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Showing posts from 2008

Why Choose?

National papers reported on recent objections made by atheist concerning a Nativity scene at a public display in Olympia, Washington. Dan Barker,who heads up the atheist and agnostic Freedom From Religion Foundation, said “If there can be a Nativity scene saying that we are all going to hell if we don’t bow down to Jesus, we should be at the table to share our views.” In Dan's view the choice appears to be bow to Jesus or you will go to hell. It is puzzling how Dan Barker(a former evangelical preacher)seems to have missed the point. Hell is not a punishment for not bowing to Jesus it is a place that we all are destined for and Jesus is our rescuer. In his years of training for ministry he should have learned in "Basics of Christianity 101" that Jesus is not just another idol, good luck charm or insurance policy. Dan also has ignored the part of his bible study from Psalms 14:1 that declares "the fool says in his heart there is no God.." Dan and his atheist frie

What do you mean?

In the last post I wrote about restrictions of speech. The debate on this idea continues. There are legitimate restrictions on speech and there are not. I do not intend to judge either in this post but wish to point out that restrictions placed upon speech are the result of the influence of a cultural moral conscience. The current post-modern trend sets up a vaporous type of obstacle to free speech by applying pragmatic moral relativity in the realm of language and reason. Words mean things, words contain information describing or defining things, words form ideas and explain ever larger concepts and realities. Noah Webster placed such a great importance upon the accurate dissemination of the meaning of words that he spent most of his lifetime studying their origin and creating an incredible volume of definitions in his 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language. He recognized that a standard of meaning had to be maintained in order to have civilized and reasonable discourse. &qu

The Pen and the Sword

Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me - true or false? Words have great power, as Edward Bulwer-Lytton paraphrased a proverb from scripture,"the pen is mightier than the sword". Words nurture and comfort us. We allow words to inform and educate us. They also cause us to think good and bad thoughts about ourselves and others; they can tear us down or build us up. Words establish nations and empires and bring them great power. They can also set us against each other, brother against brother, nation against nation. Words have power to form our conscience and guide our actions. Should we all assume responsibility for controlling our words so that we cause more good than harm? It would seem to be a reasonable thing to do if we can agree that it is beneficial to all. However, in a culture where good and bad are subjective and there is no source of validation outside the realm of the individual we find ourselves in a most unstable position. The postmode

Free Speech and Self Government

The ability and freedom to speak ones mind is a virtue of a free society. However in shaping and maintaining our form of self-government it is much more than a virtue, it is a necessity. In its basic form, freedom of speech allows for dialogue among free individuals. Diversities of language, culture, philosophical perspectives, and worldviews can become impediments to free speech. Only after overcoming these challenges in a free public dialogue are we able to arrive at the point of persuasive reasoning. The foundation of our government, the framework of its branches, its checks and balances, were formed after much debate and free dialogue. Even among leaders and statesman that spoke the same language and had similar educational backgrounds and understandings of law and the laws of nature (God's Law), this undertaking was a formidable task. It is unlikely that we can maintain this form of government unless we can restore the collective conscience of Americans to where it once was. N

Self - government

Noah Websters 1828 English Dictionary defines the word govern as " to control; to restrain; to keep in due subjection; as to govern the passions or temper." Government is defined as "Direction; regulation and or Control; restraint" The concept of self-government was well understood by the Pilgrims and the founders and early settlers of this nation. Benjamin Franklin, Samuel Adams, Benjamin Rush, Noah Webster and their associates all studied the great scholars of the age like Blackstone and Locke. They were familiar with the words of Hugo Grotius written in 1654 concerning self government, " He knows not how to rule a kingdom, that cannot manage a Province; nor can he wield a Province , that cannot order a City; nor can he order a City, that knows not how to regulate a Village; nor he a Village, that cannot guide a Family; nor can that man govern well a Family that knows not how to govern himself: neither can any govern himself unless his reason be Lord, Will

Freedom of Speech

In the previous post (the first, post#1) I introduced a few important concepts in the topic realm of truth and reason. They are listed here in order of appearance; Truth Moral Relativity Relationships Absolutes Reality Free Speech Dissent Anti-Marxism Speech Labels I may have missed a few, but these are the ones that are important to review on this blog towards Truth Revival. The most important of the above at this point in this post progression is the concept of free speech. Article #1 of the Bill of Rights states that " Congress shall make no law...abridging the freedom of speech or of the press...." Without this fundamental freedom this post may not be possible. Any dialogue or monologue or conversation that is coerced or restricted or suppressed would be of little value except to the powers in charge of speech, the Speech Police, better check your review mirror. We have come to expect free speech as a protected right defended by the government. This liberty is protected

Truth Is

Welcome to post number one (1) of the Truth Revival blog. I'm writing this blog primarily to reach a people that has lost its passion for truth and is now confronted by the inevitable consequences of moral relativity. "So what!" you may say, "so is everyone else, what makes your blog so special ?" Well nothing really I'm no expert, never blogged in my life till now. I just thought you might be interested in reading about my truth. After all, if my truth is the same as your truth we may become friends. On the other hand, if my truth is not the same as your truth then perhaps you might not want to read this blog at all, and well, you'll find another friend. Wow, this truth thing really becomes a big deal when we are looking to make friends. It's also an important factor in relationships up to and beyond friendships. The way we all look at truth impacts our everyday lives. The pilot at the front of our jet better know the truth about where the landing s