Semper Reformanda

2005-06-14T10:32:00.000-05:00

Paul Stadig gets a blog!: Check out Paul Stadig's new blog here. Should be a good read, though I'm disappointed that he doesn't have anything about theonomy up yet. And he's wrong about the new Star Wars movies.

2004-09-30T08:00:00.000-05:00

Indeed, I am offended, Mr. Sandefur: Tim Sandefur, in discussing a case filed against the City of Los Angeles for removing a cross from the city seal, asks whether Christians should be offended that public displays of religion are often defended based on their historical, and not religious, value. The argument bascially says, "Yes, the cross is a religious symbol, and thus might violate the Establishment Clause, but it's been there for so long and it's really just a civic acknowledgment of our religious heritage so we should keep it."

This argument is nonsense, and I take offense to it not chiefly because it offends me, but because I think it offends God. Things like crosses or stone monuments or images are not how God desires to be worshipped, and even in those ways that He has commanded us to worship Him, he takes no pleasure in it being heartless and not focused completey on Him. Consider the words of Isaiah on these matters:

"What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me?" Says the LORD. "I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams And the fat of fed cattle; And I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs or goats. When you come to appear before Me, Who requires of you this trampling of My courts?
Bring your worthless offerings no longer, Incense is an abomination to Me. New moon and sabbath, the calling of assemblies-- I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly.
I hate your new moon {festivals} and your appointed feasts, They have become a burden to Me; I am weary of bearing {them.} So when you spread out your hands {in prayer,} I will hide My eyes from you; Yes, even though you multiply prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood. Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Remove the evil of your deeds from My sight. Cease to do evil, Learn to do good; Seek justice, Reprove the ruthless, Defend the orphan, Plead for the widow." Isaiah 1:11-17

God takes no pleasure in a public display of honor to Him if it is devoid of any real meaning. In fact, it angers Him. So yes, I have major problems with arguments in favor of public displays of religion when those arguments run as far away from God as possible.

2005-09-01T11:52:00.000-05:00

The Emperor Has No Clothes: Behold Leviathan, who is impotent to even give a cold cup of water to those in need:

"11:23 A.M. - (AP) Outside the New Orleans Convention Center, survivors are growing more frustrated with the lack of help after Hurricane Katrina.

One man says, "No one has thought enough of us to even bring us a cup of water."
Daniel Edwards says many people have gone days without food or water. He says tens of thousands of people are standing on the streets with no sign of emergency workers.
Several bodies lie scattered around. Edwards pointed to an elderly lady dead in a wheelchair and said, "I don't treat my dog like that." He says he buried his dog."

My heart goes out to those impacted by Hurricane Katrina. Hopefully, the impotence of the federal, state and local governments to prevent this tragedy and to react to it will call people back from the false idol of putting faith in ourselves (and our government) and to the One True God, revealed in our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the sure anchor of our soul, and we can find no eternal security in this world, but only in Him and His finished work on the cross.

2004-08-09T14:51:00.000-05:00

Current electoral vote count: based on state polling data published at realclearpolitics.com (linked on the right), I calculate that John Kerry would win 296-242 if the election were held today. Bush would win all the states he won in 2000 except FL, WV and NH, giving Kerry the win.

Interestingly, if the above scenario were to hold, but Bush would win FL instead of Kerry, there would be a 269-269 tie, and the election would be thrown to the House of Representatives. Barring a massive change in the composition of the House (voting for President is done by delegation in the House, not by individual votes), Bush would win.

How ironic would it be if Bush were to win his first term after protracted litigation, and his second term on a vote of the House of Representatives? It would drive the Left absolutely nuts!

Update: The folks over at election projection also predict a current lead of 296-242 for Kerry, but using a lot more silly charts and numbers. Though this may seem like bad news for Bush, as I said above, all he has to do is win FL back and the election is his. Furthermore, he still gets to give his acceptance speech at the RNC convention and he will surely get at least a small bounce from that, which could give him WV and maybe NH or WI into his column as well.

2005-04-04T15:23:00.000-05:00

The Lies of Michael Schiavo: Read this, then consider that the Florida courts believed this man, who flip-flopped over his wife, Terri, more than John Kerry and the infamous $87 billion.

Consider, that Michael Schiavo said, in court testimony in 1993, that "I feel wonderful. She's my life and I wouldn't trade her for the world...I believe in my wedding vows. ... I believe in the vows I took with my wife, through sickness, in health, for richer or poor. I married my wife because I love her and I want to spend the rest of my life with her. I'm going to do that."

Consider also that Michael Schiavo sued Terri's doctors to recover the cost of caring for her for fifty years, only years later to "remember" that Terri had wanted to die if she ever had to be fed through a tube.

