BaylyBlog: Out of our minds, too...

Injustice Ginsburg: "Reproductive rights need to be straightened out" and the morning-after pill will help...

(Tim, w/thanks to Kamilla and James) SCOTUS Little Lady, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, held forth in a long interview that ran in yesterday's New York Times. Ranging far afield for most of the interview, as always with the Times, the inevitable homing device kicked in and the interview came to a roaring end with our national bloodlust for baby-slaughter front and center:

New York Times: When you say that reproductive rights need to be straightened out, what do you mean?

JUSTICE GINSBURG: The basic thing is that the government has no business making that choice for a woman...

Marriage, fertility, and economic decline...

(Tim) My good brother, Bob Patterson, recently did a piece for National Review Online (NRO) that I commend to our readers. In an e-mail to friends, Bob summed up the argument he makes this way:

The decline in marriage and fertility rates among the Baby Boom generation stands at the heart of what presently ails the American economy. After noting the demographic concerns of former Fortune columnist David Goldman, I suggest that national GOP leaders can no longer ignore the interplay between social and economic issues if they want the party to make a comeback in 2010 or 2012.

Serving Christ in Cedar Rapids, Iowa...

(Tim) Two weeks ago, our high school men and women went over to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to serve those trying to recover from the terrible flood the community suffered last year. Led by their youth workers, David Abu-Sara, Veronica Allen, Abram Hess, Emily Hess, and Ryan Schnitzer, they returned reporting that the governmental authorities were not particularly helpful to the residents, being better at red tape than getting things done.

The work done by the group was coordinated by church planters, Jeremy Knapp and Michael Langer, of One Ancient Hope (PCA). Our men and women were given a place to sleep in the basement of Hope Evangelical Church (PCA).

The Iowa Independent ran an article on the post-flood political problems and our group made the blurb under one of the pictures...

AUL's short list for justice, with two notes to readers...

(Tim, w/thanks to James) Americans United for Life has long served as the principal legal arm of the antiabortion witness. Here's their short list of likely candidates as President Obama's nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court.

A couple comments...

Barack Obama rocks XXIII: At Notre Dame...

(Tim, w/thanks to Mick) A post over at the web site of the New York Times gives a blow by blow of President Obama's reception of an honorary doctorate and commencement address at Notre Dame this past weekened. Here's the text of the post, with comments interspersed:

Father Ted | 4:00 p.m. Near the end of his speech, President Obama spoke about the Civil Rights Commission, whose resolutions were the foundation of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

President Obama lays a garland on the tombs of dead and dying prophets.

One of the six members (one black and five whites) was the Rev. Theodore Hesburgh, then president of Notre Dame. Mr. Obama acknowledged how “Father Ted” brought the members of the commission to a retreat in Land O’Lakes, Wis., to break an impasse. Rev. Hesburgh found common ground when the men all spoke about being fishermen and took them on a twilight fishing trip.

"Father Ted" who on this day is giving no thought to the helpless little babies...

Liberals are liberal with taxpayers' money, not their own...

(Tim) President Obama's charitable contributions prior to being elected to public office a couple years ago were less than one percent. Less than one percent, folks!

And now, occupying the White House with a recent household income in the millions, his giving is lower than other presidents who have preceded him. (Probably with this public embarrassment, his giving will go up in future years.)

Turning to Vice President and Mrs. Joseph Biden...

President Barack Obama rocks XXII: But count Mary Ann Glendon out of the festivities...

(Tim, w/thanks to several) Lots of readers have sent links to pieces commenting on President Barack Obama's invitation to give the Commencement Address at Notre Dame University this spring despite Notre Dame's purported affiliation with the Roman Catholic Church and President Obama's consistent ghoulish advocacy of baby-slaughter.

Honestly, I've not had the heart to say anything about it. Not out of respect for Notre Dame or the lowest-common denominator Roman Catholicism she's represented for decades, now. To me, Notre Dame is football, a good home for the world's top sorta-reformed, kinda-Protestant, sorta-evangelical scholars like Marsden, Hatch, and Plantinga; but mostly the school that resides in the same town a few hours north that's called home by E. Michael Jones.

Then, today, several of you sent me the letter just released by Mary Ann Glendon announcing her change of mind concerning being present at Notre Dame's Commencement to accept Notre Dame’s Laetare Medal. God bless Mary Ann Glendon!

Here's her letter...

Not "the," but "these" United States...

(Tim) From my incomparable tutor in all things political for over thirty years, Joe Sobran, I learned of the existence of the Tenth Amendment, but also of its impotence in the hands of the crooks who have served on the U.S. Supreme Court in recent decades. Also from Sobran, I picked up the habit of never, ever, ever referring to "the United States," but always and only "these United States."

The past few years, Church of the Good Shepherd has had an influx of Texans who move here for a few years to complete their doctorates at IU. Most of them plan to return to the motherland so, half-seriously, I've told them of my wish that Texas would secede so I could move there...

Obama supporters claiming to be "pro-life" were never, really, opposed to abortion...

