It started with Brit Hume’s initial statement on Fox News about Tiger Woods and his recent sexual troubles:

The extent to which he can recover, it seems to me, depends on his faith. He is said to be a Buddhist. I don’t think that faith offers the kind of forgiveness and redemption that is offered by the Christian faith. So, my message to Tiger would be, ‘Tiger, turn to the Christian faith and you can make a total recovery and be a great example to the world.

Of course, as Ann says, any public mention of Christianity gets the usual liberal media elites into a crazed frenzy. Brit was wrongfully attacked… and Ann’s article not only points out the sheer idiocy of the many liberal responses to Brit, but does it while presenting the gospel (ah yes, presenting the gospel… something else Christo-leftists have a hard time doing)!!!

I agree 1,000 times with her. Feast your logical Christ-following senses on her piece, partially quoted below:

Someone mentioned Christianity on television recently and liberals reacted with their usual howls of rage and blinking incomprehension.

On a Fox News panel discussing Tiger Woods, Brit Hume said, perfectly accurately:

“The extent to which he can recover, it seems to me, depends on his faith. He is said to be a Buddhist. I don’t think that faith offers the kind of forgiveness and redemption that is offered by the Christian faith. So, my message to Tiger would be, ‘Tiger, turn to the Christian faith and you can make a total recovery and be a great example to the world.”

Hume’s words, being 100 percent factually correct, sent liberals into a tizzy of sputtering rage, once again illustrating liberals’ copious ignorance of Christianity. (Also illustrating the words of the Bible: “How is it you do not understand me when I speak? It is because you cannot bear to listen to my words.” John 8:43.)

[...]

On MSNBC, David Shuster invoked the “separation of church and television” (a phrase that also doesn’t appear in the Constitution), bitterly complaining that Hume had brought up Christianity “out-of-the-blue” on “a political talk show.”

Why on earth would Hume mention religion while discussing a public figure who had fallen from grace and was in need of redemption and forgiveness? Boy, talk about coming out of left field!

What religion — what topic — induces this sort of babbling idiocy? (If liberals really want to keep people from hearing about God, they should give Him his own show on MSNBC.)

Most perplexing was columnist Dan Savage’s indignant accusation that Hume was claiming that Christianity “offers the best deal — it gives you the get-out-of-adultery-free card that other religions just can’t.”

In fact, that’s exactly what Christianity does. It’s the best deal in the universe. (I know it seems strange that a self-described atheist and “radical sex advice columnist ——” like Savage would miss the central point of Christianity, but there it is.)

God sent his only son to get the crap beaten out of him, die for our sins and rise from the dead. If you believe that, you’re in. Your sins are washed away from you — sins even worse than adultery! — because of the cross.

“He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross.” Colossians 2:14.

Surely you remember the cross, liberals — the symbol banned by ACLU lawsuits from public property throughout the land?

Christianity is simultaneously the easiest religion in the world and the hardest religion in the world.

Christians, when they have lived up to the highest ideals of their faith, have defended the weak and vulnerable and worked tirelessly to protect and strengthen vital institutions of civil society, beginning with the family.

We are Orthodox, Catholic, and evangelical Christians who have united at this hour to reaffirm fundamental truths about justice and the common good, and to call upon our fellow citizens, believers and non-believers alike, to join us in defending them. These truths are:

1. the sanctity of human life
2. the dignity of marriage as the conjugal union of husband and wife
3. the rights of conscience and religious liberty.

Inasmuch as these truths are foundational to human dignity and the well-being of society, they are inviolable and non-negotiable. Because they are increasingly under assault from powerful forces in our culture, we are compelled today to speak out forcefully in their defense, and to commit ourselves to honoring them fully no matter what pressures are brought upon us and our institutions to abandon or compromise them. We make this commitment not as partisans of any political group but as followers of Jesus Christ, the crucified and risen Lord, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

You’ve heard me decry this idiocy before… and you’ll hear it again and again. I can’t stand the lack of rational thought that permeates nearly every half-arsed notion coming from the religious left (who are the perverted people-of-faith of the political left… same smell, different clothes). Taking money from citizens in order to turn around and “solve” societal problems in the name of “social justice” (read secular humanism) is about as far from Christ-following as prime rib is from motor oil.

