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April 30, 2005
Video footage of the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker
Here is a link to a video news release about the rediscovery of the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker which contains a brief glimpse of the bird itself (as well as archival footage from over 60 years ago). (Hat tip: Laura Erickson's Birder Blog, which also has a number of entries on the find.)
The video is really rough . . . like seeing fuzzy pictures of Nessie or Bigfoot or UFOs. But it was enough to identify this flying object.
Posted by Drew at 08:29 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 29, 2005
The Terrifying Truth: We Are Normal
Washington Post columnist Richard Cohen writes about the film Downfall, which examines the last days and hours of Adolf Hitler.
Reflecting on the humanity and the madness of Hitler, Cohen runs into the terrifying truth that a people with the graces and skills of the Germans could, almost without missing a step, follow the barbarity of Hitler, and then becomes good citizens once again.
This reminded me of a chapter in Chuck Colson’s 1985 book Who Speaks for God?, which explores the same horror that if we look deeply into ourselves we can see glimpses of the very worst among us.
Colson writes in the chapter titled, The Terrifying Truth, We Are Normal:
Introducing a recent story about Nazi Adolf Eichmann, a principal architect of the Holocaust, Wallace posed a central question at the program's outset: "How is it possible . . . for a man to act as Eichmann acted? . . . Was he a monster? A madman? Or was he perhaps something even more terrifying: was he normal?"Normal? The executioner of millions of Jews normal? Most self-respecting viewers would be outraged at the very thought.
The most startling answer to Wallace's shocking question came in an interview with Yehiel Dinur, a concentration camp survivor who testified against Eichmann at the Nuremburg trials. A film clip from Eichmann's 1961 trial showed Dinur walking into the courtroom, stopping short, seeing Eichmann for the first time since the Nazi had sent him to Auschwitz eighteen years earlier. Dinur began to sob uncontrollably, then fainted, collapsing in a heap on the floor as the presiding judicial officer pounded his gavel for order in the crowded courtroom.
Was Dinur overcome by hatred? Fear? Horrid memories?
No; it was none of these. Rather, as Dinur explained to Wallace, all at once he realized Eichmann was not the godlike army officer who had sent so many to their deaths. This Eichmann was an ordinary man. "I was afraid about myself," said Dinur. ". . . I saw that I am capable to do this. I am . . . exactly like he."
Wallace's subsequent summation of Dinur's terrible discovery–"Eichmann is in all of us"–is a horrifying statement; but it indeed captures the central truth about man's nature. For as a result of the Fall, sin is in each of us–not just the susceptibility to sin, but sin itself.
Posted by Jim at 04:27 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
There Goes the Secular Humanist Vote
In what is fashioned as a news release, the Council for Secular Humanism (I’m not making this up) tried to takes its swipe at California Supreme Court Justice Janice Rogers Brown, who President Bush has nominated for the U.S. Court of Appeals.
Here’s the lead:
Amherst, N.Y. (April 27, 2005) -- The Council for Secular Humanism deplores the intemperate and uncalled-for attacks California Supreme Court Justice Janice Rogers Brown made on secular humanists at an April 24 church-sponsored service delivered to judges and lawyers in Connecticut. The comments were seized upon this past Monday by evangelical leader Gary Bauer, of the ultra-conservative advocacy group American Values, in an e-mail blast Bauer sent to his supporters, praising Brown and her comments.
The release continues:
She has libeled tens of millions of Americans who do not share her ideological bias. "We particularly object to her claim that Secular Humanism threatens to divorce America from its religious roots," said Paul Kurtz, Chairman of the Council for Secular Humanism."We are alarmed at the implications that this first overt attack on secular humanism -- by such a highly placed jurist -- portends for the rights of unbelievers and the separation of religion and state guaranteed in the constitution," said Kurtz. "We are facing a clear and present danger to our liberties in the United States by militant religionists."
I don’t get it. Of course the secular humanists are trying to divorce America from its religious roots. Why wouldn’t they want to, given their commitment to secularism.
I hope this groups speak up more because it helps us all to understand that Secular Humanism itself is a real and present danger to the huge majority of Americans who believe that a nation that ignores the spiritual part of its soul will devolve into a dispirited and unprincipled mess.
Posted by Jim at 07:59 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
Jews Against Anti-Christian Bias
The Jewish people have suffered so much persecution over the centuries that they can see and understand it with more certainty than many others can.
So it’s not surprising for a Jewish group to help battle anti-Christian bias and discrimination. Politics being what they are, however, it takes conservative Jews to take up for conservative Christians.
Don Feder, a Boston Herald writer and syndicated columnist for 19 years, announced this week that he had established a new group: Jews Against Anti-Christian Defamation, or JAACD. Source: World Net Daily. Also here. (h/t: Considerettes).
From WND:
Feder said for years he has written about incidents of anti-Christian discrimination in the public square - from the prohibition of crèches on public land to the silencing prayer in the nation's schools."What I consider an epidemic of anti-Christian bigotry and persecution is something that has concerned me for a long time noting that in 1996 he wrote a book entitled "Who's Afraid of the Religious Right?" which covers what he sees as the left's attack on traditional Christians.
"Particularly pernicious is the leftist idea that it's legitimate to base your politics on anything except religion," he said. "You can say that my politics are based on the views of Karl Marx or Ayn Rand or Jane Fonda . and that's OK, but as soon as you say your worldview is based on the Bible, that's considered an illegitimate basis for embracing certain political views."
This is reminiscent of some of Michael Horowitz’s statements on the international persecution of Christian. Horowitz is less partisan, but he has spoken and written boldly about Christians as the Jews of the modern era.
Posted by Jim at 07:43 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
The Right Standard for Death: “No Doubt” of Guilt
This may be a death penalty that meets the high threshold of certainty that the Bible prescribes. Governor Romney continues to be impressive on important issues.
Posted by Jim at 07:12 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 28, 2005
Ivory-Billed Woodpecker -- Found!
Well, this is cool news.
Once a dominant creature of great Southern hardwood forest, its numbers dwindled as logging increased. The woodpecker inspired one of the first conservation efforts in the nation's history, but its seeming failure turned the ivory bill into a symbol of loss. The last documented sighting was in Louisiana in 1944.But the ivory bill lived on as a kind of ghost in rumor and in numerous possible sightings. Despite lengthy expeditions, no sighting was confirmed, until Feb. 11, 2004.
