This is what happens when you substitute human religious impulses for God-revealed truth. This man has forgotten the power of the gospel.
As far as gospel-truth, McLaren is no different than other anthropocentric panderers like Joel Osteen.
Singing songs like this, I'm not surprised he doesn't have the doctrinal fortitude to resist sycophantic submission to Islam. Now if he'd sung something like this, he would have known better.
Clyde McLennan - Stand up, stand up for Jesus (Webb)
Scheduled to meet 23-26 September, on its agenda is the following resolution:
“That this Synod
Affirming a pastoral response to racist land-owners in our parish families.
Notes the negative statements of previous Provincial Synods that racist white members of our Church share in full membership as baptised members of the Body of Christ, and are affirmed and welcomed as such;
Affirms our commitment to prayerful and respectful dialogue around these issues, mindful of the exhortations of previous Lambeth Conferences to engage with those most affected.
Commends giving serious and prayerful consideration to the acceptance of racist white landowners as valued members of our parish, bearing in mind the long standing tradition within the Anglican Communion of respect for individual conscience, in seeking to be faithful disciples of Jesus;
Asks the Bishop to request the Synod of Bishops to provide pastoral guidelines for those of our members who are seeking to restore Apartheid structures as faithful members of our parish families.”
At the end of August the Diocese of Cape Town passed a similar resolution asking the Bishops “to provide guidelines for the pastoral care of racist white landowners”.
Tesco has been accused of religious discrimination after the company ordered the founder of a Jedi religion to remove his hood or leave a branch of the supermarket in north Wales.
Daniel Jones, founder of the religion inspired by the Star Wars films, says he was humiliated and victimised for his beliefs following the incident at a Tesco store in Bangor.
Yeah...I'll bet this aint the first time he's ever been humiliated and victimized over his hoky religion.
The 23-year-old, who founded the International Church of Jediism, which has 500,000 followers worldwide, was told the hood flouted store rules.
But the grocery empire struck back, claiming that the three best known Jedi Knights in the Star Wars movies – Yoda, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Luke Skywalker – all appeared in public without their hoods. Jones, from Holyhead, who is known by the Jedi name Morda Hehol, said his religion dictated that he should wear the hood in public places and is considering legal action against the chain. "It states in our Jedi doctrination that I can wear headwear. It just covers the back of my head," he said. "You have a choice of wearing headwear in your home or at work but you have to wear a cover for your head when you are in public."
Tesco said: "He hasn't been banned. Jedis are very welcome to shop in our stores although we would ask them to remove their hoods.
"Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda and Luke Skywalker all appeared hoodless without ever going over to the Dark Side and we are only aware of the Emperor as one who never removed his hood.
"If Jedi walk around our stores with their hoods on, they'll miss lots of special offers."
Word has it that President Obama stands ready to extend American freedom of religion to the UK - and you can see whose side he's on!
Unlike many of the half-baked ideas (in both economics and science) for dealing with emissions, this is one that has a feasible pricetag, and is based on achievable methods.
Moreover, we could learn how terraforming changes ecologies, and how to take long-term incremental steps to revamping bioshperes - information that will come in useful when we look to colonize other planets. So this is a win-win: present help, future progress.
Concerning your correspondence about your new assignment, you are correct: preachers must never do anything they can get caught at.
The old list of seven has proven deadly to many and those sins certainly further our cause. But taken to their logical conclusions, they put our targets out of business. I won't recite our victories; you know their names. Their demise is often well publicized, but then we must begin the long and tedious process of wooing another.
There is a more excellent way to disable the servants of our Enemy. Why it is not one of the "deadlies" I'm not sure. But it is very effective. It hobbles our prey without disqualifying them. It's the only way I know they avoid being accused of the first seven. Indeed, it is an answer to them.
I commend to you the pastor's deadliest sin: keeping up appearances.