I know Christians… even pastors… who have written off politics as a vehicle for positive, Scriptural change. They criticize previous generations of Christians who put their trust in certain leaders… and they have retreated into their own circles of influence at their community level (or even into their own small exclusive church circles – although they won’t admit that). How cute that the same emerging voices critical of previous churches who didn’t “engage the culture” are actually doing the same thing themselves. And how cute that they would actually CALL others to do the same with politics… although what they are really doing is trying to dissuade traditionally GOP-supporting Christians from supporting conservative candidates while supporting left-leaning pols out the other side of their mouth.

So… about politics… guess what boys and girls — politics is part of our culture. So guess what? We are called to be engaged in politics.

I’m not saying don’t be involved in your tighter circles of influence (I oculd say community but it’s been such a tortured, tired word lately devoid of real meaning). I’m not saying put your faith in political leaders rather than Jesus. What I’m saying is obey your calling to be engaged… and participate in the political process because that it obedient and ultimately effects us, our children, our culture and our ministries we support. This is common sense that most children know so I shouldn’t have to say it again. Even if it means that all you’re doing is being educated on the major political issues, reading your Bible (both red AND BLACK letters) to see where God stands on the issues, and then voting appropriately based on Scripture (which means you didn’t vote for Obama) then do that. At the VERY LEAST do that… because as a Christian it is your duty. It could be as simple as 1st Peter’s call to respect government, but there’s plenty of Scriptural support for intelligent political involvement as part of a Christ-followers holistic engagement in culture.

Apologetics.com is a great, great site that if I had my way I would force people to listen to (like an Obama speech to schoolchildren). They just had a wonderful podcast on this topic: Apologetics.com – Christianity, the Church, and Government

Why is it that many Christians who decry Christian political involvement (read Tony Campolo types) because power and politics are tools of Satan, then go on to argue for government solutions to global warming and health care? Do they really want Satan and his tools cooling our planet and running our health care? Perhaps a more balanced approach is needed.

Should Christians be involved in government? Isn’t Christ our hope not politics? Is any influence of Christian thought on the state a violation of the separation of church and state? In this episode of Apologetics.com radio, Dean Donald McConnell of Trinity Law School, Doug Eaton, and Lane Chaplin discuss several questions that pertain to the Christian’s role in government and the governments role in Christianity.

This is why I can so easily hate the religious left with a purely righteous-ish hate… because their pompous hypocrisy mirrors their political cohorts’ with such an accurate emulation that when squinting I can scarcely tell Brian McClaren and Rob Bell from Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid. Their ilk salivate at the chance to point their pot-stained fingers at the least savory portions of fundamentalism and decry the Bible-thumping-ness of that fringy lot… and then in the NEXT BREATH proceed to emulate every behavior and prejudice they just condemned. *sigh*

Rather than go to Sojourners.com here are a few better ports-of-call for the masses out there: http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/author/scrowder/ http://www.youtube.com/user/machosauceproduction http://blog.beliefnet.com/crunchycon/ http://loyaltoliberty.blogspot.com/ http://evangelicaloutpost.com/archives/category/politics/republicans

Without further delay here is the great article from APACNY:

Rev. Jim Wallis–the head of Sojourners, and an icon of the religious left–has verbally assaulted Sarah Palin today on the Sojourners blog known as “God’s Politics,” and has actually questioned the authenticity of her Christian faith.

The blog has a code of conduct for participants that includes the following rules:

I will express myself with civility, courtesy, and respect for every member of the Sojourners online community, especially toward those with whom I disagree—even if I feel disrespected by them. (Romans 12:17-21)

I will express my disagreements with other community members’ ideas without insulting, mocking, or slandering them personally. (Matthew 5:22)

I will not exaggerate others’ beliefs nor make unfounded prejudicial assumptions based on labels, categories, or stereotypes. I will always extend the benefit of the doubt. (Ephesians 4:29)

Apparently, this language does not apply to the blog’s founder–at least not when he is talking about Governor Palin. See http://blog.sojo.net/2009/08/11/palin-bad-for-dialogue/. Here is a telling excerpt from Rev. Wallis’ remarks:

Sarah, you’re the one who is acting in an ‘’evil” way. After listening to your policy pronouncements during the campaign, many Americans decided, generously, that you weren’t ready yet for high political office. Others thought you just weren’t very smart. But this statement last week really does clear up the question for me. You are speaking like a demagogue in the worst tradition of those who knowingly distort and deceive, for their own political purposes. You want to stoke people’s worst fears and then, hopefully, they will look to someone like you to be their leader. You’re not stupid after all.