(Tim, from LifeSiteNews.com) Prior to the election, I found those who called themselves "pro-life" while shilling for Senator Barack Obama to be morally repugnant. Now, these hypocrites have had more than enough opportunities publicly to acknowledge their mistake; they've had weeks to cry "foul" or "I was misled by Senator Obama's lies concerning abortion;" yet they are silent.

Where are their protests? Where are they denouncing the aggressive promotion of abortion, internationally, that President Obama has given himself to since taking office at the White House? Where have the voices of Brian McLaren and Tony Campolo been raised in protest of President Obama's advocacy of child-slaughter? And turning to McLaren's and Campolo's useful simpletons, do any of them feel just the least bit betrayed and ashamed of their naivete?

It would be hard to prove, but I'm convinced that many of those who supported Senator Obama's presidential aspirations while claiming, themselves, to be Christian and pro-life were not pro-life at all, but rather, themselves often had had one or more abortions (or helped others to get one) and voted for Senator Obama as a coping mechanism employed to silence their conscience. And I do not say this from any anger at President Obama being elected to our nations highest elected office. Rather, it's my own personal observation.

Well, again, when guilt and complicity have silenced Emerjellicals, Rome speaks.

Here's Roman Catholic leadership that I, a Protestant Presbyterian pastor, agree with entirely..

Trust me, bookmark MoralAccountability.com...

(Tim) No links to Rob Bell's schlock, the deep and sensitive thoughts of Brian McLaren, the Christian Medical and Dental Society, Talbot Seminary's groundbreaking ethics and public policy think tank, faculty members at Wheaton College, or CTi journalists on this site. Ron Sider and Jim Wallis haven't made an appearance just yet--nor their "me too" buddy, Al Gore. There's been no sighting of Niel Nielson or Bryan Chapell--nor any of their professors, for that matter. In fact, no sign of anyone in the Presbyterian Church in America...

Doug Wilson on the National Prayer Breakfast...

(Tim) Those who think I'm Doug Wilson's sycophant because of how frequently I commend him to you are deluded. Yes, yes; I know he links to us here at Baylyblog in this post, but READ the post and tell me whether he doesn't say much better than I what needs to be said about all the evanjellicals who proved themselves saltless and dark at yesterday's National Prayer Breakfast. Once again, Doug's absolutely right. And not simply in his arguments, but in the pitch he adopts while making them.

President Obama booed at National Prayer Breakfast...

(Tim, w/thanks to Kamilla) In his address at the National Prayer Breakfast, today, President Obama warned of the grave dangers religious zealots pose to the enlightened commitment he and his Ivy League compatriots share, never to take "the life of an innocent human being:"

(F)ar too often, we have seen faith wielded as a tool to divide us from one another - as an excuse for prejudice and intolerance. Wars have been waged. Innocents have been slaughtered ... all in the name of perceived righteousness...

Be fruitful and multiply...

(Tim, w/thanks to Brett R.) Either children are a blessing from the Lord, the fruitful womb His reward; or Al Gore and Jonathan Porritt are right, and the days' likely to come soon when "persecuted is the man whose quiver is full." Check out this, from yesterday's Times. Here's a teaser...

And there arose up a new king over America, which knew not babies...

Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph. And he said unto his people, "Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we: Come on, let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply... (Exodus 1:8-10a)

(Tim, w/thanks to David G.) Here's a good reminder of who President Obama actually is, and what oppression and bloodshed have formed the cornerstone of his public service from its inception. And the Emergelicals? Well, this is precisely what they wanted, and still want. They're just not honest enough to admit it.

Pastor Conrad Mbewe issues African caution about President Obama...

(Tim) Readers may remember our introduction of Pastor Conrad Mbewe, leader of Zambia's vital Reformed churches. Conrad has started blogging. For several months we've had a link to him here at Baylyblog.

Two recent posts merit our readers' attention. The earlier one is a meditation on the current state of South Africa and the reformed church's witness there. David Wegener commends this post to us. The more recent post is Conrad's caution to fellow Africans caught up in the Messianic (my word) hopes of their continent concerning our latest president, Barack Obama. Both are worth your time.

As always, Pastor Mbewe is a wise living demonstration of the power of the Word of God wielded by a man of faith.

Open discusssion of the Inauguration and its prayers...

(Tim) Well, being in grief over the choice of a black oppressor of babies assuming our national throne, I didn't listen to a moment of the Inauguration coverage. And I'm not going looking for it, today.

This means I won't be writing about Rick Warren's prayer. It's simply too painful to look at the bloody mess. One of our pastors college men told me Pastor Warren made a large point of praying in Jesus' Name in many languages, and that he used the Lord's Prayer (which I think brilliant strategy). Other than that, I'm as pristine as the new-fallen snow.

But surely readers know more and have wise thoughts. This post, then, is simply to provide a place for any wisdom concerning the Inauguration and it's prayers you may have for readers.

President Obama: "Meet the new boss, same as..."

(Tim) Here’s the truth. Obama is the oppressor of children, born and unborn. But since his skin color is black, we can’t believe he’d oppress anyone. So we come out with all this blather about other social justice issues equally commanding our attention as Christians. Our goal, of course, is to obscure the fact that abortion absolutely dwarfs the death toll of all other forms of oppression around the world combined. That’s combined, brothers and sisters!