When feeling proud, have him look humble. When lusting, look chaste. When envious, have your subject publicly congratulate the popular contemporary-worship pastor across town who is making his own congregation look like altar-call troglodytes. He needn't like his competitors, just compliment them. (Hypocrisy is hard, Wormwood. Watch C-SPAN until you get it down. Politicians are naturals at this art.)
Gluttony is hard to mask, but it can be done. At big, must-do dinners, your pastor should say loudly, "I'll have my dressing on the side!" When the salad comes, urge him to dump it over the top when no one is looking.
If the menu is fried chicken, he should say, "The fat is in the skin, I always tear it off." Then whisper to him how Mother Teresa would eat this. He will nibble the skinned part while looking as if this chore is interrupting his quiet time. (Here's a delicious tip I picked up from an assignment in Kentucky: take the skin home in a napkin, microwave it for 40 seconds—on the defrost setting so as not to toughen it—and presto! he can eat the crunchy part and keep his testimony.)
When it comes to cars, Toyotas look sincere. If the pastor must have something larger, it should be a maroon Dodge Caravan, at least two years old, to be used when taking shut-ins to cash their Social Security checks. One preacher of mine bought a new, red Taurus and lost his witness. Red is not a humble color.
The congregation should never doubt that your project is a true minister. He should carry a Left Behind Sky Chart with his Spiritual Formation Bible. He may read Anne Rice, but keep Janette Oke novels on the desk. The key is to imply, imply, imply.
Also, I have made good use of sanctimonious phrases. Say a deacon asks, "Did you see the last episode of The Sopranos?" The proper reply is "No, that's the only time I can work in my Experiencing God notebook." This does two things: it makes the deacon feel like a Unitarian and it elevates the pastor to president of Essenes International.
And these have proven useful in preserving approval ratings: "Mrs. Jones, I went by the hospital to see your husband, but he was asleep" and "I tried to get you on the phone this week, were you out of town?"
And he must never say, "I'm going out to play eighteen holes!" Instead intone, "I'm off to visit the Greenes!"
After all, Wormwood, keeping up appearances is what it's all about. In twenty years or so, he can drive a red car and winter in Biloxi; in the meantime, he'll have done our side little harm.
Today marks the 389th anniversary of the Mayflower's departure from Southampton, England. These men and women were so convinced of the necessity of freedom to pursue purity in the worship of Almighty God that they were willing to forsake other bonds of kinship, property, and status in order to live up to their convictions.
May the orthodox still wandering in TEC summon similar courage to, in Luther's immortal words, "let goods and kindred go" in order to do what is right.
Readings for the Feast of the Holy Cross are found here.
Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
Christ, hear us. Christ, graciously hear us.
God, the Father of Heaven, have mercy on us. God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us. God, the Holy Spirit, have mercy on us. Holy Trinity, One God, have mercy on us.
The word of the Cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
God forbid that I should glory save in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
Reflection: Jesus has many who love His Kingdom in Heaven, but few who bear His Cross. He has many who desire comfort, but few who desire suffering. He finds many to share His feast, but few His fasting. All desire to rejoice with Him, but few are willing to suffer for His sake.
God forbid that I should glory save in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
Reflection: Why do you fear to take up the Cross, which is the road to the Kingdom? In the Cross is salvation and life, protection against our enemies, infusion of Heavenly sweetness; in the Cross is strength of mind,joy of spirit, excellence of virtue, perfection of holiness. There is no salvation of soul, nor hope of eternal life, save in the Cross.
God forbid that I should glory save in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
Reflection: Take up the Cross, therefore, and follow Jesus, and go forward into eternal life. Christ has gone before you, bearing His Cross;He died for you on the Cross, that you also may bear your cross,and desire to die on the Cross with Him. For if you die with Him,you will also live with Him. And if you share His sufferings, you will also share His glory.