On that date Gene M. Sparling III sighted a large woodpecker with a red crest in the Cache River refuge. Tim W. Gallagher at the Cornell Lab saw the report from Mr. Sparling on a Web site where he was describing a kayak trip.
Within two weeks Mr. Gallagher and Bobby R. Harrison of Oakwood College in Huntsville, Ala., were in a canoe in the refuge, with Mr. Sparling guiding them.
Mr. Gallagher said he had expected to camp out for a week, but after one night out, on Feb. 27, he and Mr. Harrison were paddling up a bayou bounded on both sides by cypress and tupelo when they saw a very large woodpecker fly in front of their canoe.
When they wrote down their notes independently and compared them, Mr. Gallagher said, Mr. Harrison was struck by the reality of the discovery and began sobbing, repeating, "I saw an ivory bill."
Mr. Gallagher felt the same. "I couldn't speak," he said.
Once Mr. Gallagher convinced Dr. Fitzpatrick of Cornell, the effort to confirm the sightings began in earnest, and the result, published in the online version of Science, carried the names of 16 people from seven institutions who participated in a search that turned up seven confirmed new sightings and a blurry bit of videotape.
Actually, I'm not surprised that the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker has been "rediscovered." There have been a number of suspected sightings in recent years. And though pedigreed researchers from universities never turned up any Ivory-Billed Woodpeckers, locals always insisted that they had seen the birds.
Very cool. I guess they'll have to put it back into the field guides now.
Posted by Drew at 11:47 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
How We Look
I think that, for the most part, here is how most Americans see Evangelical Christians:
Once I read a book, and this is what it said,
If your music has a beat, then your gonna wind up dead.
It doesn't really matter if its "Christian" or not,
if it's syncopated rhythm, then your soul is gonna rot.
And this book was called:
Ha! you're gonna burn!
and in the second chapter, I went on to learn:You take 2 houseplants and put ‘em to the test,
set them both in front of speakers and let the music do the rest.
The first one you play Mozart or something lovely like that,
the second one you play that Petra or that MegaDeth.
It doesn't really matter what kind of rock it is.
What we really need, of course, is for Americans to see us in the light of the last two stanzas:
So I took my two houseplants, and I put 'em both back outside, and me and my neighbor, well, we went out for a drive. We talked about all the things that really matter most, like life and love and happiness, and then the Holy Ghost.Now my two houseplants both sit out in the sun,
and as for my neighbor, well our friendship has become,
a meaningful relationship that’s headed straight to Heaven,
but as for now, we like to sit around and listen to Audio Adrenaline
cranked to eleven!
Now, don't get me wrong, I'm no feel good "Christianity's about your self-image and Jesus just loves you the way you are, so do the best you can" type of person (sorry, I just cannot bring myself to put dashes between all those words). I am fully aware that, in each case when faced with a sinner, Jesus, in addition to loving the person, also required the person to stop sinning. (See, e.g., John 5:14.)
Jesus commanded Christians to "Love one another." Do we do that? Do people notice how we treat other Christians with love? For that matter, do people realize that we love them too? Pretty much . . . I think not. Most people see us in the light of the first two verses to the AudioA song above.
It doesn't have to be that way. We can still reflect the love of Christ and the holiness of Christ as well. Perhaps if we focused on the love part as much as the stop sinning part, we'd come a bit closer to the mark.
One good starting point: Modern Christians, particularly Evangelicals, should re-discover the concept of humility. There's not a lot of humility in modern Christian Evangelicals today. No, not much at all. We pay lip service to that virtue, of course, much as we pay lip service to other Christian virtues (you know, like charity). But, frankly, most Evangelicals don't have a lot of time for humility these days. Too busy with other things.
Posted by Mark at 11:07 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
New Screening at the Pearly Gates.
From Mike Lucovich, Atlanta Journal Constitution.
Posted by Jim at 06:37 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
The Reality of Faith: International Persecution of Christians
The message popular in American evangelism is that faith in Jesus Christ is warm and fuzzy, it can make your life happier, your business more successful, increase your bank account, and fix up your eternal future.
The fact is that Jesus’ message is counter-cultural, revolutionary, personally offensive, exclusionary, and will most likely lead to suffering. It just happens to be true and it will transform your life, your values, and your relationship with your Creator.
Communist and other authoritarian bullies, and radical Muslims around the world recognize that the radical faith of Christians outside of the West is a threat to the status quo, and Christians are being persecuted regularly.
The American evangelical lobby should be focusing the attention of our State Department on the instances of blatant religious persecution and the denial of religious freedoms around the world.
Here are a few that have recently come to light:
Malaysia
Two Americans, Ricky Rupert and Zachary Harris, have been arrested in Malaysia, accused of handing out Christian pamphlets outside a mosque in a country where constitutionally protected religious freedom periodically collides with the prohibition on the conversion of Muslims.
A Royal Malaysian Police spokesman said Thursday the two men had been apprehended while handing out pamphlets outside the mosque in Putrajaya, Malaysia's new administrative capital south of Kuala Lumpur.
Some 60 percent of Malaysia's population are Malay Muslims, while large ethnic-Chinese and Indian minorities practice Christianity and other religions. Despite being multi-cultural, Sunni Islam is the official religion. Muslims are not permitted to convert to another religion.
"The constitution provides for freedom of religion; however, it recognizes Islam as the country's official religion and the practice of Islamic beliefs other than Sunni Islam is significantly restricted," the State Department says in its most recent report on global religious freedom. (Source)
China
From Voice of the Martyrs: Pastor Cai Zhuohua from Beijing, was arrested September 11, 2004, by National Security operatives, for printing “illegal religious literature.” Cai’s wife, Xiao Yunfei was also arrested November 27, 2004. According to a recently released fellow inmate, Pastor Cai was repeatedly tortured by electric shocks and was forced to falsely confess, which could lead to a ten to fifteen year prison sentence under the current criminal code. The Chinese government has repeatedly threatened his attorney not to defend him.
Pastor Gong Shengliang was sentenced to life in prison October 10, 2002, by the Court Hubei Province. He is now being held at Section Four, Te Yi Hao, Miaoshan Development Zone, Jiangxia District, Wuhan City, Hubei Province. This case involved the arrest and sentencing of many women of Pastor Gong’s church who were tortured into falsely accusing Gong of rape.
