Realmscapes

Pentecost: Week 4, Galatians 5:1-15

"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery."

One Nation, Under God, With Liberty

I recently came across a remarkable quote that was referenced in one of the introductions to W. Cleon Skousen's excellent The 5000 Year Leap: A Miracle That Changed the World. The quote is itself from a book by Peter Marshall called The Rebirth of America. In that book Mr Marshall says to every generation, "The choice before us is plain, Christ or chaos, conviction or compromise, discipline or or disintegration. I am rather tired of hearing about our rights and privileges as American citizens. The time is come, it is now, when we ought to hear about the duties and responsibilities of our citizenship. America's future depends upon her accepting and demonstrating God's government."

God's government.

It is rarely taught in history classes these days, but the great majority of the signers of the Declaration of Independence were men of absolute God-ly conviction (admittedly in the spirit of their heroes, Locke and Calvin), if not practicing traditional Christians. Before them, the pilgrims came to Plymouth Rock seeking to build a Christian community that could worship freely apart from the 17th century oppressions of the Church of England. It was paramount to the Founders that a union of free states could only be successful if the church remained free from control of the state to accomplish its divine mission while at the same time maintaining a vital influence in American communities. This important ideal was solidified in words when President Eisenhower, inspired by the words of a pastor he heard one Sunday morning, signed a law that added "under God" to the "Pledge of Allegiance".

In the digital age the default definition of the separation of church and state has evolved from Bible instruction in 18th century New England grammar schools to the outright eviction of God from our political buildings and education. In order to justify such movements as pro-choice and pro-homosexuality rights, judges at every level of the U.S. justice system as well as Constitutional law educators and organisations have embraced a progressive "freedom from religion" interpretation of the First Amendment that is wholly contrary to the Founders original intent.

Other than in the Declaration of Independence where "Life" is clearly identified as sacred to the American moral fabric, nowhere is this intent more plain than in Article III of the Northwest Ordinance--an act unanimously passed by the same Congress that would ratify the United States Constitution almost a year later--where it is written, "Religion, morality, and knowledge being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall be forever encouraged."

George Washington reaffirmed this stance in his Farewell Address (1796) written to the new American nation: "Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports.... Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail to the exclusion of religious principle." This Address was not meant as the mere swansong of an American patriarch, but a real call to awareness that is as relevant right now as it was to the United States in the twilight of the 18th century. The Farewell Address was published while much of Europe was squarely in the middle of the bloodlust-chaos that characterised the French Revolution; God and morals were deemed expendable as the French people searched for a new identity. The result was a country that threw off its unwanted monarchy only to be seized by a God-less dictator who would plunge the whole continent into war for over a decade.

In 1831, French political philosopher Alexis de Tocqueville, was touring the United States and wrote often on the positive relationship between faith, citizenship, and government in the U.S. Growing up in post-Napoleon Europe, de Tocqueville was pleasantly encouraged by the energy and integrity of the Christian-American landscape. His observances were published in his famous Democracy in America (1835) and included insights such as, "The revolutionists of America are obliged to profess an ostensible respect for Christian morality and equity, which does not permit them to violate wantonly the laws that oppose their designs.... Thus, while the law permits the Americans to do what they please, religion prevents them from conceiving, and forbids them to commit, what is rash or unjust." I fear that de Tocqueville would be terribly disappointed to find the America he experienced gravitating towards the cynical, anti-religion European attitudes that emerged in his day. Much less because Americans no longer hold to Christian principle, but more because modern American government, law, and culture is being allowed to stifle Christian morality.

God has promised to bless any nation that places their trust on him. This does not mean that the United States won't face hardship or tragedy. We do ourselves a great disservice if we blame God when such events occur as part of a world cursed with original sin. This curse means that political freedom is never guaranteed; our men and women in uniform pay for it daily through their courage and sacrifice. The day may still be coming when the U.S. is reduced in its influence, and perhaps even its freedoms. What do we do then?

Paul reminds us in his letter to the Galatians of a different, and far more valuable, freedom that has been won for us by our Saviour, God's Son, Jesus. This is where our focus needs to be. It is our duty as a God-serving, freedom-loving people to aid those who are less fortunate in their political freedoms. But more important is our duty as Christians to proclaim the liberty of the human heart, broken under the crushing weight of sin and death. This eternal liberty is guarenteed for those with the spiritual strength to believe and provides citizenship in a heavenly nation comprised of God's people. This citizenship can never be taken from us by any force man-made, natural, or supernatural.