God forbid that I should glory save in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
Reflection: See how in the Cross all things consist, and in dying on it all things depend. There is no other way to life and to true inner peace, than the way of the Cross.Go where you will, seek what you will; you will find no higher way above nor safer way below than the road of the Holy Cross.
God forbid that I should glory save in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
Reflection: The Cross always stands ready, and everywhere awaits you. You cannot escape it, wherever you flee; for wherever you go,you bear yourself, and always find yourself. Look up or down, without you or within, and everywhere you will find the Cross. And everywhere you must have patience, if you wish to attain inner peace, and win an eternal crown.
God forbid that I should glory save in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
Lamb of God, Who take away the sins of the world, spare us, O Lord!. Lamb of God, Who take away the sins of the world, graciously hear us, O Lord! Lamb of God, Who take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
Let us pray.
Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen us to follow Thee not only to the Breaking of Bread but also to the drinking of the Cup of Thy Passion. Help us to love Thee for Thine own sake and not for the sake of comfort for ourselves. Make us worthy to suffer for Thy name, Jesus, our Crucified and Risen Lord and Savior, now and forever. Amen.
Ever noticed how the stuff coming from the highest levels of church government in the mainline (or legacy) denominations always seems to skew left, while the folks in the pew underneath keep tellin' em to keep right?
Chapter 20: Of Christian Liberty, and Liberty of Conscience
4: And because the powers which God has ordained, and the liberty which Christ has purchased are not intended by God to destroy, but mutually to uphold and preserve one another, they who, upon pretence of Christian liberty, shall oppose any lawful power, or the lawful exercise of it, whether it be civil or ecclesiastical, resist the ordinance of God.[401] And, for their publishing of such opinions, or maintaining of such practices, as are contrary to the light of nature, or to the known principles of Christianity (whether concerning faith, worship, or conversation), or to the power of godliness; or, such erroneous opinions or practices, as either in their own nature, or in the manner of publishing or maintaining them, are destructive to the external peace and order which Christ has established in the Church,[402] they may lawfully be called to account, and proceeded against, by the censures of the Church.[403]
Did the Westminster Assembly violates it's own guidance when they tossed The Book of Common Prayerout the window (a form of thoroughly biblical form of worship established under legitimate ecclesiastical and civil authority)? Where was the "Christian liberty?" Was it done to build up the people?
An international team of scientists led by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) used more than a century of weather observations and three powerful computer models to tackle one of the more difficult questions in meteorology: if the total energy that reaches Earth from the Sun varies by only 0.1 percent across the approximately 11-year solar cycle, how can such a small variation drive major changes in weather patterns on Earth?
The answer, according to the new study, has to do with the Sun's impact on two seemingly unrelated regions. Chemicals in the stratosphere and sea surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean respond during solar maximum in a way that amplifies the Sun's influence on some aspects of air movement. This can intensify winds and rainfall, change sea surface temperatures and cloud cover over certain tropical and subtropical regions, and ultimately influence global weather.
"The Sun, the stratosphere, and the oceans are connected in ways that can influence events such as winter rainfall in North America," says NCAR scientist Gerald Meehl, the lead author. "Understanding the role of the solar cycle can provide added insight as scientists work toward predicting regional weather patterns for the next couple of decades."
When Bush spoke to students, Democrats investigated, held hearings
By: Byron York Chief Political Correspondent 09/08/09 7:11 AM EDT
The controversy over President Obama's speech to the nation's schoolchildren will likely be over shortly after Obama speaks today at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia. But when President George H.W. Bush delivered a similar speech on October 1, 1991, from Alice Deal Junior High School in Washington DC, the controversy was just beginning. Democrats, then the majority party in Congress, not only denounced Bush's speech -- they also ordered the General Accounting Office to investigate its production and later summoned top Bush administration officials to Capitol Hill for an extensive hearing on the issue.