According to eyewitness reports, Gong’s mental and physical health has suffered due to the harsh treatment in prison.
Mr. Chen Jingmao, age 74, of Chongqing City, was sentenced October 10, 2002, to four years in prison for sending his granddaughter to a Bible class training school. Chen is now being held in Sanxia Prison, Chongqing City. He is reported to be in very poor health and will die in prison if he is not released soon.
Although China has amended its constitution to protect human rights, these three cases exemplify both the arbitrary nature of what passes for justice in the People’s Republic of China and the sad state of religious freedom there.
Eritrea
According to Compass Direct, in Eritrea, 16 full-time pastors are among nearly 900 Eritrean Christians known to be jailed in local prisons, military confinement camps and shipping containers for daring to meet secretly for prayer and worship outside government-sanctioned churches.
Despite a heavy-handed clampdown by Eritrea’s security police, evangelical sources in the tiny northeast African nation have managed to compile a documented list of 883 Christians now being held without trial or charges because of their faith.
Only a handful of prisoners have been released -- after recently being coerced to sign pledges to stop attending religious services of the unregistered, “illegal” denominations.
In an interview April 5 with Agence France Press (AFP), the director of the Eritrean President’s office, Yemane Gebremeskel, claimed that arrested members of the banned Christian groups “are maybe held for five hours and then let off with a warning.” He also accused human rights groups criticizing Eritrea’s violations of religious freedom of getting their information off the internet and giving “arbitrary figures.”
Posted by Jim at 08:14 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Los Angeles, Mexico
I concur with our friend Lowell Brown of the Hedgehog Blog. The issue:
The advertisement is for a local Spanish-language TV news program. "Noticias 62" means simply "News 62," and "Tu Ciudad. Tu Equipo" means "Your city. Your Team." As you can see, in the middle of the Los Angeles skyline, the billboard's creators have dropped in the famous Angel of Independence monument from Mexico City, and of course they have crossed out "CA" and replaced it with "Mexico."I'm tempted to lift much more of Lowell's post, but I think it's important that our readers pay a vist and read it in context over there.
Although Lowell and I disagree on terminology (he prefers "illegal," I prefer "unauthorized"), his assessment of what he calls the nativist and immigrationist factions in this debate, and the dilemma these factions present to the GOP is fair and commendable.
I've had to postpone my series on immigration policy as I got side tracked by an exit poll story that is about to break, but once I get through finals (3 weeks left!) I'll get back in the saddle here at SCO.
Posted by Rick at 12:02 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 27, 2005
Instapundit's Worry
Andrew Sullivan notes that Glenn Reynolds is concerned over the GOP's direction. See the first point in the update. Also check out Glenn's post on the matter.
In all honesty, I don't think that Glenn's worries are unfounded. If nothing else, we must be aware of public perception. The GOP is running a very real risk of convincing the swing voters of this country that it is the party of James Dobson and Jerry Falwell. I don't for one second believe that to be the total truth, but if you're naive enough to be a swing voter, chances are you won't be sharp enough to tell the difference between George W. Bush and Pat Robertson.
Conversely, I think it is legitimate to worry that non-Christians, or at least the unchurched, may percieve that traditional evangelicals and, I suppose in some cases, Catholics, are the religion of the GOP. I doubt very seriously that Justice Sunday helped to dispell that notion. As with the GOP itself, I don't think it's an entirely fair stereotype. Nevertheless we must be aware of public perception, however skewed it might be.
Allow me to simplify. Even if you and I, as conservatives, understand that James Dobson isn't running the GOP ship, we're still in trouble if enough Americans believe that in fact is the case. The truth as you and I know it is just an anecdote if 50% of the electorate thinks the GOP is out to turn the whole country into a church. Likewise with the Church. I know good and well that Al Mohler cares more about the Gospel of Jesus Christ than about the programs of the Republican Party. I do my best to explain this to others when the topic comes up. But what about the guy down the street who can't tell the difference? If the lines are blurred too often, I think it's a serious concern that the church will lose its effectiveness as the Body of Christ.
Posted by Matt at 01:59 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
Latest Christian Carnival
Dory has the latest Christian Carnival up at Wittenberg Gate:
"Posts are divided into the following categories: Apologetics, Bible Study, Books, Christian Living, Church Issues, Culture & Current Events, Family, Gospel, and Theology."
Head on over to enjoy the offerings.
Posted by Mark at 09:11 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Comments and Trackbacks; Digital Music Player Question
Comments and trackbacks are both working. We have begun turning off comments on older posts, whilst we search for a permanent solution. If you come across an old post to which you would like to comment, just send the author an email.
And now for something completely different. No, not a man with three legs, but a request. I am of a mind to get a digital music player. I have no clue about such things (of course, that's a statement that could be made about a wide variety of topics). The iPod seems to be the consensus choice; however, I'd love to hear any suggestions, with ease of use and cost being more important than 10 versus 20 hours of music capability, or, God forbid, coolness.
Posted by Mark at 08:45 AM | Comments (7) | TrackBack
Time For Stronger Measures Against Sexual Predators
There was another Amber alert in Florida yesterday. Yet another little girl dragged off. Has this been the year of the sexual predator or are we just hearing about more offenses because of the alert systems and 24/7 news?
A child advocate on the Today show last week said the very minimum a parent should do is go online and print your local registry of sexual offenders. So that’s what we did, to pinpoint the locations of the offenders in our area. If you have children, do it today.
State legislatures and local governments need to stop wringing their hands and begin taking stronger measures to maintain control over those who have been convicted of sexual offenses. How many little girls must be prey to the hardened, repeat offenders in their neighborhoods before this horror is taken seriously and these people are intercepted, so they do not hurt more youngsters.
It is time for universal adoption of at least three measures: electronic monitoring, voice tracking, and chemical castration.
Electronic Monitoring: The offender wears an ankle bracelet, which sends out a radio signal precisely showing the exact location. The offender is only allowed to leave their home for specific reasons and at specific times. A monitoring company tracks their movements 24 hours a day, and immediately reports any deviation from the allowed limits to their Probation Officer.
An Ohio official is suggesting taking this a step further, and implanting GPS chips.
While Fox earlier had suggested the use of electronic ankle or wrist bracelets to allow for passive monitoring of offenders, on Monday he took the proposal a step further, calling for a plan of implanting computer microchips into offenders so that they can be tracked and located immediately."People have these GPS chips put in their pets and - in some case - in their children, in the event they are lost or kidnapped," Fox said. "I don't see why the same can't be done with probationees."