Please don’t invoke your “Christian faith” anymore and embarrass the people of God even further. May your efforts to scare Americans during this important debate fail. May your political future also fail, and may your star fall as fast as it rose just a few months ago — because we now know who you really are.

What, you may ask, did Sarah Palin do to arouse the ire of Rev. Wallis and to cause him to question her Christian faith? She did something that appears, in leftist circles, to have become the unpardonable sin: Raising objections to President Obama’s nightmarish “health care reform” proposal. (See http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=WU09H07&f=PG07J01 and http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=WA09H08#WA09H08.) Here is what Governor Palin said:

The America I know and love is not one in which my parents or my baby with Down Syndrome will have to stand in front of Obama’s “death panel” so his bureaucrats can decide, based on a subjective judgment of their “level of productivity in society,” whether they are worthy of health care. Such a system is downright evil.

To be fair, Govenor Palin’s comment about standing before a “death panel” is a bit hyperbolic. However, Governor Palin’s concern about the euthanasia-related implications of the President’s health care proposal is quite well-founded–especially in light of heartbreaking recent news from Oregon (see http://www.thecloakroomblog.com/2009/08/obam/). Her concern is also shared by various pro-life organizations, including the Family Research Council.

While I am tempted to “fire back” at Rev. Wallis, let’s instead pray that he would change his ways and reverse the errant path his organization has taken. Let’s pray for Sarah Palin, too, as she and her family have been treated viciously over the past several months. And finally, let’s continue to pray against the President’s “health care reform” proposal.

I leave with you with a well-put-together tribute to our troops from a USAF officer, and a message from one of the few spokesmen for freedom in Washington… Ron Paul.

Kan. abortion doc killed in church; suspect held

Dr. George Tiller, one of the nation’s few providers of late-term abortions despite decades of protests and attacks, was shot and killed Sunday in a church where he was serving as an usher.

[full article]

A Kansas abortion doctor was terminated in his church yesterday by a very-late-term gunman. I am saddened when a gunman chooses to permanently remove a church’s usher, and I would like us to work together to give gunmen everywhere more options. We all want to minimize the despair that befalls churches who can’t find good usher replacements.

Notice the callousness of the language of the left? Those same folks are crazy-spun about this shooting in Kansas… yet blindly look away when the shootee cuts babies into pieces, or dries them alive from the inside out with salt, or some other method that renders water-boarding a truly zen-spa massage experience (and a non-lethal one at that). So whatever, I guess… up is down… in is out… liberal logic, ho hum.

So, can’t we say – using the logic of the left – that the gunman was just executing his freedom of choice? Maybe he wanted to rock the vote? Okay, so he decided not to choose life for the usher… but he may choose life for the next usher, right? Isn’t choice beautiful?

The family said its loss “is also a loss for the city of Wichita and women across America. George dedicated his life to providing women with high-quality health care despite frequent threats and violence.”

Might I humbly suggest that when women are cut into pieces after steel is punctured into their brain intentionally this doesn’t qualify as providing these unborn women “high-quality health care”.

Do we prosecute the gunman? Yes… and whatever punishment he gets we should then visit upon every abortion doctor on the planet, multiplied by the number of abortion-murders they’ve perpetrated, and multiplied again by the ratio of the innocence of the victims (i.e. the innocence of a baby versus the “innocence” of a mass-murderer… which I’d guess is around 15 trillion to one… without original sin it’d probably be infinite).

And, holy smokes, what the heck are they preaching at Wichita’s Reformation Lutheran Church where killing little babies is okay? What is this… First Church of Satan?

If anyone wants to lose their lunch Google “late term abortions”. You just may become a gunman, too… j/k … n/r …

A message from Steve Hayford of APAC New York:

As many of you may have heard, Kansas abortionist George Tiller was murdered yesterday while he attended a Lutheran church service.