Unlike the Obama speech, in 1991 most of the controversy came after, not before, the president's school appearance. The day after Bush spoke, the Washington Post published a front-page story suggesting the speech was carefully staged for the president's political benefit. "The White House turned a Northwest Washington junior high classroom into a television studio and its students into props," the Post reported.
With the Post article in hand, Democrats pounced. "The Department of Education should not be producing paid political advertising for the president, it should be helping us to produce smarter students," said Richard Gephardt, then the House Majority Leader. "And the president should be doing more about education than saying, 'Lights, camera, action.'"
Democrats did not stop with words. Rep. William Ford, then chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, ordered the General Accounting Office to investigate the cost and legality of Bush's appearance. On October 17, 1991, Ford summoned then-Education Secretary Lamar Alexander and other top Bush administration officials to testify at a hearing devoted to the speech. "The hearing this morning is to really examine the expenditure of $26,750 of the Department of Education funds to produce and televise an appearance by President Bush at Alice Deal Junior High School in Washington, DC," Ford began. "As the chairman of the committee charged with the authorization and implementation of education programs, I am very much interested in the justification, rationale for giving the White House scarce education funds to produce a media event."
Unfortunately for Ford, the General Accounting Office concluded that the Bush administration had not acted improperly. "The speech itself and the use of the department's funds to support it, including the cost of the production contract, appear to be legal," the GAO wrote in a letter to Chairman Ford. "The speech also does not appear to have violated the restrictions on the use of appropriations for publicity and propaganda."
That didn't stop Democratic allies from taking their own shots at Bush. The National Education Association denounced the speech, saying it "cannot endorse a president who spends $26,000 of taxpayers' money on a staged media event at Alice Deal Junior High School in Washington, D.C. -- while cutting school lunch funds for our neediest youngsters."
Lost in all the denouncing and investigating was the fact that Bush's speech itself, like Obama's today, was entirely unremarkable. "Block out the kids who think it's not cool to be smart," the president told students. "If someone goofs off today, are they cool? Are they still cool years from now, when they're stuck in a dead end job. Don't let peer pressure stand between you and your dreams.
Forgive us, Father, for being unwilling to walk across the street and share hope. Strengthen, O Savior of men, the hands of them that carry the light of the gospel to different lands. Soften, Comforter Divine, the stony hearts of your people that we would send or go - and not disobey. Amen.
"O God of all the nations of the earth: Remember the multitudes who have been created in thine image but have not known the redeeming work of our Savior Jesus Christ; and grant that, by the prayers and labors of thy holy Church, they may be brought to know and worship thee as thou hast been revealed in thy Son; who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
O God of all the nations of the earth: Remember the multitudes who have been created in thine image but have not known the redeeming work of our Savior Jesus Christ; and grant that, by the prayers and labors of thy holy Church, they may be brought to know and worship thee as thou hast been revealed in thy Son; who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. AMEN.
Collect for Ember Days O ALMIGHTY God, who hast committed to the hands of men the ministry of reconciliation; We humbly beseech thee, by the inspiration of thy Holy Spirit, to put it into the hearts of many to offer themselves for this ministry; that thereby mankind may be drawn to thy blessed kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Several years ago a newspaper in Eastern Europe asked a socialist economist a question: “Why is it that the same worker works the same number of hours in Eastern Europe and in America but they make an average of $22/hr in America and only $1.5/hr in Eastern Europe? Where does the 15-fold difference in productivity come from?” The goal of the chief editor was to educate his readers with a short, easy to understand and illuminating article. The socialist economist replied with a 25-page essay full of religious . . . er, I mean, “professional” language that no one could understand, including the economist himself.
The chief editor filed the article in the round file, and called me, the Protestant missionary. “Bojidar,” he said, “I need an article. I need it quick, and I need it simple, digestible and informing. Do you have one?” I did. A good Reformed missionary always has a simple, digestible and informing article on every aspect of human life and action. If he doesn’t, he must go to his Reformed heritage. So I went to one of my Puritan ancestors in the faith, Daniel Defoe, and his character Robinson Crusoe.