But Sheriff Richard K. Jones said it would first take an act of the state legislature to give courts the authority to order such implanting. Butler County currently has 296 registered sexual offenders, Jones said.Jones on Friday launched a new program in which the sheriff's office is now doing random, surprise spot checks on registered sexual offenders to make certain they are living at the addresses they have registered with local authorities.
Voice Tracking: A monitoring company pages offenders periodically during the day and night. A voice recording from the offender has been used to create a computer template which is compared to the caller returning the page, preventing illegitimate callers from responding. Calls are automatically rejected from cellular phones or using call forwarding. The caller must call back within a specified amount of time, and the phone number they called from is automatically recorded.
Chemical castration
States need to implement and enforce hormone treatment for repeat sexual offenders. This is not a cure all, but it will help reduce or eliminate the sexual drive of individuals who cannot control where that takes them. Officials seem squeamish about this course of action. They need to think about the young girls who are raped and buried alive by hardened sexual offenders.
This Texas document discusses chemical castration:
Myth: "Castration cures a sex offender." Fact: Castration is not a cure. Castration only reduces testosterone levels and may be helpful in controlling arousal and libido. Physical or chemical castration should only be utilized as an adjunct to treatment and not in lieu of treatment. It should be remembered that deviant arousal is the physical response to a cognitive process (deviant thoughts). Deviant thoughts (impulses) and fantasies are precursors to deviant arousal.
Iowa is one of eight states that has implemented the treatment, but they have been lax in applying it.
The hormone therapy, called "chemical castration" by critics, is required for offenders convicted more than once of serious sex offenses as a condition of their release from custody. However, the requirement is waived when a judge or the Board of Parole determines the treatment would be ineffective.The treatment is optional for those convicted for the first time of a sexual offense in which the victim was 12 or younger.
"We have done it, but it's very rare," said Gary Sherzan, director of community corrections in the 5th Judicial District.
Rusty Rogerson, superintendent of the state's sex offender treatment facility at Mount Pleasant, said the only time the treatment was needed there, a physician couldn't be found to administer it.
Officials say some physicians question the effectiveness or propriety of the treatment. Others are concerned about medical and legal risks, and about taking part in a procedure that is outside their medical practice.
Others have recommend extremely long prison sentences.
Whatever the cost, lawmakers need to act now to protect our children. What could be more important?
Posted by Jim at 06:33 AM | Comments (8) | TrackBack
April 26, 2005
Devils and Dust
The Boss has a new record out.
Yawn.
As far as hackneyed, cliched and downright boring music goes, Bruce Springsteen is on his way to becoming a legend. I'll admit that Nebraska was an alright album, but why anyone takes a guy like Springsteen seriously is beyond me. I can think of a dozen American songwriters who have created and are creating music that is far more moving. Springsteen's politics are as outdated as a sky blue leisure suit, and as liberals go, Steve Earle has him beat in a landslide. Damien Jurado and Richard Buckner are better storytellers. Conor Oberst is probably as full of himself, but at the rate he's maturing, he'll have Springstreen outdone - in the area of songwriting - in twenty years. Bob Dylan and Merle Haggard are still writing powerful music, and that's to say nothing of Townes Van Zandt's output before his death in the late 1990s.
Look at it this way. Gram Parsons died at a very young age, but rock and country fans still recognize "Sin City," "Love Hurts" and "$1000 Wedding." Other than "Born to Run," "Thunder Road" and the terrible "Born in the USA," will anyone remember a Springsteen song in twenty years?
Posted by Matt at 08:53 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Comments and Trackbacks Down Again
Readers,
The vile creatures known as spammers have managed to shut down our comments and trackbacks again. You can try to leave a comment, but it may not be successful. You have not been banned (unless you're a spammer, we're actively working on banning you). We are working on this. We suspect that no reader of Stones Cry Out ever responds to online spammers. If you do, though, you might want to re-think that, since it only encourages them and leads to problems like this.
Dante's Inferno may need to be updated to add spammers. Guess which circle they'll be in?
Thanks,
Stones Cry Out
Posted by Mark at 01:45 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
Why Not Pragmatism?
“I'm still not seeing how I am contributing to the decline of American culture simply by insisting on following in the agnostic tradition of my family rather than converting to Christianity,” wrote a mysteriously named “s9” commenter in response to my post on personal responsibility last week.
s9 added: “I contend that identifying the problem of "cultural decline" is a more complicated job than simply blaming it all on the damned liberals. Satisfying as that might seem.”
I don’t believe I was quite that simplistic, and in fact the analysis was fairly thorough, particularly if the reader would at least scan the good article Stanley Rothman, titled The Decline of Bourgeois America.
My summary narrowed the blame, I’ll admit:
“With the growing rejection of the boundaries and guidance of the Christian tradition, American culture slides away from responsibility as it yields to the temptations of an “expressive individualistic ethic” that emphasizes self as the center of the universe. This makes the “collectivist liberalism” of an ever-active and controlling government attractive because of its promise of egalitarian nirvana.”
But nowhere in my post or in the cited article is there an argument for conversion (although I would recommend it for many reasons, mind you). But as Western culture rejects the moorings of the Christian tradition, the void has resulted in the two trends mentions: expressive individualism and collective liberalism. These trends are at least part of the reason for the decline in personal responsibility.
But I was intrigued by a question, which led to this exchange:
JWJ: If not Christian, on what ethic do you base a call to responsibility?
S9: If you must know, I hold ethics derived from Pragmatism. Yes, the capital 'P' is deliberate. I fail to see how my being raised in a family with a different ethic from a Christian one makes me complicit in the decline of personal responsibility. I was raised in a non-Christian household, so therefore my continuing choice not to convert to Christianity is a rejection of "the moorings of the Christian tradition." It would be nice to know how my choice to do this has contributed to the trends you mention.
JWJ: Actually your rejection of Christ is not necessarily a rejection of "the moorings of the Christian tradition." You enjoy many of the advantages of Judeo-Christian and Christian social, economic, and ethical structures. You can thank Christ for that, even as a non-believer.
If pragmatism is your only ethical basis, I'm glad to have you as commenter but I wouldn't want to have you as a neighbor.
S9: All of those are arguable propositions, but I'll decline the opportunity to argue them.