God's Word was not written for political advice or pop culture commentary, but it does speak clearly of God's plan of salvation marked by humanity's "Independence Day"--Easter.

More Than Just National Security

With the Obama Administration scrapping alliances--some decades old--with the UK, Israel, Germany, Canada, and Honduras it comes as no surprise that Iraq is next on the list of crossed-off countries. Vice President Biden has taken the opportunity of his arrival to greet the troops, but not just to see how they are doing. A passing comment made to Prime Minister Maliki reported by Bloomberg is laying subtle structure for the Obama Administration to pull out of Iraq. The situation in Iraq is a key issue from the campaign and one that Obama has not indicated (to the consternation of his supporters) that he will fulfill. Afterall, in his mind he doesn't want failure in a war hated by liberals to be a mark on his presidency like the Johnson-bungled Vietnam War was on Nixon's.

But there is more at stake in Iraq than just the political and sectarian stability of that country. There is a growing Christian community there; although God's work can bear fruit under any circumstance a democratic Iraq will certainly make that work in Iraq go much smoother.

The same can be said in Honduras where there is a lot of ongoing Christian work including from my own church organisation. But the Obama Administration's decision to withold military support from Honduras because he supports the outed and former Honduran President, Manuel Zalaya does not bode well for the Christian missions there. Hugo Chavez, President of Venezuela, a fierce opponent of the democratic Honduran gov't, and a manipulator of God's Word, is considering military involvement of his country to restore Zalaya to power. Without U.S. military backing, which has been part of U.S. policy since the 80s, Honduras stands little chance against Chavez's military strength.

Rush: The MN Senatorial Recount, Honduras "Coup"

"Okay, the Minnesota Supreme Court has said it's over and Franken is the winner. You know, it's just like they recounted the votes in Iran, folks, and Ahmadinejad actually got more votes after the recount! It's just like in this country. In Minnesota, after the original vote count, Norm Coleman was ahead. And in every recount thereafter, Franken got more votes, the loser. It's amazing the similarities in the Minnesota electoral system and that in Iran."

...

"There's a constitution. The current president wanted to violate it and continued to serve in office. The Supreme Court and the legislature there both agreed he couldn't do so. He ignored them. Then the military came in and replaced him. There was no violence, as you say. And as it is now, you have dictators Chavez and Castro along with the US President Barack Obama agreeing with the hopeful dictator of Honduras. It is an amazing and breathtaking thing to watch. I have some comments about this after you tell us what else you wanted to say about it.

Bolton, On Current Foreign Policy Initiaves

A great column by John Bolton re: the Obama Admin foreign policy, "Obama continues Bush's 2nd term -- badly":

"Conservative foreign policy is unabashedly pro-American, unashamed of American exceptionalism, unwilling to bend its knee to international organizations, and unapologetic about the need for the fullest range of dominant military capabilities. Its diplomacy is neither unilateralist nor multilateralist, but chooses its strategies, tactics, means and methods based on a hard-headed assessment of U.S. national interests, not on theologies about process. Most especially, conservatives understand that allies are different from adversaries, and that each should be treated accordingly.

...

Overseas "apology tours," public displays of empathy and inviting the likes of Iran to Fourth of July receptions at our embassies will not alter these underlying realities. Nor will reducing national-security budgets on such key items as missile defense and advanced weapons systems (while dramatically increasing unnecessary and inevitably inflationary domestic spending) make our adversaries more amenable to sweet reason. Sadly, such gratuitous indications of self-doubt and weakness only encourage the very adversaries whose favor we are currying."

Christianity: A History, Parts 1-4 (2009)

The UK's Channel 4 aired an eight-part documentary on the history of Christianity in January and February of this year. More accurately, it is eight chronological commentaries on Christian history. The commentaries of the first four parts are written by a "cultural" Jewish authour/journalist, a non-practicing Catholic and former British Defense Minister (under John Major), an African-Caribbean Christian theologian, and a Muslim former BBC correspondent covering the Iraqi front on the War on Terror. All commentators are British citizens so the documentary is wholly written for a British audience.