Tiller was known for practicing late-term abortions–including partial-birth abortions–and was unsuccessfully prosecuted for violating state law in the conduct of his abortion practice. Tiller performed abortions since the early 1970′s. Tiller was a major supporter of the political campaigns of former Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, who now serves as Secretary of Health and Human Services under President Obama. At the time of his death, Tiller was under investigation for medical ethics violations in connection with his abortion clinic.

APAC condemns the murder of George Tiller and expresses sincere condolences to his family. APAC also calls for Tiller’s murderer to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Further, APAC reminds Christians and other members of the pro-life community that we must never violate our Biblical convictions regarding the sanctity of life; we are not to fight evil with evil or take the law into our own hands. “Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord” (Romans 12:19).

However, APAC takes issue with the laudatory statement made yesterday by Governor David Paterson regarding George Tiller’s murder. The governor’s statement makes it appear that Tiller was an American hero. Governor Paterson’s statement praises Tiller for his alleged “fearlessness, compassion and commitment,” for allegedly protecting women’s rights, and for allegedly seeking “to ensure that his patients were provided with the medical, emotional and spiritual counsel they needed to make the right choice for themselves and their families.” The governor added, “With his murder, we are robbed…of a dedicated and courageous physician.” In reality, George Tiller took the lives of countless numbers of precious unborn children, and his actions in life demonstrated no compassion at all for these most vulnerable members of our society. Condemning the murder of George Tiller does not require our governor to pretend that Tiller was an honorable man, or that his work as a late-term abortionist was somehow praiseworthy.

While the murder of George Tiller is a morally repugnant act, Governor Paterson’s faulty moral compass is deeply troubling. It is also deeply troubling that certain organizations and members of the media are seizing on Tiller’s murder to foster a public perception that one person’s lawless act reflects on all pro-life people and organizations. These false and misleading portrayals of the pro-life movement say more about those who perpetrate them than they do about the pro-life movement itself.

http://www.state.ny.us/governor/press/press_0531092.html

http://www.wkbw.com/news/local/46584252.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Tiller

He tends to shy away from politics, but he voiced his discomfort with this video and what it means for Christ-followers. Let me share with you the same thoughts I shared with him (edited slightly for clarity):

As Christ-followers we are called to be engaged in our culture, and that includes politics. It’s messy out in our culture, but engagement is part of following Christ’s example so it’s really not up for debate. Christ called us to love, help, and protect the “least of these”… and none are more “least” than the unborn – innocent, fragile, voiceless. To stay away from politics… to avoid helping stop (with a pro-life vote at the ballot box) the brutal slicing of unborn babies into pieces is the same as walking past the beaten man in Luke 10:25-37.

You will hear some neo-Christians (even in our church!?) who try to muddle the notion of civic political involvement and dissuade others from paying attention and getting involved. Don’t listen… it’s a lie from the devil.

There are wolves in sheeps’ clothing out there, my friend. Be on your guard. Be bold to speak truth. Be engaged in our WHOLE culture… not just the parts that look like American Idol.

theForgotten.org | Never-Again.com

From the Genocide Education Project:

Armenians around the world observe April 24 as the day of remembrance for the Armenian Genocide. On this date in 1915, the Turkish government arrested close to 250 Armenian leaders in Constantinople. They were sent to prison and most were executed. Across Turkey, community leaders were rounded up and executed in the coming months as the remaining population (mainly women and children) were sent on death marches. By 1918, 1.5 million Ottoman Armenians had been murdered–half of the Ottoman Armenian population. The rest were summarily forced from their historic homeland.

This year, Peter Balakian, a premier scholar has translated his great uncle’s (Grigoris Balakian) memoir– “Armenian Golgotha.” Grigoris Balakian was one of the intellectuals imprisoned on April 24, 1915. He was a priest in the Armenian Church and important leader in the Armenian community. He was able to escape and endured years of adversity as he tried to stay alive during the first modern genocide. “Armenian Golgotha” brings us accounts from an eye witness that saw the brutalities inflicted on innocent Armenians across Anatolia. He records atrocities committed against the Armenians as well as his experiences with Turks and foreign workers who risked life and limb to keep him alive. At first glance it seems an extraordinary read–except that millions of people have perished as a result of genocide. Sadly, the extraordinary aspect of the memoir is not what happened, but that Grigoris Balakian survived.

