I found this article on CitizenLink interesting. The article is about Peter Schweizer’s new book, Makers and Takers: Why Conservatives Work Harder, Feel Happier, Have Closer Families, Take Fewer Drugs, Give More Generously, Value Honesty More, Are Less Materialistic and Envious, Whine Less … And Even Hug Their Children More Than Liberals. Here is a quote from the article.
Seventy-one percent of conservatives say you have an obligation to care for a seriously injured spouse or parent, versus 46 percent of liberals.
Liberals are 2 1/2 times more likely to be resentful of others’ success and 50 percent more likely to be jealous of other people’s good luck.
Fifty-five percent of conservatives get satisfaction from putting someone else’s happiness ahead of their own, nearly three times the number of liberals: just 20 percent.
Young conservatives are more likely to volunteer for a charity, any kind of charity, than young liberals — although young liberals are more likely to say they have attended a protest rally.
Fifty-nine percent of those who describe themselves as “very liberal” think it’s wrong to cheat on your spouse, compared to 86 percent of those who self-identify as “very conservative.”
The data come from a treasure trove of scientific surveys that have been out there for years, but never really gone through in this way. Schweizer's conclusion after mining it: “Liberalism … allows one to claim the moral high ground on just about any issue while in effect ‘outsourcing’ your personal responsibility for doing something about it to the government.”
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Friday, June 6, 2008
Civil Servants and Custody Battles
Yahoo has a story about Norwegian police dogs being given civil servant legal status. This means that "police dogs should be considered civil servants and any acts of violence against them therefore merits the same punishment as attacks on human police officers." This article seems fairly innocuous in and of itself except that last week I read another story that caused me to read this story in a different light.
That article was from LifeSiteNews.com. It covered the legal battle going on in Europe to get a certain chimp declared a person. Here are some clips.
Animal rights activists and leading experts in several biological fields including primatology and anthropology are joining forces to uphold a case going before an Austrian court which seeks a declaration of ‘human status’ for a 26 year old chimpanzee.
Evolutionary enthusiast and professor at University College London, Sommer claims, “It's untenable to talk of dividing humans and humanoid apes because there are no clear-cut criteria - neither biological, nor mental, nor social.”
Pro-life observers note the irony that chimps may be declared “human” while unborn real humans are denied legal human status and thereby over 50 million are killed each year, even up to full term. Infanticide is also common in certain nations and often not punished. In China, government agents carry out brutal killings of newborns of parents who were not authorized to have another child.
I believe both of these stories stem from the belief that everything evolved from hydrogen gas and therefor no life is more special or important than anything else. We are all just "star-stuff" in different shapes and with different intelligence levels.
The sad thing is that Darwin's theory breaks down if we take an objective look at it. Charles Darwin said in The Origins of the Species, "If it could be demonstrated that any complex organ existed which could not possibly have been formed by numerous, successive, slight modifications, my theory would absolutely break down." There are many examples of this irreducible complexity. I want to show you only one.
Let's look at the chicken egg. It has a shell with about 10,000 pores, a membrane, a yolk, and the white. 4 vessels come from the chick. 2 go to the yolk (its food source) and 2 go to the membrane (its place for oxygen/carbon dioxide exchange). Now all of these things would have to evolve simultaneously; without any one of them the chick would die. Too few pores and the chick dies from lack of oxygen. Too many and the brittle shell will break. No yolk or too little and the chick starves. You get the idea. All of the parts have to be there at the same time. There is no room for a step by step process.
When we believe the lie of Darwinism, chimps and dogs become as important as people. People have no reason to live because there is no life after this one. Our children are no longer precious in His sight, but "blobs of tissue" that can be killed on demand. I believe that the theory of evolution is one of the most pernicious lies foisted upon humanity. God, help us to fight it with truth.
That article was from LifeSiteNews.com. It covered the legal battle going on in Europe to get a certain chimp declared a person. Here are some clips.