Why, just in these United States alone, since the bloody decision, Roe v. Wade, was issued, our nation has torn limb from limb, leg from torso, body from mother’s womb, over fifty million—50,000,0000—of our little children.

This number is so large that it makes Africans' Rwanda, Asians' Pol Pot, and Europeans' Hitler look tame by comparison. The only bloody oppressors who are even close to slaughtering the numbers we have slaughtered by our own national, systemic, bloody, oppressive, enslaving child-murders are Joseph Stalin and Mao Zedong.

But, get this: If instead of talking about the death toll in our nation alone, we consider the international death toll from child slaughter through the murders we call “abortions,” then we’re talking about one Joseph Stalin every year. That’s well over 50,000,000 children slaughtered EVERY SINGLE YEAR!

It’s disgusting for otherwise educated and thoughtful men to seek to legitimize their conniving at this great bloody oppression that defines our nation by sniveling about systemic poverty and education and secondhand smoke and carbon emissions and AIDS.

If men who claim to know the Triune God want to vote Democratic; if men who claim to know the Triune God and have faith in Jesus Christ have black skin and want to vote for another man with black skin; we’d all be better off if they’d have the courage of their prejudices and admit them... You know, something like, “I’m afraid of not appearing progressive enough.” Or “I’m afraid my congregation would have my hide if I didn’t speak up for the brother.”

An open letter to African brothers in Christ on the occasion of Obama's Inauguration...

(Tim; this from and by Rev. David Wegener of Ndola, Zambia)

* * *
This is an open letter from an American Reformed Christian living in Africa to my African Christian friends on the occasion of the Inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the U.S.A.

20 January 2009

Dear African Christian Brother:

I would ask you to pray for your brothers and sisters in Christ in the church in America, particularly for those who believe in the complete truthfulness of Scripture.

I’ve just begun a new term at the college and one of the courses I teach is a survey of church history. Last week we learned about Polycarp, the bishop of Smyrna, who was asked to curse Christ or die. The old man replied, “for 86 years I have served Him and He has done me no wrong. How can I blaspheme my King who saved me?” Minutes after making this good confession he was burned alive... We also read about Blandina, a slave girl who endured indescribable tortures before being killed for her faith. In a few weeks we’ll study Athanasius, who was exiled from his pastorate five times because of his faith in our triune God and his willingness to stand alone against the world for the faith once and for all delivered to the saints.

John the Baptist's moral performance narrative...

(Tim: This from and by Eric Wilson)

Scene: Children sitting in the marketplace...

Aaron: As exciting as it's been to see and hear of the ministry of Jesus of Nazareth, I could hardly be more disappointed in John the Baptist, lately. I just don’t understand what he was trying to do.

Bartholomew: Really, it’s not that surprising. He always struck me as caught up in the "moral-performance narrative"...

The deaf, dumb, and blind god of our many idolatries...

(Tim, w/thanks to Sarah Pulliam) Here's the prayer Bad Bishop Gene Robinson gave at the We Are One blowout at the Lincoln Memorial, yesterday.

O God of our many understandings...

Rick Warren, Gene Robinson, Barack Obama and the false presence of the Kingdom of God...

When I say to the wicked, "O wicked man, you will surely die," and you do not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require from your hand. (Ezekiel 33:8)

(Tim, w/thanks to Michael) According to the Washington Post, Pastor Rick Warren issued a statement praising President-elect Barack Obama for his selection of Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson to call down God's blessing on our nation and new president during the Inaugural weekend. Robinson, a man infamous internationally due to his promotion of sodomy in the Name of Jesus Christ, is, according to Warren, a good choice because it is one more indication that Senator Obama has a "genuine commitment to bringing all Americans of goodwill together in search of common ground." Warren concludes concerning Senator Obama's selection of Robinson, "I applaud his desire to be the president of every citizen."

It sounds good. I could almost hear myself saying the same. But then you stop to think about it and you realize this is one more step in the silencing of the witness of the Church of Jesus Christ. Such statements are precisely the thing warned against...

The Bad Bishop "will be careful not to be especially Christian..."

(Tim w/thanks to David W.) For those concerned about the privileging of mainstream evangelical civic religion represented by President-elect Obama's invitation to Rick Warren to give the inaugural invocation, the tide's come in and you may rest easy. Bishop Gene Robinson has also been asked to pray. He'll hold forth during the Inaugural weekend at the Lincoln Memorial, and both Obama and Biden will attend.

Readers will recall that the Bad Bishop Robinson is a committed, self-affirming sodomite whose elevation to the bishopric has torn the Anglican communion asunder. Robinson is not blushing over the entire world discussing the nature of the sexual couplings he's been choosing most recently. In fact, he's quite proud to be a spokesman for the latest oppressed minority yearning to be free.

Proud of it?

Thus we get a better understanding of the Apostle Paul's comment when rebuking another ecclesiastical communion that was arrogant...

Nat Hentoff, a New Yorker with large biblical commitments...