Elie Wiesel, noted survivor of the Holocaust and Nobel Peace Laureate said “whoever reads or listens to a witness becomes a witness.”

Become a witness. Remember the Armenian Genocide.

Here’s a resource for teachers: TeachGenocide.com

Prejean was asked by the boisterously homosexual judge Perez Hilton if she believes in gay marriage. She answered kindly and openly… speaking of both the joys of personal freedom and her own family upbringing and convictions.

Article here:

Miss North Carolina Kristen Dalton was crowned Miss USA on Sunday, but the big story to come out of the normally politics-free telecast was Miss California’s comments regarding gay marriage.

When asked by judge Perez Hilton, an openly gay gossip blogger, whether she believed in gay marriage, Miss California, Carrie Prejean, said “We live in a land where you can choose same-sex marriage or opposite. And you know what, I think in my country, in my family, I think that I believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman. No offense to anybody out there, but that’s how I was raised.”

She was asked her personal view… and she gave it (and well spoken, too)… and for that was summarily attacked. Let’s face it, the left hate everything about Christians and the Christocentric worldview… and they hate tolerating the views of others, so now they don’t. Gone are the days when classic liberals respected, even championed, free speech and the open exchange of ideas.

The entertainment industry is pockmarked with gossip debris like Hilton (who once “broke” the story that Castro was dead – we could have been so lucky), and having a conservative Christian view… scratch that, having any view from any faith-based or common-sense-based perspective that doesn’t pour gushing bowls of tear-filled support all over every manner of homosexual lifestyle is considered the worst form of intolerance to Hollywood.

Another article:

“This is why we have judges at Miss USA, so we find the girl to rep us ALL,” Moakler Twittered after the pageant.

“I don’t know how you can call a gay man or woman your friend and not want them 2 have the same joys as yourself. In my family we believe in equal rights for all, I am sad and hurt, I agree with Perez 100 [percent]. It’s one thing to have an opinion I am very opinionated n have dealt with backlash from it, it’s another to alienate people who cared about u.”

[...]

“Hollywood isn’t just liberal, it is fearfully liberal. It is easier in Hollywood to say you’re a drug addict or to pretty much anything than to admit to being a committed Christian,” media expert and longtime Hollywood publicist, Michael Levine of Levine Communications, told FOXnews.com.

[...]

“It is unfortunate that Miss California, who we note did not win, is so out of touch with the overwhelming majority of people her age that she wants to deny loving, committed couples the rights and dignity that come only with marriage,” said Geoff Kors, Executive Director of Equality California.

Prejean has garnered a lot of support nonetheless.

“The majority of California’s voters — more than 7 million people — voted to protect traditional marriage, and we congratulate Miss California for her conviction to speak her beliefs,” Ron Prentice, chairman of ProtectMarriage.com Coalition, said.

I love how all these leftist elites show such shock, dismay, and disgust at an opposing viewpoint… that you’d think affirming traditional marriage was something unseen in years, like yellow fever or a grateful teenager. You’d never guess that the ENTIRE STATE OF CALIFORNIA just voted on and passed Proposition 8 defining marriage as an opposite-sex union. So in actuality Miss California is more accurately representing her state that anyone seems to realize. More importantly, she was being frank and sincere… being considerate and honest. All these traits befit this would-be pageant winner… someone with inner beauty to match her outer beauty. And all those traits, adding in morality, decency, TRUE tolerance, and love, are completely missing from Hollywood, the radical left, and almost every homosexual activist I’ve heard or read. Shock.

More from Hollywood:

The way Hollywood has piled on Carrie Prejean online since the Miss USA pageant on Sunday, you’d think the Christian college student had called for a tax on botox!

[...]

Even Miley Cyrus had something to say to Perez Hilton on the issue.

“[I] am a christian and i love you – gay or not. BECAUSE you are no different that anyone else! we are all gods children! i am not saying this so would be nice on your site (though that would be nice jk;) but because the LORD has spoken “love cuz god loves” hey!!! what about me??? would i make a good miss usa?? ”

Heidi Montag, another committed Christian, also twittered her thoughts.