Animal rights activists and leading experts in several biological fields including primatology and anthropology are joining forces to uphold a case going before an Austrian court which seeks a declaration of ‘human status’ for a 26 year old chimpanzee.
Evolutionary enthusiast and professor at University College London, Sommer claims, “It's untenable to talk of dividing humans and humanoid apes because there are no clear-cut criteria - neither biological, nor mental, nor social.”
Pro-life observers note the irony that chimps may be declared “human” while unborn real humans are denied legal human status and thereby over 50 million are killed each year, even up to full term. Infanticide is also common in certain nations and often not punished. In China, government agents carry out brutal killings of newborns of parents who were not authorized to have another child.
I believe both of these stories stem from the belief that everything evolved from hydrogen gas and therefor no life is more special or important than anything else. We are all just "star-stuff" in different shapes and with different intelligence levels.
The sad thing is that Darwin's theory breaks down if we take an objective look at it. Charles Darwin said in The Origins of the Species, "If it could be demonstrated that any complex organ existed which could not possibly have been formed by numerous, successive, slight modifications, my theory would absolutely break down." There are many examples of this irreducible complexity. I want to show you only one.
Let's look at the chicken egg. It has a shell with about 10,000 pores, a membrane, a yolk, and the white. 4 vessels come from the chick. 2 go to the yolk (its food source) and 2 go to the membrane (its place for oxygen/carbon dioxide exchange). Now all of these things would have to evolve simultaneously; without any one of them the chick would die. Too few pores and the chick dies from lack of oxygen. Too many and the brittle shell will break. No yolk or too little and the chick starves. You get the idea. All of the parts have to be there at the same time. There is no room for a step by step process.
When we believe the lie of Darwinism, chimps and dogs become as important as people. People have no reason to live because there is no life after this one. Our children are no longer precious in His sight, but "blobs of tissue" that can be killed on demand. I believe that the theory of evolution is one of the most pernicious lies foisted upon humanity. God, help us to fight it with truth.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Myths of "No Fault" Divorce
I found this interesting article about "no fault" divorce at www.insidecatholic.com. It goes over several myths about "no fault" divorce. I will give you a little sample with myth number one.
Myth 1: No-fault divorce permitted divorce by mutual consent, thus making divorce less acrimonious.
Fact: No-fault divorce is unilateral divorce. It permits divorce by one spouse acting alone for any reason or no reason. No "grounds" are required, and the involuntarily divorced spouse need commit no legal infraction, either criminal or civil. It is therefore forced divorce, meaning you can be divorced over your objections. (Some 80 percent of divorces today are unilateral.)
Even more serious, you can be forcibly separated from your children, your home, and your property, also through literally "no fault" of your own. Failure to cooperate with the divorce opens the innocent spouse to criminal penalties. No-fault divorce made divorce far more destructive by allowing the state to undertake court proceedings against innocent people, confiscate everything they have, and incarcerate them without trial.
At the beginning of the article is a link to http://www.stephenbaskerville.net/. At the bottom of this page is an article about the repercussions of divorce. Here is a rather disturbing quote.