(Tim) Last week, Nat Hentoff was laid off at the (Greenwich) Village Voice. This brings an abrupt end to Hentoff's fifty year run there, appropriately and affectionately titled "Fifty Years of Pissing People Off" by fellow Voice columnist Allen Barra in his recent tribute to Hentoff.

Hentoff started as a staff writer for the Voice back in 1958. His dismissal fifty years later coincides, almost to the day, with Louis Menand's short history of the Voice that ran in the current New Yorker. Beyond the Voice, Hentoff has also published in the New Yorker, Wall Street Journal, JazzTimes (his best-known work may be as a jazz critic and historian), and Atlantic Monthly.

I note the dismissal of Hentoff, as well as the profile of the Voice in the current New Yorker, because this past week I've been enjoying a Christmas gift received from a friend in New York City who knows me well. A former member of Church of the Good Shepherd while studying at IU's School of Music, Regina Scow sent me an autographed copy of The Nat Hentoff Reader which I've been relishing this past week.

So far, I've read a short piece on jazz clarinetist, George Lewis; a longish one on my longtime favorite, Merle Haggard; some superb essays on racism in America including a good profile of Ken Clark titled, "The Integrationist;" and a rare glimpse of the racial suffering of Louis Armstrong in "Louis Armstrong and Reconstruction." The book also reprints Hentoff's classic essay exposing the practice of infanticide in America today titled, "The Awful Privacy of Baby Doe." I'll never forget reading it when it first appeared back in 1985. When I finished the piece, I remember feeling deep gratitude for Hentoff's leadership and courage.

I've been a fan of Hentoff for years now, largely (but not exclusively) because of his heroic defense of the First Amendment, the newborn, and the unborn. Interesting trio, aren't they? Imagine someone who tenaciously defends the First Amendment against the depredations of p.c. nannies also tenaciously defending the unborn and newborn against oppression and murder. He'd have to be a Christian, wouldn't he?

Well, in this case not...

A simple plan for Pastor Rick Warren...

But if you on your part warn a wicked man to turn from his way and he does not turn from his way, he will die in his iniquity, but you have delivered your life" (Ezekiel 33:9).

(Tim) Feeling some heat from the wicked because of his tepid opposition to homosexual marriage, Pastor Rick Warren wants to shrug his shoulders, making the blessing into an act of simple pastoral humility: "Prayers are not to be sermons, speeches, position statements nor political posturing. They are humble, personal appeals to God," he says.

We respond, "So what humble request will you make of God the Father with the whole world watching, Pastor Warren?" Or better yet, "What humble request will you not be making of God the Father because such a request might be too easily mistaken for an arrogant 'sermon,' 'speech,' 'position statement,' or 'political posturing?'"

Keep in mind that the man Pastor Warren has agreed to invoke God's Name and blessing for has promised that his first act as president will be to further solidify the support of the laws of our nation for the slaughter of little babies.

With this in mind, here's my pastorally modest proposal. Let Rick Warren take this occasion to pray for a quick end to the slaughter of the babies across our land...

An odious comparison: Evangelicalism's Baalam and Rome's Jeremiah...

(Tim) So everyone's talking about Rick Warren's payoff. He gets to pray in front of millions during Senator Obama's inauguration, calling down God's presence and blessing on a ceremony centered around the national politician most committed to the slaughter of his nation's children taking God's Name in vain as he falsely promises to uphold the Constitution of these United States.

When our nation was founded, our Declaration of Independence declared our commitments this way:

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness".

Thus, in the "Preamble" to our Constitution, we state the Constitution's purpose to be to "secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity."

Precisely how does a man swear by God's Holy Name to secure the blessings of liberty to our posterity who himself is our nation's political leader most committed to the slaughter of that posterity? The wickedness of Governor Blagojevich pales by comparison.

Selling an appointment to the U.S. Senate is child's play compared to the child slaughter which was a central plank of Senator Obama's campaign. Talk about wickedness in high places!

But no one's watching. We're all transfixed by our nation's little morality play over there on Chicago's South Side.

Also, by the vision of Evangelicalism's own Balaam, the Warrenmeister, thinking gentle thoughts about how his invocation of the Triune God can help heal our nation as we all unify behind our new President. So Rick Warren, prophet of Israel, hoists himself on his donkey...

A book to buy on December 15, Bill of Rights Day...

(Tim) If pornography is the drug our government uses to keep men passive, gun control leaves us compliant. Imagine the Revolutionary War with only Redcoats allowed to own muskets and you get the idea. And this from a man whose parents forbid him to play with guns, who registered for the draft as a conscientious objector, and who's never owned a gun. Actually, no gun except a potato gun I made out of PVC a few years ago.

So yes, I'm in favor of defending the Second Amendment against the relentless attacks it suffers. In defense of that amendment, here's an anouncement just received from Fran Griffin, the wonderful woman who administers Joe Sobran's e-publications. Let's all buy the book:

Here's an exciting way to help derail the anti-Second Amendment forces in Washington: A Second Amendment Book Bomb on December 15, Bill of Rights Day.

The idea is to have as many people as possible buy Stephen Halbrook's excellent new book, The Founders' Second Amendment: Origins of the Right to Bear Arms, on the same day (or over the next few days). Click on the link above--Amazon's offering it for just $19.