“[L]esbians should have the same government rights that Spencer and I will when we get married. So, yes, this blonde Christian believes in gay marriage. God says not to judge and I would never try to judge ANYONE! Nor should our “free” country,” “The Hills” starlet wrote.

Oh, so instead of committed Christian #1 supporting her fellow sister in Christ (who was attacked for kindly and humbly sharing her feelings), Miley instead ingratiates herself with the attacker!?

And so-called “committed Christian” #2 supports homosexual marriage!? Umm… sorry folks, not a Christian.

Trump defends.

This guy from Breitbart.TV explains this whole thing better than I ever could. [article link]

We’ve all seen the emails circulating that ask you to send a Christmas card to one of the American soldiers being treated in one of our troop hospitals. This is a GOOD thing, but these chain letter emails are inaccurate… they usually instruct people to address the letter or card to “Any Wounded Soldier”, which will only get it destroyed with all the other anonymous mail. It is the policy of the USO not to deliver any mail unless it is addressed to a specific soldier — each year several hundred thousand cards are destroyed unopened.

There are two main reasons for destroying unsolicited email to troops. Foreign enemies may use letters laced with anthrax or another chemical/biological agent that will reduce the moral and effectiveness of the American fighting soldier. Domestic enemies (anti-war activists) may use letters to send demeaning and degrading messages to wounded troops (and yes, this happens more than you’d think).

My aunt and uncle run the Christian Servicemen’s Center at Fort Campbell, Kentucky and last year they received some cards from Christian friends, which they then hand delivered to wounded soldiers both locally at the post and also at Walter Reed in Washington, DC. They would LOVE to get cards to deliver to soldiers, as it gives them another opportunity to minister to them.

Simply mail your card or letter to the following address: email me for the address — obviously I can’t post it. I can, however, assure you that a lonely soldier will be encouraged by your cheery greeting and words of thanks (which my aunt usually accompanies with copious amounts of fresh church-folk-baked homemade cookies).

In today’s world of political correctness (a true mental disease if ever there was one) Thanksgiving seems to be largely rewritten by elitist swine in our education system. I remember that Maryland public school kids were allowed to thank anyone for Thanksgiving — except God!? Now I’m reading that a 40-year Thanksgiving dress-up tradition in a California school district is being scrapped by un-testicled school officials who are cowering to some young Indian mother with a tomahawk up her butt about the whole thing.

For a fresher perspective on Thanksgiving read Rush Limbaugh’s recent chronicling of the early settlers’ experiments with socialism and free enterprise. Apparently William Bradford learned very quickly what many today will never learn.

Despite the consistent stream of idiocy surrounding me in virtually every facet of my existence on this rock there is MUCH I am thankful for. Much. I am thankful that there are still some around me who believe in truth. There are still some who will stand against stupidity and political correctness — who will rebuke “offended” people just like Jesus did. I am thankful that my life (despite the pool of unintelligence I have to wade through daily) is relative a day in the park… an amusement park… a big amusement park with lots of rides and fried junk food. I’ve got it good, and I am commanded to share what I have been blessed with to those in need – and to do it in God’s name and in an effective manner.

So, happy cynical Thanksgiving!

The AP had a great article taking a critical look at this steaming pile of Obama-vanity [full article]. An excerpt:

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama was less than upfront in his half-hour commercial Wednesday night about the costs of his programs and the crushing budget pressures he would face in office.

Obama’s assertion that “I’ve offered spending cuts above and beyond” the expense of his promises is accepted only by his partisans. His vow to save money by “eliminating programs that don’t work” masks his failure throughout the campaign to specify what those programs are—beyond the withdrawal of troops from Iraq.

Marxism aside… Obama, a devout Muslim Black-Liberation-Christian, apparently made quite an impression with al-Qaeda who issued a public prayer of support hoping for a big GOP defeat:

O God, humiliate Bush and his party, O Lord of the Worlds, degrade and defy him.

~al-Qaeda web Internet video posting – reported by Reuters

Unfortunately for al-Qaeda, the prayer (as with all their prayers) went directly to Satan who, already supporting Obama, merely returned to his TiVo to finish watching his favorite daily show “Today’s 115,000 Abortions – Uncensored!”