The terror of the divorce regime is not a future possibility; it is a present reality. The following methods are currently employed by family courts and other government agents. These practices are now widespread in America:
mass incarcerations without trial or charge
forced confessions
children forcibly separated from parents who are under no suspicion of legal wrongdoing and
parents stripped of the care, custody, and companionship of their children without explanation
government agents entering the homes, demanding and examining private papers and personal effects, and seizing the property of citizens who are under no suspicion of legal wrongdoing
official court records, including hearing tapes and transcripts, doctored and falsified with the knowledge of court officials and evidence fabricated against the innocent
defendants denied the constitutional right to face their accusers
bureaucratic police authorized to issue subpoenas and arrest warrants against parents, with no hearing and contrary to due process of law
special courts created specifically to process parents for political offenses
forced labor facilities created specifically for parents
children instructed to hate their parents with the backing of government officials
children forced by government officials to act as informers against their parents
children abused and killed with the backing of government officials
knowingly false allegations, for which no evidence is presented, accepted as fact without proof, overturning the presumption of innocence, and not punished when demonstrated to be untrue
parents ordered by government officials to separate from their spouses, on pain of losing their children
parents forced to pay the private fees of court officials they have not hired and whose services they have not sought or used, on pain of incarceration
parents suspected of no legal wrongdoing punitively stripped of their property and income, sometimes at gunpoint, and reduced to penury
government officials using the mass media to vilify private American citizens, and political leaders using their offices as platforms to verbally attack private American citizens, who have no right of reply or opportunity to defend themselves
parents jailed without trial reportedly beaten, in at least one case fatally, and denied medical attention while in police custody.
I have made these charges in some of the most reputable publications in the English language. They have never been refuted. Yet neither have they been corrected or even addressed by public officials, the media, or academics.
I would like to see the evidence for some of these, but if even half of these things are true, God help us.
Myth 1: No-fault divorce permitted divorce by mutual consent, thus making divorce less acrimonious.
Fact: No-fault divorce is unilateral divorce. It permits divorce by one spouse acting alone for any reason or no reason. No "grounds" are required, and the involuntarily divorced spouse need commit no legal infraction, either criminal or civil. It is therefore forced divorce, meaning you can be divorced over your objections. (Some 80 percent of divorces today are unilateral.)
Even more serious, you can be forcibly separated from your children, your home, and your property, also through literally "no fault" of your own. Failure to cooperate with the divorce opens the innocent spouse to criminal penalties. No-fault divorce made divorce far more destructive by allowing the state to undertake court proceedings against innocent people, confiscate everything they have, and incarcerate them without trial.
At the beginning of the article is a link to http://www.stephenbaskerville.net/. At the bottom of this page is an article about the repercussions of divorce. Here is a rather disturbing quote.
The terror of the divorce regime is not a future possibility; it is a present reality. The following methods are currently employed by family courts and other government agents. These practices are now widespread in America:
mass incarcerations without trial or charge
forced confessions
children forcibly separated from parents who are under no suspicion of legal wrongdoing and
parents stripped of the care, custody, and companionship of their children without explanation
government agents entering the homes, demanding and examining private papers and personal effects, and seizing the property of citizens who are under no suspicion of legal wrongdoing
official court records, including hearing tapes and transcripts, doctored and falsified with the knowledge of court officials and evidence fabricated against the innocent
defendants denied the constitutional right to face their accusers
bureaucratic police authorized to issue subpoenas and arrest warrants against parents, with no hearing and contrary to due process of law
special courts created specifically to process parents for political offenses
forced labor facilities created specifically for parents
children instructed to hate their parents with the backing of government officials
children forced by government officials to act as informers against their parents
children abused and killed with the backing of government officials
knowingly false allegations, for which no evidence is presented, accepted as fact without proof, overturning the presumption of innocence, and not punished when demonstrated to be untrue
parents ordered by government officials to separate from their spouses, on pain of losing their children
parents forced to pay the private fees of court officials they have not hired and whose services they have not sought or used, on pain of incarceration
parents suspected of no legal wrongdoing punitively stripped of their property and income, sometimes at gunpoint, and reduced to penury
government officials using the mass media to vilify private American citizens, and political leaders using their offices as platforms to verbally attack private American citizens, who have no right of reply or opportunity to defend themselves
parents jailed without trial reportedly beaten, in at least one case fatally, and denied medical attention while in police custody.
I have made these charges in some of the most reputable publications in the English language. They have never been refuted. Yet neither have they been corrected or even addressed by public officials, the media, or academics.
I would like to see the evidence for some of these, but if even half of these things are true, God help us.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
But My Child is Salt and Light
I have heard many Christian parents who are sending their children to government schools say something along these lines: “My child is salt and light.” What they mean by this is their children are evangelists or missionaries among the heathen culture of the government school.
