr. Obama’s speech is his confusion about his own convictions.

He acknowledges, for example, that the promotion of democracy around the world has been a matter of some controversy and asserts that “no system of government can or should be imposed upon one nation by any other.”

Then in the next breath he declares: “That does not lessen my commitment, however, to governments that reflect the will of the people. Each nation gives life to this principle in its own way, grounded in the traditions of its own people. America does not presume to know what is best for everyone, just as we would not presume to pick the outcome of a peaceful election. But I do have an unyielding belief that all people yearn for certain things: the ability to speak your mind and have a say in how you are governed; confidence in the rule of law and the equal administration of justice; government that is transparent and doesn’t steal from the people; the freedom to live as you choose. Those are not just American ideas, they are human rights, and that is why we will support them everywhere.”

He adds that the United States “will welcome all elected, peaceful governments – provided they govern with respect for all their people.”

Admirable values. I couldn’t agree more. But what makes his values right? There are many powerful people who do not share our ideals. There are some entire societies that have no concept of human rights. Mr. Obama’s liberal/progressive worldview insists that no one society has a right to impose its values on other societies, that no individual should force his or her values on another human being.

Fine. Couldn’t agree more.

But what do you then say to a society that rejects the notion of human rights altogether? What do you say to a popular dictator who says he is going to do what he wants to do and will punish anyone who opposes him?

The fact that Americans have warm, fuzzy feelings about human rights and democracy means nothing to the Kim Jong Ils of the world. Self-serving, power-hungry people care nothing for what others think. If an entire society votes, what is that but majority opinion? Haven’t majorities throughout history routinely approved of oppressing minorities?

Mr. Obama’s pious platitudes about human rights and democracy – as much as we all agree with them – mean nothing to a society that doesn’t share our values.

And they even mean nothing in a secular society like America, because it rejects the truth on which they stand: “that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Mr. Obama presents himself as a Christian, and that is good, because the values he preached in Cairo today are meaningless apart from the context of Christian belief. But a very large segment of those who voted for him reject Christian belief out of hand. Many of them will be angry that Obama himself publicly clings to religion, which they believe is a crutch for people with weak minds.

Yet they also cling to remnants of a bygone era that have no place in a secular world: the values of human rights and democracy that make no sense apart from the Christian truth on which they are founded. Apart from the witness of a resurrected Jesus Christ to the Word that God himself has given, no one can claim to know what is just – or unjust.

You must be able to prove beyond reasonable doubt that your values are true. The alternative is either chaos or tyranny.

Posted by: Admin | May 24, 2009

Profound implications

Jeff Palmer of Baptist Global Response is posting some intriguing thoughts on the topic of “Six models of Kingdom community in the Bible” at kingdomcommunities.blogspot.com.

He is working his way up the list toward #1 and has three installments posted: #6 – the New Heaven and New Earth; #5 – the Body of Christ; #4 – the Community of Israel.

They have profound implications for how we do both church and missions.

Posted by: Admin | May 19, 2009

A new VeggieTales on its way!

noah

Posted by: Admin | May 12, 2009

Huckabee calls for volunteers

Mike Huckabee wants to assemble a nationwide volunteer team focused on rebuilding the Republican Party locally and supporting Republican candidates that share his vision:

– smaller, innovative and more efficient government

– cutting taxes and putting more money into the hands the greatest hope for our nation: the American family

– unequivocal support for life and traditional marriage

– a national energy strategy that conserves our resources and uses them wisely

– wise stewardship of the environment and conservation

– providing our military with the resources, benefits and training to make it stronger than before.

Can you support that vision? Visit huckpac.com!

Posted by: Admin | May 8, 2009

If you care about ‘justice’ issues

I’m totally stoked about a new blog called “Kingdom Communities” at http://kingdomcommunities.blogspot.com. The blog seeks to answer the question, What would God’s kingdom on earth look like? It’s written by Jeff Palmer, executive director of Baptist Global Response, the Southern Baptist relief and development organization, to promote and discuss the issues of community development from a Kingdom perspective.

If you care about poverty elimination, safe drinking water, fighting world hunger, or any of a host of “justice” issues, you ought to follow — and join — the discussion on this blog. You’ve never seen anything like what’s going to develop there.

You also can follow Jeff at http://twitter.com/jjeffreypalmer.

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