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Below I have posted a great article by Charels Krauthammer concerning the modern Environmentalist movement and its “religiousness” in today’s culture. While most consider this a political issue, radical environmentalism has also stuck its toe into the Evangelical waters in recent years. With movements such as the Evangelical Climate Initiative, the “Creation Care” of the Evangelical Environmental Network, and the newly minted and slightly more moderate Southern Baptist Climate and Environment Initiative we find that certain Environmentalist assumptions have been co-opted by these evangelical groups.
Modern environmentalism is more than just making yourself feel better by recycling and planting trees. It is a man centered philosophical world-view that fosters societal collectivity, reduction of personal liberty, erosion of personal property rights, food and energy shortages, and in the case of Evangelicals the rise of a new “works based” eco-piety. Read the rest of this entry »
The following is the text of Barry Goldwater’s 1964 speech at the 28th Republican National Convention, accepting the nomination for president. Provided by the Arizona Historical Foundation.
To my good friend and great Republican, Dick Nixon, and your charming wife, Pat; my running mate and that wonderful Republican who has served us well for so long, Bill Miller and his wife, Stephanie; to Thurston Morton who has done such a commendable job in chairmaning this Convention; to Mr. Herbert Hoover, who I hope is watching; and to that great American and his wife, General and Mrs. Eisenhower; to my own wife, my family, and to all of my fellow Republicans here assembled, and Americans across this great Nation.
From this moment, united and determined, we will go forward together, dedicated to the ultimate and undeniable greatness of the whole man. Together we will win.
I accept your nomination with a deep sense of humility. I accept, too, the responsibility that goes with it, and I seek your continued help and your continued guidance. My fellow Republicans, our cause is too great for any man to feel worthy of it. Our task would be too great for any man, did he not have with him the heart and the hands of this great Republican Party, and I promise you tonight that every fiber of my being is consecrated to our cause; that nothing shall be lacking from the struggle that can be brought to it by enthusiasm, by devotion, and plain hard work. In this world no person, no party can guarantee anything, but what we can do and what we shall do is to deserve victory, and victory will be ours. Read the rest of this entry »
This week Uber-Conservative features “Redemption” by Johnny Cash. This is a powerful song about the Atonement. As a side note isn’t it sad that a Johnny Cash song has more doctrine in it that many “Christian” songs today, including music written for worship. Anyway those are my two cents, enjoy the song and feel free to give me your opinions on the state of Christian Doctrine in music (Christian or otherwise) today.
Peace be with you,
Bishop Joe
So this summer I am spending my reading time plunging into the fun filled world of economics. I will particularly be focusing on the works of Thomas Sowell (see this page for list). I hope to share some thoughts of what I learn over the course of the summer, particularly in how it relates to Christian Theology (or Ethics for those who think there is a difference). Until then I would like to share some of my favorite quotes about economics. Enjoy!
“Government’s view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidise it.” – Ronald Reagan
“The first lesson of economics is scarcity: There is never enough of anything to satisfy all those who want it. The first lesson of politics is to disregard the first lesson of economics.” – Thomas Sowell
““Economic depression cannot be cured by legislative action or executive pronouncement. Economic wounds must be healed by the action of the cells of the economic body – the producers and consumers themselves.” – Herbert Hoover
“Business is a means- the only means, to increase the quantity of goods available for preserving life and rendering it more agreeable.” – Ludwig von Mises
“The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public’s money.” – Alexis de Tocqueville
“Underlying most arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself.” – Milton Friedman
Since I am a shameless copy-cat, I thought I would snag the idea of having a weekly feature as part of my bloging routine. So here at Uber-Conservative Friday’s are now dedicated to music. I will be sharing the song(s) that have been influential to me this week, or just plain stuck in my head.
This week features “Apologize” by the band OneRepulic. I heard it this week on the American Idol finale (note: I wasn’t actually watching it, I just happened to be in the room while my wife was). I had heard the song before, but never caught the name of the band until this week. This song now has a happy home in my iTunes collection. Enjoy.
This week a massive $300 Billion Farm Bill made its way through Congress and onto the Presidents desk for his inevitable veto. On Tuesday Sen. John McCain wrote an op-ed describing his opposition to this bill. To be honest I was a little surprised at this sensible position coming from the Senator from Arizona. This bill amounted to massive farm subsidizes (paying farmers not to grow food) which causes artificial supply and demand pressures on the overall food market. Among other things this causes higher food prices (i.e. corn thanks to ethanol subsides) and an inflexible market where farmers are more concerned with their government checks than the ever changing demands of the current food market.
Sen. McCain correctly point these problems out within this article:
“When agricultural commodity prices and exports have reached record highs, we no longer need government-grown farms and mammoth government bureaucracies. As grocery bills soar, food banks go bare and food rationing occurs on a global scale, we must challenge the wisdom of this bill. We must question policies that divert more than 25 percent of corn out of the food supply and into subsidized ethanol production. We must question a supply-control sugar program that costs Americans $2 billion annually in higher sugar prices.”
However this golden ray of common sense quickly evaporates as the article continued. McCain effortlessly pivots to his real problem with farm subsidies, those pesky rich people.
“The majority of subsidies in this proposal go to large commercial farms that average $200,000 in annual income and $2 million in net worth, and the bill allows a single farmer to earn more than $1 million before cutting subsidies. How can we credibly extend this largesse to this constituency? If I am elected president, I will seek an end to all farm subsidies and tariffs that are not based on clear need.”
“They should not have it because they can afford it,” is essentially his point. Farm subsidies are bad because they are bad for the market, not because money goes to rich people. Those “large commercial farmers” are the ones that are able to produce enough food to feed this country and most of the world. It is “Big Agriculture” that provides millions of jobs in farming communities around the country. Now these companies are short sighted and a bit lazy for accepting this money, but the greater burden of accountability are on those who are issuing the checks and controlling food production.
