Barack and Forth

Presidential candidates traditionally slide towards the center of the political spectrum after they secure the nominations of their parties. Senator John McCain is no exception--he has admitted to adjusting his views on a couple of issues. But Senator Barack Obama is notable not only in that he refuses to admit that he is moving to the center to make himself more electable (he was named the most liberal senator by the non-partisan National Journal); Obama's shift is astounding in the ever-increasing number of his policies that have been, shall we say, adjusted. Here is my tally, in no particular order:

1) was against 1990s welfare reform, now for it
2) was for Washington, DC gun ban, now against it
3) was against death penalty for any reason, now favors it for child rapists and Osama Bin Laden
4) was against NAFTA, now for it
5) was against Cuban embargo, now for it
6) promised to accept campaign spending limits/matching funds if McCain did, now refuses to participate
7) was "strongly" against FISA, a few days ago voted for it
8) was for speedy Iraq withdrawal (we would have been out months ago if he had his wish), now lengthening the deadline significantly
9) was vocally against displaying displaying patriotism via flag lapel pins, now wears one
10) was against Jerusalem being the undivided capital of Israel, now for it
11) was for chatting unconditionally with Iran's President AckMyDumbJihad, now for conditions
12) had promised never to "disown" Reverend Wright, now Wright is disowned
13) for 20 years was for family's membership in hateful so-called church "Trinity", now against it
14) was for mental health exceptions for partial-birth abortions, now against them
15) voted against laws protecting abortion survivors, now for such laws
16) claimed to be for several town hall-style debates with Senator McCain, but his campaign later said only one, and only at a time no one would watch (Independence Day)
17) was promising to never use negative ads, now using them
18) was against President Bush's faith-based initiatives, now for them

The "flip-flops" are coming fast and furious lately, so check back here once in a while as I update the list.

From the "Highly Recommended" department...

My wife and I went to see Wall-E yesterday. (My kids--age 16 and 13--are too old to want to see a G-rated cartoon, but my wife and I are not. Funny how that works.) We thoroughly enjoyed the film's
--awe (PIXAR's dazzling state-of-the-art animation),
--awwws (The many cute-cute scenes. Even the cockroach--who survives on 700 year old Twinkies--was lovable), and
--haws (there are several hilarious situations).
Some detractors of Wall-E have been distracted by it's alleged environmentalist agenda. Not to worry--the good, clean (I mean morally, not ecologically) fun is all that really comes across.

Why Is It Wrong To "Cuss"?

Profanity is often referred to as mature language. Yet I've heard children use these words. Are these kids more mature than their peers? Hardly. It is immature language because:

--cussers don't care if they bother people
(in this, they are on a level with people who pass gas, loudly chew gum, or burp in public),

--cussers don't have the vocabulary to express themselves properly, or they're too lazy to try,

--cussers usually don't even use profane words according to their definitions, and

--cussers often trivialize and disrespect the names and the titles of the awesome and wonderful Lord of Lords.

I don't misuse the names of your loved ones; please don't do so to the one I love more than anyone else.

The Legacy of Charles Darwin

From Darwin's The Descent of Man:
"With savages, the weak in body or mind are soon eliminated; and those that survive commonly exhibit a vigorous state of health. We civilised men, on the other hand, do our utmost to check the process of elimination; we build asylums for the imbecile, the maimed, and the sick; we institute poor-laws and our medical men exert their utmost skill to save the life of every one to the last moment. There is reason to believe that vaccination has preserved thousands, who from a weak constitution would formerly have succumbed to the small-pox. Thus the weak members of civilised societies propagate their kind. No one who has attended to the breeding of domestic animals will doubt that this must be highly injurious to the race of man. It is surprising how soon a want of care, or care wrongly directed, leads to the degeneration of a domestic race; but excepting in the case of man himself, hardly anyone is so ignorant as to allow his worst animals to breed."

Thus Darwin personally inspired Friedrich "Super-Man" Nietzsche, Adolf "Final Solution" Hitler, Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger, and a generation of lesser-know racists.