This is a travesty of justice and a mockery of our legal system.

2005-03-25T12:39:00.000-05:00

The Schiavo Case and Liberalism: A must-read article on the Schiavo case by Eric Cohen. He pretty clearly articulates what I find to be the most compelling reason for continued involvement by Congress and the State of Florida: the fact that there is not compelling evidence that Terri wanted to die in this situation.

2005-03-22T13:09:00.000-05:00

Doug Wilson says food is not medical treatment: At this link, Doug Wilson makes the excellent point that food is not medical treatment, and that denying food is not "letting" Terri Schiavo die; it is actually murdering her.

2005-02-08T11:29:00.000-05:00

Blogging the TNIV Fiasco: Tim Bayly is doing some good-blogging on Zondervan's ode to seeker-sensitivity: Today's New Internation Version (TNIV) of the Bible, which is touted as a "gender-neutral" Bible translation. Click here to go to his site.

2004-09-27T08:58:00.000-05:00

Mt. St. Helens to Erupt Again?: Seismic activity underneath Mt. St. Helens has geologists concerned that another eruption could happen soon. The new activity is supposedly very similar to the pattern observed before the eruption in 1986.

2004-09-23T07:37:00.000-05:00

Thanks to TaxProf Blog: They posted a link about to my article on Cuno v. DaimlerChrysler.

2004-09-21T07:49:00.000-05:00

Cuno v. DaimlerChrysler: I have an analysis of the Cuno decision (which invalidated an Ohio investment tax credit under the Commerce Clause) here. This is a potentially explosive decision.

2004-09-12T08:37:00.000-05:00

Why Won't CBS Admit the Documents are Forgeries?: Powerline with a nice summary of the story and a logical explanation why CBS will not admit the documents are forgeries.

Short summary: because the Kerry campaign or other Democrat operatives forged the documents and sent them to CBS.

2004-09-10T21:40:00.000-05:00

Rathergate: I am 99.9% convinced that CBS has relied on forged documents to attack President Bush's service in the National Guard.

A good post here attacking the latest from Dan Rather on the "authenticity" of the documents.

I'm guessing that CBS is standing by the veracity of these documents, despite stories questioning their authenticity from the Washington Post and ABC News, because revealing the source would blow up the presidential campaign.

Update: Someone has offered you $10,000 if you can duplicate the "documents" on a typewriter from the early 1970s when they were purportedly written.

2004-09-02T09:49:00.000-05:00

Another election update: Pennsylvania moves into the President's column. With three of the last four polls showing a tie or Bush lead, PA would now go for Bush if the election were held today. Bush now leads Kerry by a margin of 305-233.

Incidentally, the two candidates are tied in Iowa, and Bush is within the margin of error in Minnesota, Maine and Michigan. Two of those states have not voted Republican for president since 1984 (Iowa and Minnesota), and the last Republican presidential candidate that Michigan and Maine went for was George H.W. Bush in 1988.

I would say that a strong speech from President Bush tonight would move those four states into the Bush column and make the race unwinnable for Kerry absent a stunning Kerry victory in the debates or a major international incident that embarrases the President.

2004-08-27T09:39:00.000-05:00

Election Update: If the election were held today, based on current polling, President Bush would win by an electoral count of 274-264. A few weeks ago, Senator Kerry would have won 296-242, but he has had a bad few weeks in the campaign. Bush would now pick up Florida and West Virginia and win the presidency.

All the major national polls are also moving in the direction of President Bush, and the latest state polls in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania show Bush with a 1-point lead in each state. I did not include these states for him yet and I will not until two or three different polls show him ahead.

With the Republican National Convention next week, President Bush could increase his lead considerably and move over 300 electoral votes. States like WI, IA, PA, MI, NM, NH and ME are currently vulnerable for the Kerry campaign.

Update: Three of the last four polls in WI show Bush with a slight lead, so I am giving that state to Bush. The electoral count is now 284-254.

2004-08-20T09:18:00.000-05:00

John Kerry's Mind: Turns out that John Kerry thought we should bring some of our troops home from Europe and North Korea a few weeks ago, but once President Bush proposed the idea Kerry opposed it. Kerry is starting to make Al Gore appear honest and sane.

2004-08-10T07:46:00.000-05:00

Fascinating Senate Race: With Alan Keyes entering the US Senate race in Illinois to challenge Democrat Barack Obama, this race becomes very interesting. I have always been an admirer of Alan Keyes. He brings a philosophical and theological approach to politics that I appreciate. Read this article and you will see that, agree or disagree, Keyes is having the right debate about the issues.

2004-07-19T11:43:00.000-05:00

Another tragic abortion story: And another example that many of our youngest, most innocent Americans are only slaves to the passions and desires of others.

