November 26, 2008

An American Thanksgiving

Every year as the holidays approach, I am struck by God's goodness and am reminded of how much I am thankful for all year (and I am also struck how much I take for granted and therefor am ungrateful for). I'm talking in general about Thanksgiving but I am especially grateful for what the upcoming Christmas will celebrate, the birth of our our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. [Is 9:6 ESV]).

And then I have to go and read something like this: The true focus of Thanksgiving. Just amazing isn't it? What lengths man will go to to deny the one, true God. Given the above quote by the author regarding this proclamation for a day of Thanksgiving in 1777, I decided to look it up myself in our recently purchased copy of The Christian Life and Character of the Civil Institutions of the U.S. (which I would recommend for any family interested in our true Christian heritage). I found the reference with a bit more detail that I thought you might be interested in reading:
Saturday, November 1, 1777

The committee appointed to prepare a recommendation to the several States to set apart a day of public thanksgiving, brought in a report, which was taken into consideration and agreed to, as follows—Forasmuch as it is the indispensable duty of all men to adore the superintending providence of Almighty God, to acknowledge with gratitude their obligations to him for benefits received, and to implore such further blessings as they stand in need of; and it having pleased him in his abundant mercy not only to continue to us the innumerable bounties of his common providence, but also to smile upon us in the prosecution of a just and necessary war for the defence and establishment of our inalienable rights and liberties, particularly in that he hath been pleased in so great a measure to prosper the means used for the support of our troops and to crown our arms with most signal success: it is, therefore, recommended to the legislative or executive powers of these United States to set apart Thursday, the 18th day of December, for solemn thanksgiving and praise; that with one heart and one voice the good people may express the grateful feelings of their hearts and consecrate themselves to the service of their Divine Benefactor, and that together with their sincere acknowledgments of kind offerings they may join the penitent confession of their manifold sins, whereby they had forfeited every favor, and their humble and earnest supplication that it may please God, through the merits of Jesus Christ, mercifully to forgive and blot them out of remembrance; that it may please him graciously to afford his blessing on the Governments of these States respectively, and prosper the public councils of the whole; to inspire our commanders both by land and sea, and all under them, with that wisdom and fortitude which may render them fit instruments, under the providence of Almighty God, to secure for these United States the greatest of all blessings independence and peace; that it may please him to prosper the trade and manufactures of the people and the labor of the husbandman, that our land may yield its increase; to take schools and seminaries of education, so necessary for cultivating the principles of true liberty, virtue, and piety, under his nurturing hand, and to prosper the means of religion for the promotion and enlargement of that kingdom which consisteth in righteousness, peace, and joy in the holy Ghost. And it is further recommended that servile labors and such, recreations as, though at other times innocent, may be unbecoming the purpose of this appointment, be omitted on so solemn an occasion.

Friday, November 7, 1777

Ordered, That a duplicate of the recommendation to the several States to set apart a day of thanksgiving, signed by the President, be sent to the several States and to General Washington
and General Gates.

The proceedings of Congress were sent to all the States by Henry Laurens, President in Congress, with an official request that each Governor would be pleased to take the necessary measures for carrying the resolve into effect in the State over which he presided. Washington, when the above proclamation reached him, was on his march to Valley Forge, and halted his whole army during the day, and the chaplains held religious services with their several corps and brigades, upon which the commander-in-chief exhorted all officers and soldiers to “attend with reverence the solemnities of the day.”
I wonder if, after reading the above, most Americans would be humbled at all? I wonder how such a proclamation from our nation's founders would be received by the public today? By the ACLU? By the Freedom from Religion Foundation? By Americans United for Separation of Church and State?

A proclamation which makes it very clear whom we should be worshipping and giving thanks to. And what about that mention of Jesus Christ! Surely our founding fathers were not fit to govern our new nation as they clearly had no respect for the "separation of church and state." Clearly they were laying a foundation which would crumble as quickly as it was laid.

How far we have fallen. God's patience and longsuffering are miracles in and of themselves. Why He has not obliterated mankind, let alone our depraved nation which was founded upon a foundation in Jesus Christ and the Bible as its highest authority, is unfathomable.
"if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land" [2Ch 7:14 ESV]
My brothers and sisters in Christ, it is time to pray. It is time to live like true disciples of Christ (and, with all due respect, that means more than just lip service, we need to walk the talk) and not like those of the world. We need God. We have always needed Him but unfortunately we do not live like it. How much farther do we need to fall before His church decides radical action is needed? Hopefully we will not wait too long.

Soli Deo Gloria! And Happy Thanksgiving (as our founding fathers intended it!)

November 20, 2008

Time For Change (And I Ain't Talkin' Obama)

Today's story out of WORLD magazine has an article by Cal Thomas titled, "The other deficit" which challenged me. I think it confirms what I have come to know not only about life today in the United States of America but with the Christian roots of our nation. The more and more Lydia and I dig into American history (that which has real truth in it and has not been significantly revised by the liberal educational establishment), the more we realize what has been hidden from us.

Here are some quotes from Cal's article:
"For the third straight year, the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI) has found that a large number of Americans cannot pass a basic 33-question civic literacy test on their country's history and institutions."