Worried that having an agnostic in the neighborhood will lower the value of your real estate? My, how Christian of you...
JWJ: If pragmatism reigns for you, please read Pascal's Wager.
S9: Good grief, not that again. You do realize that Pascal's Wager is not argument for the existence of God, but rather an argument for the belief in God. Worse, as a Pragmatist, I've seen the argument before— but presented more cogently.
Pragmatism asks its usual question. "Grant an idea or belief to be true," it says, "what concrete difference will its being true make in anyone's actual life? How will the truth be realized? What experiences will be different from those which would obtain if the belief were false? What, in short, is the truth's cash-value in experiential terms?"--William James, Pragmatism (1907)
It's not my Pragmatism that makes you dread having me as a neighbor. It's the agnosticism, isn't it?
-----------------
Since I’m not a philosopher or a theologian, I thought I’d pesent this to SCO readers. It seems to me that pure pragmatism, if truly ones life guiding philosophy, is utterly frightening. Living without a transcendent ethic, values based on something other then the utilitarian, is a recipe for social anarchy and spiritual suicide.
Christianity is pragmatic, but not limited to pragmatism. Its ultimate social benefit is that its “living hope” makes faithful adherents the best citizens.
What do you think? Why, then, not pragmatism?
Posted by Jim at 08:34 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
Is Homeschooling the Best Option?
Is homeschooling good for children? That’s a question being debated here.
I have friends and family who homeschool their children and I have great respect for the sacrifices these parents make for their children.
I’ve seen it work for most children, because parents, usually mothers, are pouring so much of themselves into their children. This is almost always tremendous for kids.
But I’ve also seen situations where parents expect some kind of homeschool magic—the benefit of doing the right thing—to work wonders in the children, without the skills or hard work by the parents. That doesn’t produce the desired results, of course.
It’s interesting that as homeschooling becomes more popular, it is becoming what may be more accurately titled “home-directed schooling,” with students often taking some joint classes in churches, or other arrangements. With online programs such as the Learning by Grace academies, parents can choose to have any level or participation by professional educators.
Posted by Jim at 07:57 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
April 25, 2005
New Media Peer Review
Terry Neal, political director and columnist for WashingtonPost.com took up a story in his talking points column yesterday that I have been working on extensively since March 31. Neal writes:
“…there's lots of chatter in the blogosphere, but little coverage in the mainstream media, of a study that suggests the early exit polls that showed Kerry beating Bush may have been accurate after all. The study, conducted on behalf of U.S. Count Votes, a non-partisan but left-leaning non-profit organization.He’s referring to a study that I mentioned here, signed by a group of mostly math and statistics PhDs from distinguished universities, which suggests the exit poll data is more consistent with a fraud hypothesis than with the official explanation that Bush supporters were more reluctant to participate in the polls than Kerry supporters.
Terry Neal quotes Warren Mitofsky, the exit pollster for the 2004 exit polls, who speaks on the record for the first time regarding the US Count Votes study, as well as Mystery Pollster Mark Blumenthal, who has posted on the subject here and here.
I will have a bit more to say about this story soon. Read up because behind this story is a much more interesting story of on-line collaboration that brings new meaning to “peer review.”
Posted by Rick at 09:13 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Let's Get One Thing Straight
Whatever my disagreements with Justice Sunday, and they've been a'plenty around here, let me state emphatically that I do not believe America is becoming a theocracy. Why?
'Cause Michael Barone said so.
(HT: Elrond)
Posted by Matt at 07:22 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
The Bible as a High School Textbook
Here’s a constructive response to attempt to expunge any Christian influence from public life. An organization called The National Council on Bible Curriculum in Public Schools has managed to have the Bible used as a curriculum text in public high schools.
According to the Council’s president, Elizabeth Ridenour:
“The curriculum for the program shows a concern to convey the content of the Bible as compared to literature and history. The program is concerned with education rather than indoctrination of students. The central approach of the class is simply to study the Bible as a foundation document of society, and that approach is altogether appropriate in a comprehensive program of secular education.”
The organization’s brochure says:
Since 1995, over 170,000 students have taken the NCBCPS course on high school campuses. The curriculum is popular with both teachers and students, and it has been adopted to date nationwide in 92% of the school districts where it has been presented. The NCBCPS uses the Bible as its textbook (The King James Version is recommended) and, through a study of the Old and New Testaments, focuses on its comparisons with, and impact upon, history and literature. Following constitutional guidelines, the course emphasizes that the Bible is the foundation document of our society and is the single most influential book in shaping western culture, our laws, our history and even our speech. It is a lesson in America’s heritage.
Unfortunately, this number of students over 10 years is a drop in the bucket. It is a positive, creative approach that merits stronger examination and more thorough adoption.
Posted by Jim at 07:57 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Orthodoxy
With the celebration this week of Passover it is interesting to read about Orthodox Jewish journalist David Klinghoffe, who presents his arguments on why Jesus was not the Messiah, but of more appeal to evangelicals, challenges Jewish liberals who are not faithful to Jewish teachings, and commends the impact orthodox Jews and Christians can have on a Western culture that has lost the meaning of truth.
Columnist Terry Mattingly writes today about Klinghoffer:
"For example, Christians have for centuries pondered the unique Jewish role in "salvation history," a mystery often summed up in the familiar statement, "How odd of God to choose the Jews." Meanwhile, Jewish scholars have faced a paradox of their own. As the Jewish intellectual Franz Rosenzweig once said: "Israel can bring the world to God only through Christianity."Without Judaism, there is no Christianity. But without Christianity,
Klinghoffer argues, there would be no Western civilization as the world knows it and, without Christendom, Europe would have remained pagan and almost certainly fallen to Islam.Despite their many differences, Klinghoffer is convinced that traditional Jews and Christians can find unity on many controversial questions -- from abortion to euthanasia, and many hot moral issues in between. Christians and Jews are supposed to believe that "we can say, with a straight face, that there is such a thing as 'truth,' " he said.
This matters in an era in which many want to blur the doctrinal lines
between world religions. Others want to deny the existence of religious truth altogether."This raises all kinds of questions," said Klinghoffer. "Who gets to
decide what is right and what is wrong? Does God get to play a role in
those decisions or do we just put that up to a vote among ourselves? Where does moral authority come from? Do we just pluck it out of the air or does it come from somewhere?"When we start asking these kinds of questions, Jewish and Christian believers can stand side by side."