Anyways… if you made the mistake like I did and found yourself catching even a small glimpse of Obama’s socialist vision last night, you can purge the darkness from your mind with a little light (in lieu of chemical inebriation). Here’s a few short video gems to clear things up faster than mental prunes.

Score a theological slam-dunk to the Catholics… who show that they know “what’s more important” better than some of their Protestant brethren:

And another video. Ahhh… straight talk from a soldier who was on the ground (rather than from artsy, hippie, student-freaks who think they all-of-a-sudden know so much about war). This was YouTube’s number one political video of this election (by viewings, I guess):

Blog Action Day is an annual nonprofit event that aims to unite the world’s bloggers, podcasters and videocasters, to post about the same issue on the same day. Our aim is to raise awareness and trigger a global discussion.

This year’s issue is poverty. Let’s be honest… poverty sucks. Nobody who’s in poverty wants to be there. So why is anyone in poverty? What’s the root cause of poverty? Can we do anything about it?

Talking about poverty in the United States seems a little like talking about electricity within the Amish community — we have it, but not much of it (relative to the world), and in seemingly different flavors and for different reasons. I’ve seen some poverty both in the US and in other countries… and frankly, our poverty appears lame by comparison. My wife, who volunteers in a local shelter and has also been to many more regions of the world than I have, has an even clearer perspective. My lineage comes from Armenia… a place with serious, serious poverty. My wife and I support a little girl in Bolivia through Compassion International. And there are of course many, many more places around the globe that are so poor it makes Western poverty look like the Hamptons. I guess it’s relative. Is it?

So how do we end poverty? Well… we don’t. For me as a Christ-follower I’m called to fight poverty, but not to END it. We’re NEVER going to end poverty. You can’t end poverty any more than you can end indigestion or greed. Poverty is the result of humanity’s fallen-ness and depravity. We are by nature very clever and slightly evil. Anyone who’s spent any time at a homeless shelter knows that some people, no matter how much wealth they’re given, will be impoverished again eventually.

Ok, so how do we fight poverty? And even more importantly for Christ-followers like me… how do we fight poverty in a way that glorifies God, rather than in a way that glorifies secular humanism. One of the best scriptural assessments I’ve found anywhere addressing this issue was this article here, titled The Cause and Cure of Poverty, written by John Armstrong for Mark Driscoll’s TheResurgence blog. My own attempt to directly word-tackle this issue would seem pathetic next to John’s article… so just read his! Seriously!

Some excerpts:

What causes poverty? The question presently plagues many serious Christian thinkers and leaders. The answers vary but the proposed solutions are the stuff of our political campaigns every four years. We can already hear the discussion from the various candidates for the presidency in 2008, both Republican and Democrat.

[...]

…Capitalism is deeply rooted in the Judeo-Christian moral code. (This is not to defend all that Adam Smith, the so-called father of modern capitalism, wrote since Smith made mistakes as any theorist will.) …Capitalism is not rooted in greed at all, as is falsely argued by numerous Christian activists today. …Capitalism, when it is rightly understood, is rooted in altruism. And it is fundamentally based upon creativity, the creativity of both service and wealth. …Wealth is good, something many pious Christians have a hard time appreciating.

[...]

Simply put, capitalism creates new wealth, it doesn’t simply capture it or steal it from others.

Think about the much-maligned Wal-Mart chain. Politicians, and the various critics of modern forms of American capitalism, routinely attack Wal-Mart even though their overall record as a company is generally one of helping create jobs, of providing goods at cheaper prices and of stimulating creative economic changes. Yes, mom and pop stores do suffer when Wal-Mart moves to town. But that is the nature of the system. Mom and pop will have to adjust. The spirit of freedom allows them to do exactly that if they become creative enough to work better within the free-market system.

[...]

Socialism always destroys personal freedoms by trying to plan for other lives through a central government system that watches out for you. (This is why President Reagan once quipped that the worst words you could ever hear were these: “I’m from the government and I’m here to help you!”) Capitalism allows you to plan for yourself. It allows for creativity and enterprise. Furthermore, it encourages people to provide for others in order to express their creativity through goods and services. Greed is, in reality, inimical to capitalism. Greed drives the welfare state more than it does capitalism since greedy people want unearned rewards to be given to them by a benevolent government that levels the playing field. Such a system directly causes people to petition governments to solve their personal problems, and the bigger the government’s role becomes the worse the nightmare.