This smacks of the same “rich vs. not as rich” propaganda we see coming from our liberal and populist brethren both Republican and Democrat. Subsides are bad for small farms, big farms, and my grandmother’s tomato garden. The President, Congress, State Governments, and Local Governments should be more concerned about finding way to be less obtrusive and allow the market to generate additional oppotrutnies for wealth for everyone, rather than controlling the production of wealth to those whom they think should have it.
WE ALL NEED TO THINK ECONOMICALLY
Peace be with you,
Bishop Joe
My friend and fellow classmate here at SWBTS John Mann as been writing a series of articles on Baptist Identity over at SBC Today. I would encourage all of you to click over and read the series. Below is an excerpt from the third and final post in the series. It gives the reader an excellent synopsis of what those who believe in upholding a distinct Baptist identity must keep in mind amongst the growing calls (whines?) for a warmer and fuzzier version of our biblical convictions.
Also, after this week I will be out of class for the summer. I hope to return my quasi-regular blogging schedule, so both of you who read my blog (hi mom) check back next week for some new content.
Baptist Identity Moving Forward
To communicate the Reader’s Digest version of the Great Commission is for us to decide which of the “all things” that Christ commanded will be worth our time. To forsake this clear teaching of Christ is to forget that Christ said, “All authority has been given to Me.” Baptists must communicate all of the truths of God’s word because to do so is to live out our confession that Jesus is Lord and He alone holds all authority. Our participation in the Great Commission will only be as effective as our obedience to our great Savior. Only in that common obedience will we find a true unity.
Recently, those with whom I identify have been coined as being part of a Baptist Identity Movement. In this section I want begin to define what I see as being part of the so-called Baptist Identity Movement. Though I cannot speak for all who have been placed in this camp, I will seek to articulate some, though not all, of what I think a Baptist Identity needs to pursue.
First, Baptists need to continue to reclaim a view of the sufficiency of Scripture. A proper view of the sufficiency of Scripture will remind us that no further revelation from God is needed, and therefore, what remains is obedience to what has been revealed. The recent rash of litigations is embarrassing to our witness and revelatory of one’s own view of Scripture. Yet, the very ones who cry for more unity are the same ones who have advocated, encouraged, and perpetrated recent trials through the use of secular avenues in an attempt to divide the entities within the Convention. Their facade of seeking unity has been betrayed by their tactics of intentional division.
The so-called practice of speaking in tongues assumes that God desires to say something that is not revealed in Scripture. One of our most prominent preachers used to say, “True spirituality is not speaking in a new tongue, it is learning to control the tongue you already have.” Why do we need for God to reveal something new when we fail to practice what He has already revealed? Scripture is sufficient for knowing God’s will in all matters of a humble believer’s life.
Secondly, a Baptist Identity needs to reclaim our pulpits as being prophetic places of proclaiming the gospel instead of being a desk from where we are expected to perform mass therapy. When our pastors sound more like Dr. Phil than Dr. Luke we have sacrificed redemptive preaching for a pseudo-relevant psychology. We need to be reminded that before we can pray for our baptisteries to full of water we need to pray for our pulpits to be full of fire. We need to encourage our pastors to return to being the theologians to the church.
Third, we need to reclaim true historical Baptist principles, not because they are Baptist, but because they are biblical. Though baptism is not a act that brings salvation, it is a profession of salvation. Therefore, baptism matters. It is not acceptable to “do the deed” apart from defining that which it signifies; namely, the death, burial, and resurrection of our Savior coupled with our identification with His church. Perhaps Dr. Emir Caner said it better than I:
“We are Baptists by conviction not by tradition alone, believing the fundamental principles which constitute a Baptist church are the very ones which made up a New Testament church. Such essential tenets of a believer’s church, founded upon the sole authority and sufficiency of Scripture, include regenerate church membership, believer’s baptism by immersion, believer’s Lord Supper as a memorial, church discipline, local church autonomy, congregational polity, confessional fidelity, priesthood of the believers, separation of church and state, religious liberty, and an unwavering passion to carry out the Great Commission. We should never be prideful in being Baptist, but we should always be thankful in being Baptist.”
Fourth, our mission to the world must not be defined by the world, i.e., that which they find acceptable, but must be defined by our Savior. The study of the relational Christ must precede our study of the culture as we define and engage in the Commission. Our first question cannot be, “is the world receiving what we are saying,” rather it must be, “does Christ receive what we are saying?” We must seek the pleasure of our Lord before we seek the acceptance of our culture. When we are privileged to gain a hearing with someone in the world, we must ensure that the message we speak will be different than that which they hear everyday. In other words, the churches message SHOULD sound different than the world’s message.
Finally (and I would argue most importantly) a Baptist Identity must proclaim the Lordship of Christ in all matters. This Lord that we profess is the same Lord who instructed the disciples to die to themselves, to take up their cross, and to follow Him and Him alone. The Lordship of Christ denies the disciple the right to seek self-satisfaction, self-protection, self-advancement, and any other form of self-seeking. It is only in the confession and practice of Christ’s lordship that we can have true unity according to 1st Corinthians 1:10. For that to be fully realized is for one to be baptized with the baptism He commanded, to honor His word in all matters, to proclaim His message as He has given it, and to operate His churches as He has instructed.
At the Commission of our Lord we are told to “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things the I have commanded you.” Faithfulness to the Commission demands articulation of all things revealed. Therefore, it is irresponsible at best and unfaithful at the worst for the believer to decide which of the “all things” we will teach.
Thank you John. I hope you enjoyed this article and please read the other two over at SBC Today.
Go with God,
Bishop Joe