Posted by Jim at 07:14 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 24, 2005
No Excuse
If there is even 10% truth to this NY Times story, these families, no, all Americans, should be outraged (HT: Drudge). Our Marines and soldiers deserve much, much better than this. I'd call my Democratic Senators and Representative, but I know they already agree with me on this. To not have armored humvees at this stage in the war is inexcusable.
Posted by Rick at 10:32 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Constitutional Option
Reader John Ballard of the blog Hootsbuddy's Place writes in support of the filibuster at his blog and in comments to Matt's post on the subject earlier today.
John makes some very interesting points, but I'm afraid that none of those points matter if the filibuster of presidential appointments is a violation of the Constitution.
The Senate has a Constitutional obligation to advise and consent. The filibuster of judicial nominees disenfranchises a majority of United States Senators from fulfilling their constitutional obligation to advise and consent.
The Senate was specifically designed to protect the views of the minority and that protection is made explicit in the Constitution. The most obvious protection of minority rights is evident by the "first among equals" institutional and voting framework where each state, regardless of population or size, has two votes. Also, where a supermajority among Senatiors is required, it is explicit in the constitution.
The Federalist was written to explain and promote a Constitution which, in its original version, contained super-majority requirements in seven places: Article I requires votes of two-thirds to convict on impeachment (3, cl. 6), to expel a Senator or Representative (5, cl. 2), and to override a presidential veto (7, cls. 2 & 3). Article II requires a two-thirds vote in the Senate to consent to treaties (2, cl. 2) and called for special majorities if the election of the President should be referred to the House of Representatives (1, cl. 3). Article V requires two-thirds of Congress and three-fourths of the States to amend the Constitution. Article VII required ratifications from 9 of the original 13 States before the Constitution could go into effect.Nowhere in the writings of our founders (that I have found) did they suggest that a supermajority is required to confirm an appointment to the judicial bench as nominated in accordance with the US Constitution by a President.
Since the filibuster of presidential nominees is unconstitutional, then it should be done away with. Until someone convinces me that the filibuster of Bush's nominees is constitutional, I won't have much tolerance for arguments in favor of retaining it. No Senate rule should be above the US Constitution.
For more on the fight to restore the Constitution, read Hugh Hewitt and Confirm Them, daily.
Posted by Rick at 10:08 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Outrageous! ID's Required to Vote!?!?!?
Congressman John Conyers maintains a blog and is also known to post a diary from time to time over at Daily KOS (see this one on his objections to the Baker-Carter election commission).
In his latest post, he's all hot about a state bill that will require state approved photo ID's in order to vote in Georgia. Some patriot over at Democratic Underground has a nice picture comparing Republicans to the Nazi SS demanding papers.
I always thought IDs were required to vote and was surprised in November to find that poll workers in the three precincts I poll watched didn't ask anyone for their ID. In fact, they didn't even require a registration booklet. All someone had to do was point at a name on the roster and say that was them. I asked two of the poll workers why they allowed this, and they replied that that demanding proof of registration or residency is a form of voter intimidation.
Without requiring IDs to match registrations, how could we stop ~100,000 crazy Rove worshippers from infiltrating the polls in key states and throwing an election? I suppose that we could always whip out the purple dye. Nah, I like unstained fingers. I'll settle for the photo ID. Way to go Georgia!
Posted by Rick at 06:16 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Blog Fatigue
Joe Carter links to latest edition of The New Atlantis, which discusses among other blog-related issues, blog fatigue. Joe makes the following observation:
I used to encourage people to start a blog. Now I’m more hesitant. Some people have intellectual gifts that should be shared with a broader audience. Others of us may just need a medium to hone our writing skills. But for some people, blogging has become something they feel they should be doing rather than something they feel passionate about. If you’re feeling the fatigue of blogging it might be a good time to ask yourself if it is something you really want to be doing. The barriers to entry in the blogosphere are low. But getting out isn’t always so easy.
I'll admit that the current SCO format is largely the result of blog fatigue. I appreciate many things about the new SCO and my partners, but most of all, I appreciate the fact that blogging is more enjoyable without all the pressure to perform daily. We're all very busy guys, and although there is still a bit of pressure to keep insightful content on the page for our readers, for me, the pressure is nothing in comparison to what it was a few months ago. I can focus on family, work, and school, and still blog. That's fantastic!
Rather than asking yourself if blogging is something you really want to be doing, perhaps ask yourself if blogging the way you are currently blogging is really something you want to be doing. I like the group blog model and although it's not for everyone, perhaps it is a happy medium between stressing out and giving up. It worked for me.
To conclude, a word from Lileks. I know this isn't directly related, but I had to work it in somehow.
Another blogger, James Lileks, described the demands of the blogging routine: “This is an odd hobby. It’s like having a train set, a gigantic train set in the basement, and in the morning you not only find a derailment, you find people streaming out of the tiny houses yelling at you.”I love it! If you are a blogger with a medium to large sized train set, I'm sure you can relate.
Posted by Rick at 05:43 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
The Filibuster: What If?
Very, very interesting comments regarding potential outcomes should the nuclear option be exercised.
From the American Scene. Once comments are working, give us your take. What do my SCO comrades think?
Posted by Matt at 03:22 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Comment and Trackback Spam
This topic needs it's own category, as it seems the majority of my posts the last couple weeks have been on comment and trackback spam.
SCO readers, we're getting pummeled. Thanks to Jack Lewis, I see that we're not alone.
I just spent an hour deleting over 120 comments (still haven't got to the trackback) that are either gambling or porn related. When I got done, I found another dozen comments had come in while I was deleting. Unbelievable. It makes me want to bring back the iron maiden and rack.
I noticed that Wizbang has a few suggestions, but frankly, it sounds like greek to me and I don't have the time. If anyone has the time and knows how we can stop this, please get in touch. The alternative is to shut down these features completely and we don't want to do that.
Posted by Rick at 12:32 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Looking in the Mirror Instead of Your Eye
Jim, of @large, reminds American Christians of a rather important point:
"[L]aw-talk misses the point. Judeo-Christian morality might ideally lead there...someday, but not until its proponents had won the respect of the nation. In other words, if we'd just BE a moral majority, we wouldn't have to name ourselves one."
Well said. I think I'll go work on this plank now . . .