Imagine Robinson on an uninhabited island. He has one immediate problem to solve: He needs to eat. He may have a few tools from the ship, but none of these tools give him any immediate solution. What gives him a solution are the few trees near the beach with fruits on them. There is a problem though: The trees are tall and difficult to climb. It takes Robinson one whole day of work to gather only as much fruits as to survive, and then go to sleep at night. He can’t do more than that, unless he wants to go hungry for one day.
Well, one day he has an idea and he really decides to go hungry for a half day. He spends that half day making a long 20 ft. pole to knock fruit down without having to climb the trees. The next day he tries his new production tool, and finds out that it has doubled his productivity: He can knock down the quantity of fruits needed for his survival in a half day instead of one whole day.
So, our first lesson about increased productivity is: It comes from sacrifice, i.e. from forbearing present consumption plus ideas and work. Increasing productivity always comes at a cost.
Now Robinson has several options. He can work a half day, have as much as he had before, and sleep the rest of the day. Or he can work one whole day and double his rations. Or he can work one whole day but eat as much as before, and save the rest—dry it and store it. He decides to take the last option. In a few days he has enough saved to be able to survive a few days without work, so he embarks on a journey to the heart of the island to catch a few wild goats. A week later he returns with two goats. Now he can gather fodder for them one hour a day, and milk them one hour a day, and have even more food than he had before.
Again, his increased productivity came from sacrificing present consumption and using the saved resources to explore and work.
Then one day Friday comes, and he is a good fisherman, but he has no boat. That’s not a problem because by now Robinson is productive enough to feed both of them and work with Friday for two weeks to build his boat and make his net. Now, with Friday’s productivity increased, they have enough time to apply themselves to even better use of their time. The effect of the original sacrifice can be multiplied many times over if they keep saving and use the savings in the right way—not for increased consumption but for more work and investment.
There is no other way to become more effective, more productive, and wealthier. This is how America became what it is today: The fathers of modern Americans sacrificed, saved, and worked, forbearing present consumption and looking to the future. America is rich today because it was founded on that Puritan spirit of self-restraint and work ethic, unknown to most European nations. It is as simple as that.
The editor liked my article, and by the response from his readers, they liked it too. Within a few weeks from its publication the article was republished on many web-sites and blogs online. Eastern Europe is learning from our American heritage.
The question is: Is America today learning from her own heritage?
She isn’t. For the last century Americans have gradually adopted an economic doctrine completely hostile to the spirit of their Puritan forefathers and to common sense in general: That not sacrifice, but consumption is what produces economic growth. We think we have found the way to both eat the cake and have it at the same time. If we eat more, buy new cars more often, spend more money on entertainment, these will somehow make us richer and more productive.
Our government is operating under that same doctrine more and more. Government projects for “creating jobs,” bailouts, “cash for clunkers” programs, printing more money, encouraging unrestricted expansion of money supply and credit—they are all offshoots of the grand illusion that sacrifice is not needed anymore, that utopia will come from unbridled indulgence.
If we look at our example above, this is equivalent to believing that Robinson will become more productive and better off by consuming everything he produced the day before, and even more than that, depleting his stores. Even simple common sense tells us that production for consumption and investing for economic growth are two completely different activities, and they compete for our resources. The more we consume, the less we will have to make our life better in the future. And vice versa, the more we sacrifice and save, the more we will have to invest and make ourselves more productive.
We don’t want to sacrifice anymore; we don’t want to pay the cost for real economic growth. We deceive ourselves that consumption comes at no cost. We are wrong. Both consumption and investment have costs. They both have costs, whether we realize it or not. Of course, we keep telling ourselves that in consumption we are transferring the costs to the future, that we or our children will pick up the tab in the future. But we are wrong. Gary North pointed to the fact that there are no future costs, all costs are present. (Gary North’s articles are true CR, I mean Chivas Regal: only appreciated 12 years after production.)