If a huge number of people buy the book on the same day, this could catapult it to best seller status, which would stun the Obama camp. Obama claimed to support the Second Amendment during his campaign so he wouldn't lose blue collar Democrats, but he is really very much opposed to it.

Happy Bill of Rights Day!

Fran Griffin

Abortion: Here am I, send me...

(Tim) Often when I write about the slaughter of the unborn, readers grow alarmed and wonder if I might be recommending armed revolution?

No, I've never recommended armed revolution, but any and everything short of it. Little ones made in the Image of our Mighty God are being heartlessly slaughtered in our cities and we eat turkey and stuffing, then gather Lord's Day to celebrate the beginning of Advent singing, "Away in a manger, no room for a bed; the little Lord Jesus lay down His sweet head."

Few times in salvation history have the people of God cultivated such a highly sophisticated ability to worship the God of justice and truth while living in the midst of unjust, oppressive bloodshed. Typical of cities around our nation, here in Bloomington approximately one out of every five children conceived in their mother's womb is slaughtered. The horror of Nazi Germany doesn't begin to approach us in numbers or the relative innocence and helplessness of its victims. Molech in ancient Canaan didn't devour twenty percent of the children of the land, nor did the death toll reach one billion children...

The blind intolerance, moralism, and dogmatism of pagans...

(Tim) On Facebook, a friend and former CGSer has been discussing sodomy, marriage, divorce and the civil law with several friends who have said things like: "semantics is a cheap reason to deny a minority their civil rights. None of the many gay folk I know agree with the "semantics justification" for denial of marriage. Also, such a social mandate (YOU live by OUR rules) has nothing to do with the teachings of Jesus Christ--and everything to do with the teachings of the Pharisees."

Wanting to say a couple things, I pointed the conversationalists to this page and here's my own contribution to their dialog. Sorry I haven't linked things, but I wanted to get this up before all our guests arrive for Thanksgiving Dinner. If any of you want to add links, just post them in the comments.

* * *

Sam, Scripture isn't just dogma; it's narrative. Descriptive isn't necessarily prescriptive. It can be, but with divorce, incest, polygamy, concubinage, etc. Scripture reveals both where it was that every culture got marriage and also the laws to which God bound all sexual intimacy.

So, for instance, when Jesus was asked a question similar to yours (but this one concerning divorce), He responded saying it wasn't that way from the beginning (Creation) and that God made male and female for each other for life with the two becoming one--not three, four, or a thousand (Matthew 19:3 ff.). So there's no inconsistency between the Old and New Testaments on this matter. The two, male and female, shall become one until, by God's decree, death parts us. (My dear wife and I are on our thirty-third year, now, and still chugging away in harmony and love, praise God!)

All Christians through all time have always spoken this truth...

The other Hitchens...

(Tim, w/thanks to James) Of the stuff I've come across, this is about the best summary of the significance of our recent coronation of President-elect Barack Hussein Obama. Giving grace for it coming from a Brit who's not got perfect pitch about our country, it's something pretty close. For instance, here's what he says about Jessie Jackson's tears in Grant Park: "No wonder that awful old hack Jesse Jackson sobbed as he watched. How he must wish he, too, could get away with this sort of stuff."

A teaser...

Gobble, gobble, gobble...

(Tim, w/thanks to David T.) Apparently the chattering classes never knew where turkey wishbones, legs, and breasts came from. Quite a firestorm has broken out over Governor Palin taking an interview at a turkey farm. As she was interviewed, turkeys were being killed in the background.

Aghast at the scene, as the clip was about to be aired, MSNBC newscaster David Shuster advised parents to get their kids "out of the room." After the clip, Shuster reported a "photographer asked Governor Palin if she wanted that as a backdrop and she replied, 'No worries.'" (Good responses here and here, and full length video here.)

Every Christian would do well to make sure his sons kills an animal now and then as a reminder that God has given critters to us for food and we should rejoice in His provision. To kill and eat animals is not to be cruel. It's an act of faith. Man alone bears the Image of God. Turkeys, dolphins, dogs, and crickets do not. (And with apologies to certain friends, certainly not cats.)

Earlier today, Mary Lee and I agreed that, like it or not, our youngest son, Taylor, will go deer hunting next week with Mike Boles and his son, Seth. Taylor isn't particularly interested, but he'll be going anyhow. It's a discipline fastidious boys shouldn't miss...

Obama, Bell & McLaren: Some people are being fangoriously devoured by gelatinous monsters...

(Tim, w/thanks to David L.; and if you want to understand the title, watch the cartoon on the second page) Half the professors at the PCA's Covenant College believe our President-elect, Barack Obama, is a Christian.

Yes, he's a Christian in the same way Rob Bell and Brian McLaren are Christians. Or maybe I should say he's a pastor in the same way Rob Bell and Brian McLaren are pastors.

Don't tune me out, here...

Mayor Villaraigosa, Jesus, and tolerance...

(Tim, w/thanks to Jeff) A year ago, the New Yorker ran a profile of Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa titled, "Fault Lines." It wasn't flattering. Tom Hayden summed up Mayor Villaraigosa's politics: "Antonio’s pattern is to leave people in the dust." (Hayden protests the context, but not the content of this quote.)