Why Do Bad Things Happen To Good People? Plus-Update

My face is still wet with the tears I shed while watching a video--a tribute to one of singer/songwriter Steven Curtis Chapman's three beautiful Chinese-born adopted daughters. I just found out about the tragic, accidental death of five-year-old Maria. Chapman is a tireless advocate for adoption. Why did this happen, God?
God is not offended by the question. He knows what it's like to lose someone--his own Son suffered greatly before enduring a humiliating death. And Jesus did not accept his fate blissfully. But "for the joy set before him, he endured the cross, thinking nothing of the shame". What was the joy set before him? His death paid the price we deserved to pay for our sins. He made a way for us to be forgiven. We can have fellowship with God forever. So good came from bad.
I can't imagine the suffering the Chapman family is living with now. God promises that "those who go forth in tears, bearing precious seed, will come again with joy, bringing their fruit with them". I don't know how God will make good out of bad for the Chapmans. Maybe people will be motivated to adopt because of this, rescuing precious children. Maybe some mourners will draw near to God for the first time at her funeral, finding eternal life. But one thing I do know: the Chapmans will be reunited one day...soon. And God will wipe away every tear.
Update--The Chapmans have asked that well-wishers donate to their adoption-aid charity in lieu of flowers, and more than $500,000 has been raised so far.

New Attack On Christianity Through "Twistory"

History is littered with attempts to destroy Christianity. Some efforts have been motivated by hatred of God's people (such as Nero's persecutions), and some by the desire to be free from moral accountability ("I suppose the reason we leaped at The Origin Of Species was because the idea of God interfered with our sexual mores"--Sir Julian Huxley, perhaps the leading defender of Darwinism of his time). Whether by brute force, such as in Communist and Muslim nations, or by blatant misrepresentation of the facts of history (Hollywood has been doing this since Inherit The Wind turned the Scopes trial on its head), the Bible and its believers have withstood more abuse than any other world view and group.
I recently encountered another example of the "twistorical" misrepresentation I referred to. Admittedly, an internet-based movie called Zeitgeist had me startled. It's basic argument is that Christianity is entirely based on religions and cults that predate the New Testament. I'm no expert of ancient mythology, so I was unaware of the shuffling of historical "cards" that was going on in the flick. But as I nervously watched the slick presentation, I felt succor in the fact that there are many experts in ancient religions who are devout Christians, and that there must be answers to the accusations posited in the video. Sure enough, I simply entered "zeitgeist rebuttal" in a search engine, and I immediately found this. At this site, you'll find both the movie and a scholarly refutation of the attacks it hurls at God's word. I'm confident that you'll find nothing in Zeitgeist that can stand after careful examination of the facts.
Zeitgeist does more spinning than the cyclone that slammed into Myanmar recently, but because of the efforts of good historians, it shouldn't do nearly as much damage to the precious souls of men and women.
Be advised--some editions of Zeitgeist contain much caustic use of profanity.

Be Happy and Healthy

Several scientific statistical studies show that each of the following is true:
1) Generous people are happier than stingy ones.
2) Forgiveness is healthier than holding grudges.
3) Religious people are happier than the non-religious.
4) Prayer is good for your health.
5) American political conservatives are happier than liberals.
6) Evangelical married people have a higher rate of sexual satisfaction than any other major sociological group.
7) Those living separately before marriage have a much lower divorce rate than those who "shacked up" beforehand.

Most of these findings are quite paradoxical. For example, one would think that people who kept their money would be able to spend it on themselves, and that this would lead to more happiness. Philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche taught that if we live selfishly, we would evolve--through the survival of the fittest-- into a race of ubbermensch, or supermen. Nietzsche tried to heed his own advice, and he went quite insane in his latter years.

The way to getting any complex thing to work is to look at the owner's manual. The Bible is the owner's manual for human life. Follow it's teachings, and you will be more able to overcome the adversities of life.

P.S. What does #5 have to do with the Bible? Though there are certainly conservatives who violate the other principles, political conservatism is much more in line with the Bible's wisdom than liberalism. I'll write more about that in the future.