We need to go back and learn from the heritage of our forefathers. Our indulgence has cost us much so far, and it will cost us more and more. We need to learn to sacrifice our consumption and save. We have paid exorbitant amounts of money to self-destroy ourselves. It is time to start paying for rebuilding. If other nations are willing to learn from our history, we need to learn from it too.
Come, labor on! Who dares stand idle, on the harvest plain While all around him waves the golden grain? And to each servant does the Master say, “Go work today.”
Come, labor on! Claim the high calling angels cannot share— To young and old the Gospel gladness bear; Redeem the time; its hours too swiftly fly. The night draws nigh.
Come, labor on! The enemy is watching night and day, To sow the tares, to snatch the seed away; While we in sleep our duty have forgot, He slumbered not.
Come, labor on! Away with gloomy doubts and faithless fear! No arm so weak but may do service here: By feeblest agents may our God fulfill His righteous will.
Come, labor on! No time for rest, till glows the western sky, Till the long shadows o’er our pathway lie, And a glad sound comes with the setting sun, “Well done, well done!”
This is a YouTube video of Tim Hawkins THE GOVERNMENT CAN - so view original post if you don't see anything.
Christian comedian and homeschooling dad, Tim Hawkins, is coming to Louisville (New Albany, actually) for the Marriage RAWKS! rally in October. Is anyone interested in going? If we get 5+ together, we get group rate ($13).
I got this from the US Conference of (ROMAN) Catholic Bishop's website. It's part of their renewed focus on catechesis. After looking over it, I wanted to post it and see if there were any responses from the Reform-minded folks that read my blog. The concept of a family altar is well established in Roman Catholic communities. It used to be well-established in Protestant families (normally the kitchen table), but I'm liking the idea of a place set especially apart. Maybe it will be so again.
To show that God is at the center of their lives, many families enthrone the Bible, the Word of God, in a visible place in their homes. By placing the Sacred Scriptures in a prominent place decorated with flowers and art, and by gathering at this spot for daily prayer, families show that God is present and active through his Word.
Enthroning the Bible in your home is easy. Simply pick a place where the Bible can be honored. The Bible should be placed where it will be seen regularly, but the location should be apart from the noise and confusion of the family entertainment. Place the Bible, opened to a favorite passage or the readings of the day (these can be found at www.usccb.org/nab), on a table or shelf. Decorate the area around the Bible with a cloth, flowers, and/or a candle—whatever makes sense to you. Use the following ritual prayer when you gather as a family to enthrone the Bible.
Things to Prepare
• Bible • A shelf or table where the Bible will be placed (the shelf may be adorned with a cloth and candles)
Ritual
When possible, the ritual may start outside the main door to the house or outside the main entrance to the room. One member of the family holds the Bible, raised slightly. The father, mother, or other leader begins the celebration with the opening litany:
Leader: Our Lord Jesus Christ, you are the Word of the Father. Response: Come, Lord Jesus, come.
Leader: You became one with us to tell of the Father’s love. Response: Come, Lord Jesus, come.
Leader: You are the light that shines in the darkness. Response: Come, Lord Jesus, come.
Leader: You save us from fear and break the bonds of sin and death. Response: Come, Lord Jesus, come.
Leader: You come to guide our steps and lead us to God. Response: Come, Lord Jesus, come.
Leader: You are the Word of eternal life. Response: Come, Lord Jesus, come.
Leader: You fill us with the Holy Spirit. Response: Come, Lord Jesus, come.
As everyone enters the house or room, they may sing a suitable song.
Then one of the following Scripture passages is read from the Bible:
Matthew 4:17-23 Jesus calls and heals through the power of his Word. Mark 4:1-20 The Word is like the seed. Luke 4:14-21 Jesus proclaims the Word in Nazareth. John 1:10-14 Jesus is the Word of God and the light of the world.