Shortly after being elected Speaker of California's Assembly, Villaraigosa told the Democratic caucus the sad story of his childhood. Mayor Villaraigosa proudly reported to the New Yorker that when the story was over, “There were a lot of people crying. ...Then the most beautiful thing happened—somebody said, ‘Let’s pray.’ And all of us got each other’s hands, and we prayed. It was a very powerful thing.”

More recently Villaraigosa has been opposing Proposition 8. Last Saturday at a City Hall protest attacking the citizens of California for passing Proposition 8, Mayor Villaraigosa gave the same religious stump speech we've heard from Rob Bell, Brian McClaren...

Valerie strikes the right note on democracy...

(Tim) Since the election, I've boycotted the news, and my family will be skipping January's investiture or ordination or coronation or divination--whatever it's called. But what to think and feel? Balking at the idolatry is not faith and prayer.

Then, this morning, I read Kyriosity, the blog of our esteemed sister Valerie, and here's what she had to say...

Rick Warren "just" couldn't help himself...

(Tim, w/thanks to Steve) From the transcript of religious celebrity Rick Warren being interviewed concerning Proposition 8 on Hannity & Colmes:

ALAN COLMES, CO-HOST: Look, I want to ask you about a couple of other things. We've covered a lot of ground here. But I was reading — or some members of your congregation were very disappointed in particularly — particular gay member of your congregation that you had come out in favor of Proposition 8.

She said, you know, "What do I do? Do I go inside the congregation or I do stand outside the Saddleback Church and protest?" And she was conflicted about that. So I'm kind of curious because you normally have not taken strong political positions. What's your — you know, how do you deal with your congregation who may be disappointed here?

RICK WARREN: Alan — Alan, I absolutely believe in loving everybody, giving respect to everybody, and giving everybody the freedom of choice.

A modest proposal for Obama's first Inaugural Address...

(Tim) Filmaker Ken Burns endorsed Senator Obama for president, commending Obama's "moral courage" and comparing him to President Abraham Lincoln. Since Obama's election, many have made this same comparison pointing out the felicitous conjunction of Obama's Inauguration and the 200th anniversary of Lincoln's birthday. Senator Diane Feinstein announced the theme of Senator Obama's Inauguration will be "A New Birth of Freedom" with words courtesy of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address.

Such comparisons are great theater, but sheer hypocrisy. Barack Obama is the leader of the bloodshed consuming our land and we all pat ourselves on our backs congratulating one another over our nation's great strides against racism? What is the injustice of racism compared to the slaughter of tens of millions of little babies?

Self-congratulatory about the end of racism in America, we point to a black champion of freedom we say bears the stature and moral authority of Abe himself. We look forward to sitting down with our families, having a good cry while we watch his Inauguration. Happily, no bloodshed has been required to reach our vision. Pull the lever for Obama and we all become heroes of truth and justice.

Obama's another Lincoln? Is he willing to do battle to end the slaughter of fifty million of our children by wicked oppressors? Is he preparing an Emancipation Proclamation for those little ones? Will he speak of them in his first Inaugural Address, warning his nation of  God's holy wrath unleashed against those who offend even one of His "little ones?"

What a wonder it would be if, to celebrate Lincoln's 200th birthday, Senator Obama were to model his first after Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address:

Silencing the prophetic voice of the church...

(Tim, w/thanks to Brian) The Christian Law Association reports: "For years Crestwood Baptist Church has unashamedly declared the Gospel of Christ and the Word of God through the display of Scripture on the marquee in front of their church. Tragically, this common practice for churches has now come under attack. In the days leading up to the Presidential election, Crestwood Baptist Church displayed Proverbs 29:2, '...when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn,' on their marquee...

"Nearly a week after the election, while jogging past the marquee, a nationally syndicated news reporter took notice of the verse, erroneously assumed it was the church’s attempt to slander a particular candidate, and reported his biased opinion on CNN news. This unmerited report sparked animosity towards Crestwood and its pastor, Phil Edge, who have received numerous emails and phone calls demanding an explanation for his alleged attack on the results of this recent Presidential election."

A couple comments: First, confessing Christians must play hardball to protect our nation's First Amendment rights. We'll lose, but we must go down fighting. We don't live in the Roman Empire; it's our Constitution and we are its stewards.

So, for instance, the actions of the IRS in the past decade have been egregious governmental intrusions into the work of the church. Our government has been rattling its saber

It's still a dream...

(Tim) At the Lincoln Memorial on August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King preached a sermon calling our nation to repentance. That sweltering afternoon before a quarter million souls, King cast a vision of what America would be like when white racism finally bled itself to its long-deserved ugly death:

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

Many are declaring the election of Barack Obama as the fulfillment of Martin Luther King's dream. In truth, it's the very opposite.

As Martin Luther King defined racism, what we've done has been racist to the core...

Tangled up in blue...

(Tim, w/thanks to Ben)

Obama Win Causes Obsessive Supporters To Realize How Empty Their Lives Are

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss...