One should be warned that where it may be interesting to see a history of the Christian religion presented in this way, the commentators are fully allowed to editorialize their views in the documentary. The result is sometimes a cynical if not outright critical view of the Christian faith--or at least the Catholic tradition of it. And that is another note I would like to make: in the first four parts, anyway, Christianity = Catholicism; there is scant mention of Protestantism, and when the narrators speak with clergy it is usually Catholic. So in a sense, the first half of this doc is more a criticism of the Catholic Church than the whole Christian community.. but that doesn't always soften the blows.

Here I review and grade the written content of the first four parts. At present, you can view the entire series on YouTube in High Quality. I watched it on my 32" HDTV and it looked marvelous. Despite the criticisms within the various parts, the production values are outstanding. There is very little one can say about seeing the Holy Land, Vatican architecture, and 7th Century English landscapes in widescreen even while the narrator may be criticizing the history. (It must have looked breathtaking in HD, if it was broadcast that way.) If you can get past some of the commentary, then I highly recommend this documentary for its aesthetic feast for the eyes and ears.

25 Recommended Christian/Gospel Albums

These are our favourite Christian music albums that we also highly recommend. This isn't a traditional "best of" list since there are some top-selling artists that have best-selling records who just aren't among the selection of artists that we listen to. These are not in any particular order:

4th June 1942 - The Anniversary of the Battle of Midway

An outstanding piece about this vital WWII battle. Here is an excerpt:

"When early June rolls around each year, June 6th is accorded a great deal of reverence for the well-known events of the Normandy landings of 1944. On the decadal anniversary years, there are major ceremonies and there is extensive news coverage.

Sadly, an equally (at least) important anniversary on June 4th goes largely neglected. On June 4th 1942, an outnumbered American fleet won a staggering upset victory over the Imperial Japanese Navy in the waters near Midway Island. This battle was arguably the single most important military action by the United States during the entire 20th century.

However, Midway remains largely forgotten and uncelebrated; the only “observance” I can recall on the milestone 50th anniversary back in 1992 was that one of the networks showed the slightly-loosely based-on-events Hollywood movie of the battle’s name.

Midway deserves better than that - and the story deserves to be told anew. Hence, we tell that story here."

Uninspired Yanks in Costa Rica

Jamie Trekker got it right on in his column this morning. But he--and many others--have been sounding the warning bell for months about the terrible atmosphere that is the U.S. National Soccer Team. 2010 in South Africa is fixing to be a disaster in a competition where the world would love to embarrass the United States. Bradley lusterless countenance has done nothing for America's game, except to make it listless and uncompetitive against top world teams.

It is disheartening that the USF seemingly could care less. That they don't apparently note that Klinsmann is once again available and would likely helm USA if given the right to authority and control he has earned. Nah. USF is too busy rolling in the laurels and patting each other on the back that more of Team USA plays overseas than in MLS. Whoop.

Quotes for 2009, On The Two Recent Terrorist Acts in America

"The stories of two very different lives with similar fates crossed through the media’s hands yesterday - both equally important but one lacked the proper attention. The death of 67-year old George Tiller was unacceptable, but equally disgusting was another death that police believe was politically and religiously motivated as well.

"William Long died yesterday. The 23-year old Army Recruiter was gunned down by a fanatic; another fellow soldier was wounded in the ambush. The soldiers had just completed their basic training and were talking to potential recruits, just as my son, Track, once did.

"Whatever titles we give these murderers, both deserve our attention. Violence like that is no way to solve a political dispute nor a religious one. And the fanatics on all sides do great disservice when they confuse dissention with rage and death."

- Governor Sarah Palin

"..."