As a mission committee member of a fairly large congregation supporting about 15 missionary families, I feel qualified to comment on this. Here are some of the things we require before sending people out.
They must understand that they are entering the front lines of a cosmic spiritual battle. We look at how many prayer partners they have. We look at their spiritual maturity. Have they weathered any storms with the Lord?
I can’t really see any five-year-old meeting these criteria, but a 15-year-old might. For the high school freshman that feels called to government schools, I recommend recruiting at least 50 prayer warriors that agree to pray for you and your classmates.
We look at the missionary’s team. We send people out in teams so that they have accountability and so that there is someone looking out for their spiritual welfare. Team members should already mesh well together. Usually they all work in the same village.
Again, a kindergartner is not ready to go into battle. The freshman would need a team of like-minded teens at the same high school. I would recommend at least two more making a team of three.
We look for people that have some training/short term experience. We want them to have an inkling of what they are getting into before they jump.
I would recommend an older student take the Perspectives course and participate in the Truth Project. I would also recommend that they be involved in several evangelistic Bible studies before entering the public school system.
So here are my recommendations for those of you who want your children to be salt and light in the government school system.
1. Do not force this on your child. Can you imagine forcing someone to be a missionary?
2. Make certain that you have a very solid Christian worldview. The Truth Project, Nehemiah Institute, and www.face.net have excellent resources.
3. Pass your worldview on to your children. The easiest way to do this is to homeschool. Another way is to find an excellent Christian school that trains specifically toward a God-centered worldview.
4. Show them an example of evangelism by hosting Bible studies in your home.
5. If and when they feel the calling to reach out to teens at the local government school, help them explain what they want to do and get prayer warriors lined up and a team of like-minded teens.
As a mission committee member of a fairly large congregation supporting about 15 missionary families, I feel qualified to comment on this. Here are some of the things we require before sending people out.
They must understand that they are entering the front lines of a cosmic spiritual battle. We look at how many prayer partners they have. We look at their spiritual maturity. Have they weathered any storms with the Lord?
I can’t really see any five-year-old meeting these criteria, but a 15-year-old might. For the high school freshman that feels called to government schools, I recommend recruiting at least 50 prayer warriors that agree to pray for you and your classmates.
We look at the missionary’s team. We send people out in teams so that they have accountability and so that there is someone looking out for their spiritual welfare. Team members should already mesh well together. Usually they all work in the same village.
Again, a kindergartner is not ready to go into battle. The freshman would need a team of like-minded teens at the same high school. I would recommend at least two more making a team of three.
We look for people that have some training/short term experience. We want them to have an inkling of what they are getting into before they jump.
I would recommend an older student take the Perspectives course and participate in the Truth Project. I would also recommend that they be involved in several evangelistic Bible studies before entering the public school system.
So here are my recommendations for those of you who want your children to be salt and light in the government school system.
1. Do not force this on your child. Can you imagine forcing someone to be a missionary?
2. Make certain that you have a very solid Christian worldview. The Truth Project, Nehemiah Institute, and www.face.net have excellent resources.
3. Pass your worldview on to your children. The easiest way to do this is to homeschool. Another way is to find an excellent Christian school that trains specifically toward a God-centered worldview.
4. Show them an example of evangelism by hosting Bible studies in your home.
5. If and when they feel the calling to reach out to teens at the local government school, help them explain what they want to do and get prayer warriors lined up and a team of like-minded teens.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Alex and Brett Harris on Tour
I really admire Brett and Alex for fighting so many of the delusions that hold our teens captive from reaching their full potential in Christ.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
The Truth Project
The Truth Project
My husband and I attended the Truth Project facilitator training in Houston this weekend. It was really good.