After the reading, the leader places the Bible in the place prepared for it. All bow deeply before the enthroned Bible.
Leader: We have heard your words, Jesus. They give us joy and bring light and truth into our lives. Your presence gives us peace in our troubled and divided world. Let your Word create in our hearts a deep desire for you. Be with us in our hearts and homes, in our community and country. Give us your Holy Spirit to help us to understand your Word. We enthrone now this Holy Bible in our midst. Make your Word the center of our lives. May your Word inspire all that we think and say and do. May your Word bind us together in unity with each other and with you, today and forever.
Response:Amen.
All join in saying the Lord’s Prayer.
All repeat after the leader:
We promise to respect the Word of God in our midst. We shall read and reflect on it as a family of God. May we draw from it inspiration for our decisions, strength for our work, and comfort in suffering. Jesus, help us to be faithful to our promise, you who live forever and ever. Amen.
The celebration concludes with a sign of peace.
Adapted from Enthroning the Bible in the Family, by Pauline Publications Africa. Used with permission. Handouts may be reproduced to use in promoting Catechetical Sunday.
Whene'er I take my pipe and stuff it And smoke to pass the time away My thoughts, as I sit there and puff it, Dwell on a picture sad and grey: It teaches me that very like Am I myself unto my pipe.
Like me this pipe, so fragrant burning, Is made of naught but earthen clay; To earth I too shall be returning, And cannot halt my slow decay. My well used pipe, now cracked and broken, Of mortal life is but a token.
No stain, the pipe's hue yet doth darken; It remains white. Thus do I know That when to death's call I must harken My body, too, all pale will grow. To black beneath the sod 'twill turn, Likewise the pipe, if oft it burn.
Or when the pipe is fairly glowing, Behold then instantaneously, The smoke off into thin air going, 'Til naught but ash is left to see. Man's fame likewise away will burn And unto dust his body turn.
How oft it happens when one's smoking, The tamper's missing from it's shelf, And one goes with one's finger poking Into the bowl and burns oneself. If in the pipe such pain doth dwell How hot must be the pains of Hell!
Thus o'er my pipe in contemplation Of such things - I can constantly Indulge in fruitful meditation, And so, puffing contentedly, On land, at sea, at home, abroad, I smoke my pipe and worship God.
Forty-six years later, we're still working on it. This is a speech from my favorite Republican.
I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.
Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.
But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. And so we've come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.
In a sense we've come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the "unalienable Rights" of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note, insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds."
But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so, we've come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.
We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.
It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. And those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. And there will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.
But there is something that I must say to my people, who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice: In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.
The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom.
We cannot walk alone.
And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead.
We cannot turn back.
There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their self-hood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating: "For Whites Only." We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until "justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream."¹
I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. And some of you have come from areas where your quest -- quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive. Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed.
Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends.
And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
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.
I have a dream today!
I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of "interposition" and "nullification" -- one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.
I have a dream today!
I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; "and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together."2
This is our hope, and this is the faith that I go back to the South with.
With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.
And this will be the day -- this will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning:
My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing.
Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim's pride,
From every mountainside, let freedom ring!
And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true.
And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.
Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.
Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.
Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.
Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.
But not only that:
Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.
Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.
Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi.
From every mountainside, let freedom ring.
And when this happens, when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual:
Free at last! Free at last!
Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!3
¹Amos 5:24 (rendered precisely in The American Standard Version of the Holy Bible)
2Isaiah 40:4-5 (King James Version of the Holy Bible). Quotation marks are excluded from part of this moment in the text because King's rendering of Isaiah 40:4 does not precisely follow the KJV version from which he quotes (e.g., "hill" and "mountain" are reversed in the KJV). King's rendering of Isaiah 40:5, however, is precisely quoted from the KJV.