(Tim) The emoting over Obama's blackness is cloying hypocrisy. If an African American ascending our Imperial Throne means anything, its meaning is bound up with the end of the oppression of a group of persons formerly declared not full persons under our Constitution due to the color of their skin.

Instead of learning the lesson of his skin color and descent, though, Obama glides into office on the blood of an entire generation of souls, red and yellow, black and white, who aren't enslaved, but slaughtered...

German Christians were scrupulous about social justice...

(Tim: Yesterday, our eldest son, Joseph, sent this to his old college friends.)

My grandfather, Joseph Tate Bayly IV, wrote a short article back in 1961 for his monthly column, "Out of My Mind," that ran in Eternity magazine. I start with an excerpt from that article. If you would like the whole article, just ask.

What do the Jews remember?

A trench two blocks long, 12 feet wide, six feet deep, "filled to overflowing with bodies of women, children, old men, boys and girls in their teens . . . frozen pools of blood . . . children's caps, toys, ribbons, baby bottles and rubber pants . . . torn off hands and feet . . . everything spattered with blood and brains." (Russian officers' evidence, Trial of the Major War Criminals, VII, 494, quoted by, Malcolm Hay, Europe and the Jews, Beacon Press, 1950.)

Election thoughts...

(David) My last thoughts on the election were posted here by Tim, who took issue with my private pessimism about the choice of Sarah Palin by Senator McCain. In the aftermath of what was, in the end, a close election it's hard to say whether Governor Palin helped or hindered Senator McCain.

But I do know one thing I think I know, and I'll even suggest it publicly at the risk of having egg on my face four years from now: President-elect Obama's most effective opponents will all be congressional Democrats. This is probably inevitable due to the decline in the Republican congressional ranks. But I suspect there will be a powerful, though largely subterranean, anti-Obama reaction among Democrats who privately feel: a) that Obama isn't necessarily a committed American, and; b) resentful that he hasn't paid his political dues. When it comes as easily as it has for Senator Obama, the price of success usually comes afterward through resentment and cloaked opposition rather than painful toil on the path to victory.

I was sorry to learn this morning that Michigan Republican Tim Walberg narrowly lost his bid for reelection to the U.S. House of representatives. Tim is a committed Christian and the twin brother of Paul Walberg, a friend, office-mate and Biblical counselor.

Finally, it's striking to me that Condi Rice, Ken Blackwell, Allan Keyes and numerous other conservative African Americans aren't considered truly "black" by the black community, but Barack Obama, a Harvard-educated, white-speaking, son of a white woman and African father is. What constitutes being an American black? If not race, what? If not heritage, what? If not cultural identity, what? What made the black community embrace Obama as its own? Even as I'm tempted to suggest that it's his post-modern, liberal conscience, I'm reminded that no group voted more uniformly against homosexual marriage in California's rejection of homosexual marriage via Proposition 8--over 70 percent of California blacks voted for Proposition 8 according to exit polls.

The morning after...

(Tim) Natalie is a longtime friend of the Bayly family--particularly our eldest daughter, Heather. This afternoon, Heather forwarded this e-mail she received from Natalie earlier today, and I asked Heather if Natalie would permit my posting it? Natalie was fine with it. I appreciated very much what she had to say and thought it would strengthen our readers, also. So here are the post-election thoughts and feelings of a young Christian wife and mother named (Mrs.) Natalie Calhoun.

* * *
I'm feeling pensive and sad this morning. It has less to do with who won the election, though I am disappointed in that result. It has much more to do with who voted for him. Perhaps I was naive to believe that people I respected in college, who, I thought, shared my world view, would think the same as me. But I don't understand this wave of young Christian people who supported and voted for Obama. I really want to understand.

I have heard a lot about social justice with regard to this election. I'm for justice. I'm for taking care of "the least of these". I believe that "true religion is taking care of widows and orphans." What I can't get over is the complete disregard for the value of life that is represented by Obama and how a Christian can support that...

Obama didn't just win; McCain also lost...

(Tim, w/thanks to Mark) Well, turns out the Constitution Party wasn't on Indiana's ballot, so that made my decision easy. Meanwhile, did you notice we haven't promoted the Republican Party or John McCain?

Now that it's over, this article will explain the ambivalence/antipathy/antagonism many of us felt as we looked at the Republican Party's candidate this year. Elections are never simply won. They're also lost, and political strategists need to understand the only demographic groups still having children in these United States are biblical Christians and Hispanics. Guess what both groups hold precious?

Children, born and unborn.

So the man who swallows the shame of taking the little ones in his arms and protecting them is the one we will support.

A new president...

(Tim) Writing as a pastor concerning his own nation's election of a new president several weeks ago, Brother Conrad Mbewe of Lusaka, Zambia, says precisely what ought to be said today to Christians in these United States as we look at God's choice of Barack Obama to lead us. I hope you'll read it.

The practical atheism of Christians who vote for the Democratic Party...

(Tim, w/thanks to James) On this Election Day, here's an artifact of history from the editors of Touchstone, a Christian magazine I subscribe to and recommend. Originally run in 2003, this editorial is more pertinent today than it was five years ago. If you read nothing else, be sure to read the last two paragraphs...