2004-06-28T14:24:00.000-05:00

Putting a Face on the Womb: some remarkable pictures from BBC News, about research on fetal activities at 12 weeks and forward.

2004-05-27T13:09:00.000-05:00

Strong argument from ACLJ brief in partial-birth abortion case: "The U.S. Supreme Court in Roe held that human children prior to birth are not “persons” for purposes of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. This ruling is itself unconstitutional, as well as violative of fundamental human rights, because it drives a wedge between biological humanity (which prenatal human offspring undeniably have) and legal personhood (i.e., the right to the equal protection of the law). The repellant notion underlying Roe -- that there are “subhuman” members of the human species -- conflicts directly with the very purposes of the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments, which undid the great injustice of treating black Americans as slaves and property instead of as human beings entitled at law to full respect."

2004-05-26T14:07:00.000-05:00

New feature: I am now allowing comments on my posts. I hope it works okay. Comment-away!

2004-05-26T13:38:00.000-05:00

Al Gore, Champion of Limited Government?:

Al Gore receives a disproportionate amount of disdain from me because the man seems to be incapable of recognizing the difference between what he says about government and the legislation he supports. Take the following quote from a recent speech:

"There is good and evil in every person. And what makes the United States special in the history of nations is our commitment to the rule of law and our carefully constructed system of checks and balances. Our natural distrust of concentrated power and our devotion to openness and democracy are what have lead us as a people to consistently choose good over evil in our collective aspirations more than the people any other nation.

Our founders were insightful students of human nature. They feared the abuse of power because they understood that every human being has not only "better angels" in his nature, but also an innate vulnerability to temptation - especially the temptation to abuse power over others.

Our founders understood full well that a system of checks and balances is needed in our constitution because every human being lives with an internal system of checks and balances that cannot be relied upon to produce virtue if they are allowed to attain an unhealthy degree of power over their fellow citizens."

Do I even have to point out the inconsistency in what Al Gore says and what legislation he supports in government?

2004-05-24T11:30:00.000-05:00

Do conservatives ignore the spiritual dimensions of sex?: Tim Sandefur claims that conservatives focus only on the physicality of love and sex, and ignore the "spiritual" dimension of love and sex.

Aside from the fact that it is odd for an objectivist atheist to use the term "spiritual", or to discuss ethereal concepts like love (I am reminded of the scene in CONTACT when Palmer Joss asks atheist Ellie Arroway to prove that she loved her father), how does Sandefur define "spiritual"? Well, he quotes Rand, who said (among other things in the quote he provides) that sex is "a physical capacity, but its exercise is determined by man’s mind—by his choice of values, held consciously or subconsciously. To a rational man [or woman], sex is an expression of self-esteem—a celebration of himself and of existence…"

The last sentence is the most important. Sex, to Rand and Sandefur, is an act of worship...but who is worshipped? Ourselves, our own needs, our own desires, and our own "existence."

A Christian, of course, lives by the two greatest commandments: to love God with all our hearts and to love our neighbors as ourselves. Self comes third, if at all. Sex for a Christian is just as much an act of worship...but the worship is directed to God and for His glory.

Tim also charges conservatives with similar thinking in the abortion debate...that we argue for the rights of the unborn simply because it has human DNA. This charge is unfounded. This conservative believes in the rights of the unborn because I have faith in God and I believe God's Word when it says that we are all fearfully and wonderfully made by our Creator, and I see no distinction between a 12 week old unborn child and a child just birthed from the womb. Sandefur will have a hard time distinguishing between a 12 week and 1 day old infant as well, not to mention the mentally ill, and he has admitted as much in the past. In any case, to argue that my abortion position relies solely on the "physical" completely ignores my faith in God, as well as my submission to His authority in my life..

2004-05-17T13:57:00.000-05:00

Are we freer than we were 100 years ago?: Tim Sandefur, in his (nicely) newly designed blog, says that he sat on a panel at FreedomFest. The topic was whether we were more free now than 100 years ago. Tim says most of the panelists agreed that we were. I would like to understand this calculus, because my first response would be to say no, we are not freer than we were 100 years ago. Sure, in some people's mind, we are more free because homosexuals can "marry" and because women can kill their own children. Granting for the purposes of argument that these kinds of things count for an increase in freedom, what about the increase in the tax burden? The growth of government? The continuing decline in the value of our money? I just find it hard to believe that we are really more free now than we were 100 years ago, but I don't know the calculus the panel used to derive their estimate.

2004-05-12T15:03:00.000-05:00

The Price of Freedom?: While innocent Americans are beheaded in Iraq, pornographers resumed their trade after a scare over an HIV breakout among participants.