Blog Entering the Cone of Silence

As I am traveling to southern Africa for two and half weeks, and will not have steady access or time to blog, I'm letting anyone who cares know that the blog will be pretty much limited to the thingys in the sidebar.  Enjoy, and Lord willing I'll be back here in early October!

Joel Rosenberg's latest report from Israel

Click on the title above or the link below to read Joel Rosenberg's insightful take on the situation currently in the Middle East. I usually find myself nodding in agreement with most of his points. This article is no exception.

Click here to go to the article.

Why A Pastor and Church Burning the Quran is a Sin

I am appalled by the plans of the Florida church and minister to burn Qurans on September 11th. But it is not just the stupidity of the action and the callous disregard of a myriad of unintended consequences that may occur (from danger to Americans overseas to inciting greater Muslim fanaticism around the world) that bothers me.

I believe this action is sin. By doing what they are doing this pastor and congregation are offending the very people they would teach Jesus died for. The pastor has forfeited his calling as a testimony to God's grace and his leading his people to live out the gospel toward others. The people have joined in the evil that their leader plans to do. This is not loving one's neighbor, turning the other cheek, going the extra mile, giving no offense, or making the gospel an aroma of life. Not only would Jesus NOT do this, but it flies in the face of living as gospel witnesses. But then, I am not convinced that the gospel matters very much in this case, at least in the interviews I hear from the pastor. He complains about Muslim extremists and their actions, and actually said, "What are we supposed to do, sit back and take it?"

Yes, sir, we are, if we are ambassadors for Christ.

If this man were acting as a private citizen as a part of a secular fringe group, I would still be appalled and in opposition. But he is doing this while calling himself a pastor--a shepherd of God's flock. And this church is calling itself a manifestation of the body of Christ. By their words and actions, neither could be judged to be true.

They bring reproach not just on Americans, but on Jesus Christ and the gospel, just as Fred Phelps and the Westboro Baptist Church has done for years during their protests at military funerals and their anti-homosexual protests calling for the deaths of "queers."

We cannot stop people from using titles or callling themselves churches. But we ought to make clear that they are at the very best deluded and deceived, and very possibly they are false teachers and false witnesses used by Satan himself to undermine the gospel of Jesus.

Here is a recent news story on the event: Fla. minister: Sept. 11 Quran burn still planned - Yahoo! News

Stephen Hawking: God didn't create universe - CNN.com; God: Yes I did - Bible

The faith expressed by Stephen Hawking is breathtaking: "spontaneous creation" as the reason everything exists. The "existence of gravity" as evidence that the universe "can and will (note the future tense)" create itself from nothing.

How can "nothing" create itself?

I have great respect for this man's courage and discipline to overcome incredible disabilities. Yet, if he does not qualify as an example of "professing [himself] to be wise, [he] became fool[ish]" in Romans 1, I would be hard pressed to be able to cite anyone as such an example.

Read: Stephen Hawking: God didn't create universe - CNN.com

Why Hope is Missing for Today's Israel/Palestine Negotiations

Last night the President hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas for dinner.  Today they start what is supposed to be a year's worth of negotiations to finalize peace between these peoples.

Can I suggest one very big reason that there is little reason to hope here?  There is no leader of "Palestine" to negotiate with.  Abbas and what is left of the PLO governs the West Bank, shakily.  Hamas has held Gaza for years and no "government" presence exists there.  Quite simply, Abbas can't implement anything he agrees to.  And even in the West Bank, Hamas operates, as they proved in an attack on Israeli settlers that killed four.  Abbas' government has received billions from Europe and the U.S. to prop it up, and relies (as does Gaza) on Israel to continue to supply power and water (the fact that Israel keeps the power on in Gaza while rockets continue to be launched from there against her is one of the most underreported stories of our age). 

Unless and until Palestinians have a functioning leadership that actually has control within its territory, the only negotiating "option" for Israel is to make concessions and hope that this time everyone else will "play nice."  Yasser Arafat was the last such leader, and he turned down offers more generous than those recently discussed.  Abbas says more concessions from Israel must be made, but he can not offer any guarantee that Hamas will abide by his agreements--in fact, they have said they will not. 

I pray for the peace of Jerusalem, knowing that ultimately it will only come with the return of her Messiah.  Until then, I pray for the peoples of the land, even in the midst of the continuing loss of political hope.  May they discover the hope that brings true peace--the gospel of peace.

When a Plan Fails, Is the Solution to Do it Again?

A departing Obama administration economic advisor who helped craft the stimulus package announced in her last speech that the plan failed to generate growth and jobs. Her suggested solution is to do it again. In fact, it is to "tax less and spend more."

Now, if government deficits and debt are bad and drag down our economic performance and confidence, it would seem that we should spend less or tax more, but not the other way around. And if, as has been shown from the time of Kennedy onward, tax rates are reduced, then government revenues actually increase because people have more to invest and spend, then taxing more should be off the table. Therefore, the solution is to spend less--much less.

I know, I don't have advanced degrees in economics. But I did read Henry Hazlitt's Economics in One Lesson and listened well to Dr. Allen Monroe in Foundations of Social Science class. Why, if uncontrolled debt is bad for me and spending more than I take in is devastating, should I believe it is good for a society?

Read the speech and commentary here: Romer: My Plan Failed FrumForum

"Back To School" from Walter Russell Mead's Blog

This link takes you to the thoughts of a brilliant scholar and writer who is returning to the classroom and has some powerful advice for students. It's a thought-provoking read.