Practical atheism revisited

Last week I came upon an editorial I wrote during the 2003 political season which seems to me even more applicable now. Today I would add that whatever one thinks about Senator Obama's plans for using government power to take money from those who have more of it and give it to those who have less, the social control which must be gained to make such things come to pass has never boded well for Christians in the countries where it has happened. The Gentiles, even--or perhaps especially--the religious ones, have not changed their opinions about people who regard them as morally unclean, nor will they fail to punish them for it when they gain sufficient power. What concerns them, I believe, is not so much that the poor be enriched, but that the middle classes be brought as low as possible by confiscation of their ethically significant wealth...

Josh Congrove on our presidential election...

(Tim) Take a few minutes to read this open letter posted earlier today on Facebook by Josh Congrove, a doctoral student in Classics here at IU. A member of Church of the Good Shepherd, Josh has taken leadership in our church's anti-abortion work. Before her death last Christmas, Josh used to come over to our house to play the piano for Aunt Elaine. You'll read no better commentary on the election this year.

Dear friends,

As I write this note, I do so with a measure of reluctance. I am often loathe to enter the realm of politics—where compromise is and has always been king—with a dogmatism that believes it can be redeemed or captured for the kingdom of righteousness if only we vote in a certain way. But in this election, where the issues are so clear, the mass of citizens (especially college students) so blind and in lockstep, and the eternal consequences to souls so great, I have concluded that to not speak forthrightly on this issue is ultimately to be unfaithful to Christ and His word. And so in writing these thoughts I'm not speaking to any one particular person; I know how some of you will vote; for others I don't have a clue. But my goal here is that our minds and hearts would be captive to the Word of God, and that we would make informed, intelligent choices that follow Christ rather than the prevailing wind of our culture.

Those of you who know me well know that I have no particular love for either political party. Republicans have a habit of claiming to speak for Christian values, eagerly garnering the votes of Christians, and then demonstrating that they care more for big business and the money it brings than they do for righteousness and justice, and for defending the poor who are rich in the kingdom of heaven. Democrats never cease of talking about values and of what the government can do for us, even while belonging to a party whose prevailing secularism undercuts their every position and prevents the government from carrying out its responsibility to dispense justice (Romans 13). As I see it, the best Christians can do is to make an informed, godly decision in an evil world, and obviously this is difficult at times.

Having said that, I won't beat around the bush...

Barack Obama rocks XXVII: So where do our Submergent brothers get their facts on Obama?

(Tim) One of my relatives posted a couple days ago arguing that the best way to oppose the slaughter of babies in America today is to keep abortion legal. To that end, she called us all to vote for Senator Barack Obama for president of these United States, making her case with a litany of facts that showed everything anyone had ever believed about abortion or Obama's position on abortion was woefully wrong. Start with her newly-discovered fact that Obama isn't pro-abortion at all, but pro-life.

It will help you understand my post below if you take a couple minutes to skim the original post she wrote. This dear sister is a graduate of Columbia International University and the Torchbearers, and she really likes Brian McLaren. So now, on to the facts.

* * *

Much of what Mrs. Fischer has written I'll leave alone. But some of the stuff is repeated so often by Submergent types that I thought it worth correcting publicly.

In her plea for votes for Senator Obama, Mrs. Fischer cited Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good. CACG is a political action group working to get Roman Catholics to cast their votes for the Democratic Party, and thus for Senator Barack Obama. Real Roman Catholics are scandalized by such missionaries for Obama cloaking themselves in the name "Catholic." For instance, here's Archbishop Charles Chaput warning against CACG, recently:

...activism for Senator Barack Obama, and the work of Democratic-friendly groups like Catholics United and Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good, have done a disservice to the Church, confused the natural priorities of Catholic social teaching, undermined the progress pro-lifers have made, and provided an excuse for some Catholics to abandon the abortion issue instead of fighting within their parties and at the ballot box to protect the unborn.

And this from Francis Cardinal George...

John McCain or Chuck Baldwin? We shall see...

(Tim) Those inclined to think the posts critical of Barack Obama here on this blog are due to partisanship on the owners' part should know that neither David nor I have ever placed the slightest hope in a Republican presidential candidate. About nine years ago, I told Marvin Olasky I was concerned about his support of George W. Bush's presidential candidacy. In the end, I voted for him twice, but never with anything other than grim resolve.

Whether grim resolve is enough to do the trick with me tomorrow has yet to be seen. This cycle I'm leaning toward flaming out in a better direction--maybe, say, giving myself to the audacity of hope and pushing the button for Chuck Baldwin...

Barack Obama rocks XXVI: Let Isaiah speak again...

(Tim) So, the day has come. And thinking about Election Day, it seems good to let Goodman Isaiah Taylor speak once more...

In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight. (Luke 10:21)

Barack Obama rocks XXV: Predicting your vote now, right here on Baylyblog...

(Tim) I think I've come up with a sure-fire way to predict whether you'll vote for Barack Obama, tomorrow. You game? If you are, watch these video clips and circle the name of the clip you like best:

Bullhorn Guy (here's the full length version)

Bullwhip Guy

Click through to the second page for a prediction of astounding accuracy.