The Truth Project is a part of Focus on the Family. The purpose of it is to help Christians have a Christian worldview. You may think that there is not much need for this, but the conference started with a very interesting statistic from the Barna Group:
4% of American’s have a basically Christian worldview.
9% of “born-again” Christian American’s have a basically Christian worldview.
That means that only about 1 in 10 people claiming to be born-again Christians have solid biblical answers to questions such as:
Is Satan real or a symbol?
Did Jesus live a perfect, sinless life while on earth?
Was man created or evolved from primordial soup?
What a scary, sickly state for the body of Christ to be in!
The Truth Project is a DVD series licensed to share only in the home/small group setting. The purpose of this is to encourage deep transformation, intimate fellowship, and Kingdom multiplication. There are 13 lessons that are each an hour long. Each small group meeting is recommended to be two hours long.
The lessons are aimed at believers. They all start with the assumption that you believe in God and that you trust his word. Each lesson contrasts God’s “truth claims” with those of the world. Each lesson concentrates on a different area:
Veritology (What is the truth?)
Philosophy and Ethics (Danger of deceptive philosophy. Renewing the mind.)
Anthropology (Who is man? What is evil? Where does evil come from?)
Theology (Who is God? What is eternal life?)
Science (Creation declares God’s glory. Breaking down Darwin’s theory. This category has two lessons instead of one.)
History (God’s mandate to remember. Historical revisionism. Living in the larger story.)
Sociology (The divine imprint. The triune nature of social systems. Authority, submission, oneness.)
Am I Alone? (Indwelling of God. Many members one body.)
The State (Whose Law?)
The American Experiment (Removing the lampstand. Remember, repent, return.)
Labor (Created to create, 7 economic principles)
Community and Involvement (God cares, do I?)
I am really looking forward to viewing all of the DVDs and hosting a small group. I think that the Truth Project will be Church changing and therefore world changing. If you want to learn more, the website is www.thetruthproject.org.
My husband and I attended the Truth Project facilitator training in Houston this weekend. It was really good.
The Truth Project is a part of Focus on the Family. The purpose of it is to help Christians have a Christian worldview. You may think that there is not much need for this, but the conference started with a very interesting statistic from the Barna Group:
4% of American’s have a basically Christian worldview.
9% of “born-again” Christian American’s have a basically Christian worldview.
That means that only about 1 in 10 people claiming to be born-again Christians have solid biblical answers to questions such as:
Is Satan real or a symbol?
Did Jesus live a perfect, sinless life while on earth?
Was man created or evolved from primordial soup?
What a scary, sickly state for the body of Christ to be in!
The Truth Project is a DVD series licensed to share only in the home/small group setting. The purpose of this is to encourage deep transformation, intimate fellowship, and Kingdom multiplication. There are 13 lessons that are each an hour long. Each small group meeting is recommended to be two hours long.
The lessons are aimed at believers. They all start with the assumption that you believe in God and that you trust his word. Each lesson contrasts God’s “truth claims” with those of the world. Each lesson concentrates on a different area:
Veritology (What is the truth?)
Philosophy and Ethics (Danger of deceptive philosophy. Renewing the mind.)
Anthropology (Who is man? What is evil? Where does evil come from?)
Theology (Who is God? What is eternal life?)
Science (Creation declares God’s glory. Breaking down Darwin’s theory. This category has two lessons instead of one.)
History (God’s mandate to remember. Historical revisionism. Living in the larger story.)
Sociology (The divine imprint. The triune nature of social systems. Authority, submission, oneness.)
Am I Alone? (Indwelling of God. Many members one body.)
The State (Whose Law?)
The American Experiment (Removing the lampstand. Remember, repent, return.)
Labor (Created to create, 7 economic principles)
Community and Involvement (God cares, do I?)
I am really looking forward to viewing all of the DVDs and hosting a small group. I think that the Truth Project will be Church changing and therefore world changing. If you want to learn more, the website is www.thetruthproject.org.
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