The problem with liberal economic state-based solutions is that they undermine this cycle of personal success and initiative. Capitalism allows even “the wretched of the earth” to succeed. Envy and greed create wars and revolutions. Witness the great twentieth century bloodbaths, most of which revolved around economic thoughts and the role of government in engineering material possession and seeking to level the playing field economically.

[...]

Many young Christians are being sold a bill of goods about the evils of capitalism by evangelical writers such as Ron Sider, Tony Campolo and Jim Wallis. The intentions of these men are generally good. They desire equality, which is good. They also hate injustice and racism. This is also very good. But the equality of means and income is not the basis of real freedom. Even lifting everyone out of poverty is not possible since poverty is rooted in much more than access to more money.

Indeed, it seems too many Christian folks are buying into a form of humanist socialism as a means to address society’s social justice issues. Their heart may be in the right place… but Christ tells us that WE (His followers) are the ones who are supposed to be doing that work IN HIS NAME, so that HE get’s the glory rather than some socialist system. So rather than pay higher taxes into an impersonal, godless system of idiotic wealth redistribution we should be supporting free markets and lower taxes so that not only is new wealth is created for all, but so we have more personal income to directly invest (both with our money and volunteer time) into Christ-honoring ministries that fight poverty and win souls.

Free market capitalism and lower taxation actually become a major part of the Christ-follower’s fight against poverty — surprise surprise.

I live in the socialist Northeast where any slightly critical remark that could be remotely interpreted as possibly applying to a specific culture or race is totally and extremely offensive — unless, of course, you’re poking fun at rednecks/Southerners (which to ignorant Northeasters are the same people), or Christians. Oh yes… up in the Northeast you can rip any folks with a Southern twang, and any Christians who actually believe what they say they believe, up one side and down the other… and it’s okay!?

Specifically, there are these so-called redneck jokes. These little gems get passed around in email just as much by fellow rednecks (getting a chuckle laughing at themselves) as by ignorant urban bigots sipping their pansy lattes. I think it says a lot about a race or culture when they can laugh at themselves, and I guess that means it says a lot about a race or culture that CANNOT laugh at themselves [you know who you are].

Anyways… in the vein of the proto-typical “You might be a redneck if…” I actually just received an email that put a new spin on this format. I’m repeating it here with my own personal touches and a few sharper barbs. Here goes…

You might be a redneck if…

• it never occurred to you to be offended by the phrase “one nation, under God”… or by seeing the 10 Commandments posted in public places… or by hearing “Merry Christmas” instead of “Happy Winter Holiday”
• you bow your head when someone prays, and you don’t feel uncomfortable or ashamed when you they get to the “In Jesus’ name… Amen” part
• your music talks about hard work, being honest, and fighting for your country… more than it talks about selling drugs, hitting women, and committing murder
• you stand up straight (if able), remove your hat, and place your hand over your heart when you hear the National Anthem
• you treat our armed forces veterans with great respect, and always have
• you’ve never burned an American flag, never picketed a military recruiting center, and never shouted into the face of a policeman
• you know what you believe and you aren’t afraid to say so, no matter how many leftist censors are listening
• you raised your kids to respect their elders, say please and thank you, and own up to their own mistakes
• you’d give your last dollar to a friend… or drive your pickup over to help a neighbor… or deliver a veterans’ widow some dry firewood on a cold winter day… or fight a raging fire inside a stranger’s home

The truth of the matter is that if the United States had twice the rednecks it does… it’d be ten times the country it is.

Which reminds me of another redneck joke I received that I feel paints an accurate picture of that culture:

The Pentagon announced TODAY the formation of a new 500-man elite fighting unit called the United States Redneck Special Forces (USRSF).

[insert picture of rednecks holding ridiculously sized rifles]

These boys will be dropped off in Iraq and given only the following info on terrorists:

1. The season opened today
2. There is no limit
3. They taste just like chicken
4. They don’t like beer, pickups, country music or Jesus
5. They are directly responsible for the death of Dale Earnhardt