"The random sample of 2,508 American adults, ranging from those without high school diplomas, to people with advanced degrees, revealed a minimal difference in civic literacy between the uneducated and the highly educated."

"Ignorance of America's history and heritage is a setup for politicians and others who want to manipulate us into a way of thinking that allows them to make decisions that are unconstitutional and unwise. More than repeating phrases and figures, knowledge of the past prepares us for a future based on unchanging principles. That's why knowledge matters and ignorance endangers our government and threatens our way of life even more than terrorism."

"ISI calls on everyone involved in education, including parents, to re-evaluate curricula and standards of accountability and to emphasize to students the fundamentals about our country. It notes Thomas Jefferson's admonition: "If a nation expects to be ignorant and free ... it expects what never was and never will be.""
Do people really understand how far we've fallen? Do you? Probably not; because we have little true history to see where we've came from and why our Founding Fathers created the civil government and educational system in the ways that they did.

I recently scanned through a DVD from WallBuilders which is most excellent (in what I did happen to see) for those who want to understand how our Founding Fathers used the Bible to form the foundation of our government and educational institutions. I hope to have a full review of it sometime in the near future (which will likely consist of nothing more than "Go buy this DVD immediately and watch it ten times within the next month" or something like that).

I've recently started reading a book by Cornelius Plantinga (
Engaging God's World: A Christian Vision of Faith, Learning, and Living) in which he starts the book by detailing the original mission statements of our nation's original colleges, including Harvard, Yale, etc. which desired above all else to bring glory to God by providing a biblically-based higher education that taught their students how to live ALL of life using the Bible as a gauge for everything. It's making me quite sick when I compare the founding intent to what they are teaching today. Anyways, I'm only through the introduction and first chapter and I've already highlighted more text than not!

Interesting side note: I just spell-checked the preceding paragraph and "biblically" was marked as being incorrect. I just went to the Merriam-Webster site and they seem to know what this word is. But blogger/Google does not? Should I be suspicious? Nah...

What follows are the links for Cal's article, the ISI report, the civics quiz and DVD info:
The Other Deficit

Our Fading Heritage

Civics quiz

The Influence of the Bible on America
UPDATE: I totally forgot about this FOX News video I posted in yesterday's headlines. Fits in perfectly:
God expelled?

November 18, 2008

What Are They So Afraid Of?

The latest battleground is down in Texas where scientists, teachers and boards of education are wrestling over the issue of evolution, intelligent design and creationism. Today's post is about a recent article in the Dallas Morning News which is the latest salvo from the scientific community.

Not only are they petrified of Intelligent Design (ID) and Creationism, they don't want children to be provided with any information which might suggest that there are weaknesses in their grand "theory" of evolution (which Charles Darwin himself suggested how his theory could be debunked which has largely come true but the elitist professionals refuse to acknowledge it).
95% Of Professors Back Teaching Only Evolution In Texas Schools
We know what they're afraid of:
Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. [Php 2:9-11 ESV]
And we know why they have no defense in hiding behind their "science" of evolution:
For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. [Romans 1:19-23 ESV]

November 14, 2008

Atheism Outreach Crosses the Pond

What started out as a whim over in the UK:
All aboard the atheist bus campaign

An Unbelievable Challenge -- A Look At Atheist Public Relations

Atheist Posters Are ‘Great Adverts For Christianity’, Says Think Tank
has now made its way onto U.S. soil:
God, Humbug: Humanist Holiday Ads Say Just Be Good

Billboard: "Don't Believe In God? - You Are Not Alone."
What are your thoughts? Would you honestly be able to speak intelligently about how to reasonably argue for the existence of God? Why His existence is crucial for a proper understanding of life? What about crafting the argument to lift up the God of the Bible over the gods of Islam, Mormonism, Hinduism or ...? What about it being an excellent opportunity to transition this spiritual conversation into the area of evangelism to show what man's true problem is and why Jesus Christ is the only answer?

UPDATE: Another article from the Wall Street Journal:
Atheists Reach Out -- Just Don't Call It Proselytizing

Merry Tossmas!

Focus on the Family has just rolled out the 2008 video for the Tossmas campaign. Enjoy!

Merry Tossmas 2008

Focus on the Family Action’s 2008 Christmas-Friendly Shopping Guide

Tolerance Is as Tolerance Does

Here's a set of recent press articles detailing the reaction to the passage of Proposition 8 in the state of California (which is trying to preserve the definition of marriage as being only between a man and a woman - you know - like God intended).

And it would seem that those asking for tolerance of their "lifestyle" aren't exactly being too tolerant themselves. What do you think?

So Much for Tolerance
The Aftermath of Prop 8

'Mormon Scum': Gay Marriage Backers Focus Anger On Church

Mormon Church In Orangevale Vandalized In Wake Of Prop. 8 Vote

White Powder Sent To Mormon Temples In Utah, LA

Video: Bill O'Reilly Talking Points

Cross-Bearing Elderly Woman Attacked by Gay Marriage Supporters, May Press Charges

UPDATE: Here's some recent commentary from the Christian blogging world:

Undermining Democracy

Retaliation against the other side