Caroline Noel sang the Kenotic Hymn from St Paul's Letter to the Philippians in a famous setting (King's Weston) --and singing this version of the hymn is an experience of being caught up into the joy, the suffering, and the glory of Jesus Christ:
At the Name of Jesus every knee shall bow, every tongue confess him King of glory now; 'tis the Father's pleasure we should call him Lord, who from the beginning was the mighty Word.
At his voice creation sprang at once to sight, all the angel faces, all the hosts of light, Thrones and Dominations, stars upon their way, all the heavenly orders, in their great array.
Humbled for a season, to receive a Name from the lips of sinners, unto whom he came, faithfully he bore it spotless to the last, brought it back victorious, when from death he passed;
Bore it up triumphant, with its human light, through all ranks of creatures, to the central height, to the throne of Godhead, to the Father's breast; filled it with the glory of that perfect rest.
Name him, brothers, name him, with love as strong as death, but with awe and wonder and with bated breath; he is God the Savior, he is Christ the Lord, ever to be worshiped, trusted, and adored.
In your hearts enthrone him; there let him subdue all that is not holy, all that is not true; crown him as your Captain in temptation's hour; let his will enfold you in its light and power.
Brothers, this Lord Jesus shall return again, with his Father's glory with his angel train; for all wreaths of empire meet upon his brow, and our hearts confess him King of Glory now.
I was recently directed to a reflection piece by Dr. Jacob Appel on harvesting organs from aborted babies. His pragmatism is telling.
"The first striking feature of fetal organs is that their supply, for all practical purposes, is unlimited. Unlike living kidney donors, who must then advance through life with only one functioning kidney, pregnant women who provide fetal kidneys could do so repeatedly without incurring the medical consequences of adult organ loss."
I think it's time for somebody to turn in their medical ethics license. Dr. Appel is no doubt a brilliant academic. According to his biography, he has earned the A.B. and A.M. from Brown University, the M.A. and M.Phil. from Columbia University, the M.D. from Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons, an M.F.A. in creative writing from New York University, and a J.D. from Harvard Law School. No slug in the classroom, to be sure - either as a student or as a professor.
He has most recently taught at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, where he was honored with the Undergraduate Council of Students Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2003. He publishes in the field of bioethics and contributes to such publications as the Journal of Clinical Ethics, the Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics, the Hastings Center Report, and the Bulletin of the History of Medicine.
I noticed that Dr. Appel is admitted to the practice of law in New York State and Rhode Island, and is a licensed New York City sightseeing guide...but he's not licensed as a physician.* Maybe you should have to have a license (and clinical experience - i.e., helping people wrestle with these issues in the flesh) to practice biomedical ethics.
As others have pointed out, once you give in to killing the unborn, no moral cretinism is too low for you to stoop...no matter how many postnominal letters one has.
*It appears he is serving a residency in psychiatry at Mount Sinai - very prestigious. Yet I don't see him listed under the AMA's finder for NY, which hosts licensing information for all MDs and DOs, whether AMA members or not. He may not have taken the USMLE yet...but then how is he doing a residency?
Some say the world will end in fire, Some say in ice. From what I've tasted of desire I hold with those who favour fire. But if it had to perish twice, I think I know enough of hate To say that for destruction ice Is also great And would suffice.
Traditional Anglicanism that is robustly orthodox is alive in Central Kentucky! We are gathering people who need to be welcomed by the Church of Christ, loved in the name of Christ, taught the Word of Christ, and fed on the Most Precious Body & Blood of Christ!
A confessional Christian ruminates on life. While "adiaphora" refers to "things indifferent" to orthodox Christianity, it also sums up much of the mainline churches attitudes of indifference to the heresy in her ranks (and by "rank" I mean the positively mephitic aroma!).
Oh, and if you post anonymously, make sure you identify yourself - or at least keep it on target. Don't expect me to post your incognito invective. If that's your bag, get your own blog.
I welcome disagreement. Say what you will, but back it up. I'm from Dixie - not ipse dixit!