Posted by Mark at 12:17 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 23, 2005
The Unalienable Right
A while back I wrote about the American Federalist Journal:
...the American Federalist Journal is a resource worth checking out. The site provides a peak at the lead paragraph of columns written from a fine group of conservative thinkers.Now comes word that the editors have a new blog, The Unalienable Right, with recent posts on Bainbridge on the judiciary, Maxine Waters on immigration, John Kerry on Star Wars Episode III, and lots of other great stuff. Check it out!
Posted by Rick at 07:55 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
April 22, 2005
Nearly Half of Americans Still Crack Open the Bible Every Week Somewhere Besides Church
Bible reading is enjoying an upward trend over the last few years and it increased to 45 percent of Americans in the last year, according to a survey completed by the Barna Research Group.
Currently, 45 percent of adults read the Bible during a typical week, not including when they are at church. That figure represents a minimal increase over the past few years, but a significant rise from the 31 percent measured in 1995, the lowest level of Bible reading recorded by Barna in the past 15 years. The current statistic is still below the levels achieved in 1980s and early 1990s, but the report shows that the trend is upward.
Despite the hubbub over evangelicals after the last election, Barna’s research indicates that those who adhere to evangelical beliefs and assertions make up only 7 percent of the U.S. population.
Posted by Jim at 03:33 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
The Post-Modern Question and The Transcendent Answer
“What is truth?” Pilate asked. "Look within your heart, you already know it," responds Pastor Mark Daniels.
Posted by Mark at 12:48 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 21, 2005
Another Conservative Pope: Enjoying the NY Times’ Misery
I flew to Chicago last night on business and on the way read every article on Pope Benedict in yesterday’s New York Times. I’ll have to admit that I enjoyed immensely the obvious displeasure the Times showed in the selection of another conservative Pontiff. While showing more restraint than they show with conservative evangelicals, the Times nonetheless demonstrated its discomfort with another Pope from the “conservative wing” of the church with “hard line” theological positions.
“In a Celebrating Crowd,” the Times sub-head reads, “Some Show Concern Over His Doctrine.” I watched the announcement on television and it was difficult to see much concern in the roar and adulation of the huge crowd. If a liberal Pope had been chosen, I’m sure the Times would not have been looking for concerned conservatives in the crowd.
For evangelicals, it is hard to imagine a choice that would be more pleasing, for it appears likely that the positive alignment between conservative Protestants and a Roman Catholic church with a conservative shepherd will continue.
The homily Pope Benedict gave the morning of the first day of the conclave should be enough to give those of us in the evangelical great hope that we will continue as co-belligerents against the forces of secularism.
The soon-to-be-Pope said:
"Having a clear faith, based on the creed of the church, is often labeled today as fundamentalism. Whereas relativism, which is letting oneself be tossed and 'swept along by every wind of teaching,' looks like the only attitude acceptable to today's standards.We are moving toward a dictatorship of relativism which does not recognize anything as for certain and which has as its highest goal one's own ego and one's own desires."
Then Cardinal Ratzinger was the central voice in the 2000 Vatican document "Dominus Jesus, which reads:
"This truth of faith does not lessen the sincere respect which the Church has for the religions of the world, but at the same time, it rules out, in a radical way, that mentality of indifferentism characterized by a religious relativism which leads to the belief that 'one religion is as good as another.' "
He was roundly criticized for saying that Jesus was the only way to God. As evangelicals, that part of his message is music to our ears.
Posted by Jim at 05:56 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
Grand Slam
My cousin Rod hit his first major league grand slam last night to help the Rangers defeat the Devil Rays, 12-10. Go Rod!
Posted by Rick at 08:55 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Those Darn Twixters
On Tuesday Al Mohler reprinted his column decrying the Twixter phenomenon. I'll say now, as I said when the piece originally ran, that when Mohler is befuddled when this generation won't grow up, he wrongly assumes that they have been raised in a mature, responsible way. Witness this quote:
Looking at this from a biblical perspective, the most tragic aspect of this development is the fact that these young people are refusing to enter into the adult experience and adult responsibilities that is their Christian calling. The delay of marriage will exact an undeniable social toll in terms of delayed parenthood, even smaller families, and more self-centered parents. The experiences of marriage and raising children are important parts of learning the adult experience and finding one's way into the deep responsibilities and incalculable rewards of genuine adulthood.
Well my goodness. We talk about how un-Biblical this phenomenon is, yet is anyone looking in the mirror and taking Evangelicals to task? I don't want to be one of those blame-the-Church first people. Yet if we see a problem, we might want to look at how it came to be.
My responses can be found here, here and here. The post are in chronological order.
Posted by Matt at 08:47 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Comments and Trackbacks
I noticed Mark's post on comments and trackbacks. I don't think the multiple comments and trackbacks have anything to do with our comment/tb spam problem, although I'm not certain.
Here's my theory: For some (as of yet undiagnosed) reason, processing of a comment takes a while and if you get impatient while it is processing and hit the post a comment button more than once, eventually, more than one comment will emerge. As for trackbacks, I think we are sent a trackback everytime someone updates a post that links to our blog.
If any of our readers would like to comment, please do so, because I am not an IT person by any stretch of the imagination.
Posted by Rick at 08:43 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
April 20, 2005
More on Benedict XVI
In case you were wondering (and really, you weren't now were you), I think the choice of Cardinal Ratzinger, now Benedict XVI, was terrific (from the perspective of a non-Catholic of course). That the largest Christian body will stay on the path of orthodoxy and reject humanism's attempt to destroy it is a very good thing for all Christians.
The good Pope has had his share of detractors, in the past, now and, I am sure, in the future. If I were a good writer, I would have written this in response to the detractors. Instead, you will simply have to go to Pastor Mark Roberts's site (always a good idea in any event) and read it there.
Among other things, Pastor Roberts comments on the dismay that Benedict's critics feel at his audicity in keeping Catholic theology, well, Catholic:
Consider a few analogies. If a Vice President for Apple starts publicly touting the benefits of Windows, should she keep her job? If a professional baseball player says, "Hang the rules. I'm going to take steroids anyway," should he be allowed to keep on playing without reprisals? If a university professor plagiarizes the research of others, should there be no consequences? If a reporter for the New York Times makes up facts in news stories, should that reporter keep his job? Every company, every organization, every institution has basic values and rules of operation. If people within that organization choose to reject the values or break the rules, then they are disciplined, and sometimes that discipline includes being excluded from the organization. To be sure, this sort of procedure can be abused by people in power. Sometimes it is vengeful and unjust. But sometimes it is both fair and just. If you're going to be a part of an institution that has clear values and rules, you must expect to live within them.