- President Barack Obama

25 Most Outstanding Women of Sci-Fi & Fantasy (Film/TV)

Total SciFi Online posted their 25, but here are ours since we either don't agree or haven't seen certain movies or shows on their list; a character is on this list for plot not necessarily because we endorse a particular film's overall execution of certain elements e.g. violence, sexual material. Also, we chose mostly heroes, because it's always easy to be evil. These aren't in any particular order ("*" means it was also included on TSO's list):

25 Best Film Scores

These are our picks from films or TV miniseries that we have seen. Most of these are (or have been) available on CD. These are not in any particular order:

25 Best Conservative Movies

National Review Online posted their 25, but here are ours since we either don't agree or haven't seen certain movies on their list; a film is on this list for plot not necessarily because we endorse a particular film's overall execution of certain elements e.g. violence, sexual material. These aren't in any particular order ("*" means it was also included on NRO's list):

24: Day 7 (2009)

This was Kas and my first foray into the world of 24. (It technically started when we caught the special TV film, 24: Redemption.) Whatever criticisms the show had from recent seasons, "Day 7" had to have redeemed itself.

24 is the kind of show that is must-see TV for Americans. It should be screened in high schools to help our teens understand the 21st Century world. Yes, post-9/11 world as well, but terrorism is really not a new phenomenon in this country. The difference between 9/11 and, say, the 1993 attacks was that 9/11 happened live on our TV sets; it was reality TV that unfortunately was not scripted or in a controlled environment. And it did not have an ending where only a few dozen people were affected.

Additionally, 24 brings the political debates that are part of the War on Terror into sharp focus. At the start of the show, Jack Bauer is facing a Senate Committee to answer for the various methods he has used an agent in the now defunct Counter-Terrorism Unit (CTU) branch of the CIA. During the show, Jack soberly accepts the hearing as necessary so that the American people can be presented with the truth of his actions and decide for themselves if he (and the hundreds of agents like him) are out of line ethically or legally, and it us understood that Jack has no regrets.

In the current political climate where major elected officials, including U.S. Presidents, are debating these same questions, the whole show effectively presents the case of all those fighting terrorism to the viewer honestly and intelligently, as well as the case of those who firmly believe that the law cannot be bent even one millimeter. The show's writers leave up to you to decide who presents the best case for their argument. Jack presents his case to a fictitious Senator well--the same Senator who grills him at the start of the season--when he confronts the Senator about his politicizing of fighting a terrorist threat. His retort, "You, sir, are unwilling or unable to look evil in the eye and deal with it!" could be one leveled at several of our elected representatives...too many.

24 is not just about terrorism. It is also about life choices, and the characters of 24 are all faced with on-the-spot decisions that not only affect them but thousands of people--people that these characters may never meet. 24 gives people--of all walks of life, not just the political--the opportunity to be heroes and re-enforces that we all have the strength to commit selfless acts when faced with them. It also reminds that those selfless choices do not always end well for the hero. In relation to the previous paragraph, 24 reveals the result of these choices and therein also reminds us that we are all responsible for our choices, whether their result is seen immediately or over many years.

GRADE: A+

P.S. Oh, and 24 is also fun: there are several cool cameos by such stars as Tony Todd (Star Trek series, Stargate-SG1, Hercules), Peter Wingfield (Highlander), William O'Leary (Home Improvement), and Connor Trinneer (Star Trek: Enterprise, Stargate: Atlantis).

Quote for 2009, On Liberalism

"George Orwell wrote 1984, and in the book he created Newspeak: using language to mislead, to confuse and control. Some of the examples from 1984: War is peace; freedom is slavery; ignorance is strength. This is Newspeak in 1984. Now we have a real life addition to this given President Obamas speech at Notre Dame yesterday, and it is this: Morality is immoral. That's the message Obama delivered yesterday, morality is immoral. Pro-life is a moral position. Pro-life is the extremist position, rather instead of being a moral position. Pro-life is an extremist position, according to President Obama. The entire abortion debate is manipulated. There are two manipulations of the language. It's not about abortion. It's about choice. That's one manipulation of the language, and morality is not morality. It's extremism. Pro-life is the extreme position; pro-choice is the moderate or normal position. This is how the liberal mind works, this is how they do it, and the treachery here is spreading."

   - Rush Limbaugh

P.S. I encourage everyone to check out the original source of this quote, which is Rush's response to Obama's commencement address that he delivered at Notre Dame.

Quote for 2009, On Organised Religion

"[The] church is the church.  You find a religion, its faith. You ascribe to it and you go to it because it doesn't change. It's always there.  If a church, if a religion is going to change itself to stay in line with the congregation every six months or every year, it's not gonna become a church anymore. It's gonna become, you know, a social hall."

   - Rush Limbaugh