This reminded me of a statement in the Quodlibet comment "Talking Out of Church" in the April 2005 issue of Touchstone (article not online). The context was a discussion at Oxford University among students and faculty regarding the recent defocking of an Anglican priest for his atheism. The students thought the whole thing unfair; the professors thought otherwise. Finally, Professor Alun Jones, "an Oxford professor of archaeology", found the right analogy:
"Now see here," he said. "Suppose that I, as Professor of Medieval Archaeology at Oxford University, were to start going about telling folks that Gothic cathedrals have thick walls and rounded arches? I say, it just wouldnt do, you know, it just wouldn't do."
A Pope elected to fulfill an agenda other than God's? It just wouldn't do, you know, it just wouldn't do.
Posted by Mark at 11:30 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Double Trouble--Comments and Trackbacks
It appears that our attempts to slow down the vile spammers have led to a slowdown in responsiveness of comments and trackbacks, which has led to many instances of double comments and double (and triple and quadruple) trackbacks. Hopefully our crack IT team of Rick can get it fixed. In the meantime, bear with us.
Posted by Mark at 11:10 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Christian Carnival LXVI
The 66th Christian Carnival is now up at Pseudo-Polymath. The Carnival offerings have been set in the form of a Church liturgy--a very creative idea. There are many excellent entries. (Careful and thorough readers of Stones Cry Out will be able to skip the first entry.)
Posted by Mark at 06:50 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
If You Can't Beat 'Em, Introduce the Fairness Doctrine
With legislation on the return of the Fairness Doctrine offered in the House by a New York Congresswoman as a means to defang talk radio, I went to Google News to see what’s been written on this. The second entry was an editorial by my blogger-in-law Doug Payton of Considerettes on Blogger News Network
Doug writes:
“What we have then, in effect, is a backdoor attempt to get more of a market for Air America by forcing stations to maintain some sort of balance in "broadcast hours". Stations will be forced to run Al Franken or someone like him to offset any conservatives on the air. While the introduction of HR501 and the 1st anniversary of Air America and the report of its lousy ratings are probably not connected, it does sound like an interesting time for this doctrine to be rehashed. Perhaps since Soros has a horse in the talk radio race now, some folks in Washington may be hoping to be the recipients of some cash to really push this hard. And Bush's veto record is, well, non-existent. For politicos viewing the media landscape with liberal-blocking polarized lenses, this may be the perfect time for a move like this.If liberals can't compete in the arena of ideas, they pass laws against the competition. This is desperation.”
I predicted this in a December 2005 post at The Rooftop Blog, for whatever that’s worth. I also predicted that it will fail, and I’m still sure it will.
Posted by Jim at 06:10 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
April 19, 2005
Reformation of the ELCA?
Pastor Mark Daniels posts on a movement within the ELCA aimed at reforming that body (read, calling it back to being Christ's Church and not the Church of the Holy Social Left Wing Movement du Jour). The article he reproduces is interesting, but it would also be nice to hear the good Pastor's thoughts on this subject--after all, he has a greater than normal interest in this.
(Is it a sin to goad a pastor?)
Posted by Mark at 11:58 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
Shermblog's Simple Analysis on Benedict XVI
Shermblog reminds us of the old adage: You are known by your enemies.
Posted by Mark at 10:34 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Benedict XVI
Kathryn Lopez, as is to be expected, is posting fast and furiously about the new Pope in the Corner. If you want to get a lot of information quickly, go there. Unfortunately, the Ratzinger Fan Club's servers are overwhelmed at the moment(not surprising I suppose). That site is a great Ratzinger resource.
Great quote from the Corner:
Erica Walters, who wrote her master's thesis on Ratz, in TNR: "It's his humility, indeed his lack of desire for the job, that I find most compelling. Anyone who has seen him up close (as I have) knows the reality of the man confounds his image as an enforcer. Shy and soft-spoken, he possesses a scholar's temperament and in his youth was considered a theological innovator. He often wins over the wary after personal meetings. Many Protestant theologians in Germany and America, for example, speak warmly of him after engaging in scholarly give and take. Far from being power mad, he has for years pleaded to be allowed to resign from his office and return to teaching, but John Paul wouldn't consent."
Posted by Mark at 01:26 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Welcome Pope Benedict XVI
And the new Pope is Cardinal Ratzinger, who has taken the name Pope Benedict XVI. Let us all pray for God's guidance of and wisdom for this man, who takes on a great burden.
Posted by Mark at 12:23 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
White Smoke and Bells Announce New Pope
No doubt you have seen the news reports that a new Pope has been elected. We are eagerly awaiting the who of it (which I suspect to be Ratzinger, since it was so quick). Go to MSNBC for live feed.
Posted by Mark at 12:18 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
The Decline of Personal Responsibility
In his commencement address at Harvard University in 1978, Alexander Solzhenitsyn said that “the main cause of the ruinous [Bolshevik] Revolution” and “the principal trait of the entire twentieth century” was that "men have forgotten God." The West's emphasis on secular rights, he told the Harvard students, had produced societies that now stood at the brink of "the abyss of human decadence ... It is time in the West to defend not so much human rights as human obligations."
This was not well received by the Harvard community or Western liberal intellectuals.
Yet in that address Solzhenitsyn brought together two elements that have had enormous consequences on our culture in the 25 years hence. It is the cultural escape from God and the social and moral strictures of the Christian tradition that has resulted in the decline of personal responsibility, or what Solzhenitsyn calls “human obligations.”
In my view, the worst trend in the habits of the American heart is this decline of responsibility. We see this in all parts of life—-the failure of customer service, dependence on government to care for all ills, personal injury suits against tobacco companies for our lifestyle choice, or against McDonalds when we spill hot coffee. We see it in everyone from political and corporate leaders to our neighbors refusing to take responsibility for wrong doing, not accepting the consequences for their own actions, and not taking responsibility for the results of their own promiscuity and carelessness. We are all products of our times, and if we are honest, we see it in ourselves.
So my ears perked up last week when Rush Limbaugh read from a Knight-Ridder article on the decline of personal responsibility.
The article r