Michele McGinty: December 2008 Archives

Not just for aid but because of the change that conversion brings:

Now a confirmed atheist, I've become convinced of the enormous contribution that Christian evangelism makes in Africa: sharply distinct from the work of secular NGOs, government projects and international aid efforts. These alone will not do. Education and training alone will not do. In Africa Christianity changes people's hearts. It brings a spiritual transformation. The rebirth is real. The change is good.

[...]

I observe that tribal belief is no more peaceable than ours; and that it suppresses individuality. People think collectively; first in terms of the community, extended family and tribe. This rural-traditional mindset feeds into the "big man" and gangster politics of the African city: the exaggerated respect for a swaggering leader, and the (literal) inability to understand the whole idea of loyal opposition.

[...]

Christianity, post-Reformation and post-Luther, with its teaching of a direct, personal, two-way link between the individual and God, unmediated by the collective, and unsubordinate to any other human being, smashes straight through the philosphical/spiritual framework I've just described. It offers something to hold on to to those anxious to cast off a crushing tribal groupthink. That is why and how it liberates.

In this one article an atheist dispels two atheistic talking points: Christians are not freethinkers and Christianity is not a force for good. In the author's experience not only is Christianity helpful, it's essential if Africa is going to compete in the global market. They need to replace their current belief system with one that frees them and Christianity does that. It frees them from the superstitions that bind them and frees them to think for themselves. Take that, Hitchens! Refuted by the experience of a fellow atheist.

As I was watching this video of Chris LaTondresse of RecoveringEvangelical.com, I realized that the post-RR (religious right) Evangelicals are just as superficial in their biblical exegesis as their parents (if this guy speaks for the whole movement):

LaTondresse states that there are more Bible verses dealing with the poor than there are dealing with homosexuality and abortion, so why not support those who are promising to do something about the issue that gets more Bible verses. Um...so, whatever subject gets the most press wins? That's the argument?

But what he doesn't deal with is what God is saying about the poor. Is it ever a nation's duty to provide for the needs of the poor worldwide? Where is the biblical mandate for a nation to feed the poor of another nation? Isn't it the job of each nation to provide for it's own poor? How can we provide for the needs of the poor in nations that are run by dictators? How can we help the poor in North Korea? Or in Zimbabwe? How can we help the poor when the food we send is confiscated and never reaches those it was intended to help? We've spent billions of dollars helping the poor in this country and in other countries, how much more does he want us to spend? And is throwing money at the problem really the biblical solution? How can we train people to feed themselves worldwide and is that our job? Where is the biblical mandate for that?

But more importantly, LaTondresse doesn't seem to get that when God exhorted Israel to care for the widows, orphans, aliens, poor and oppressed, he was telling them to take care of those who are usually mistreated by society, "the least of these." I would think that the "least of these" would include helpless babies in the womb who are mistreated in our society because they are inconvenient, just as the widows and orphans were inconvenient for Israel. Reading through the prophets, it's clear that Israel failed in their duty to protect those who were the weakest members of society and they were judged because of it. Those who are willing to throw the unborn under the bus may want to read through the prophets and see what God had to say about those who ignored the plight of the oppressed, it may give them pause in being as callous as LaTondresse who warned the Republicans to drop abortion as an issue if they want to attract the post-RR Evangelicals. (I guess leaving those of us who are interested in helping the "least of these" with no party to support.)

LaTondresse also implies that the post-RR Evangelicals have traded the poor for the unborn because they are more connected to the poor, it's a global world after all and they've met them. Maybe it's time the crisis pregnancy centers updated their presence on the Internet. Maybe they should have a womb-cam so that the web-savvy Evangelicals can develop a connection with the unborn and care about their plight.

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Actually, it might be past time but I was rereading "The Eight" yesterday because I want to read the sequel, "The Fire" and I had totally forgotten the story (which is excellent, I highly recommend it). Anyway, what's with stealing the baby Jesus? Why can't people just let other people celebrate their holiday in peace?

"Bring Back Baby Jesus and no one will get hurt - God."

So reads a sign on the ground next to a Nativity scene at Alameda Christian Reformed Church in Alameda, Calif., according to the Alameda Sun.

It's tough to keep the Christ in Christmas when thieves keep stealing him

[...]

In Arkansas, a Jesus was recovered - but it was damaged and marked with "racial slurs, a swastika and a Hitler mustache," according to kfsm.com.

A 19-year-old was arrested, and charged with misdemeanor theft.

Maybe he should be charged with a hate crime as well.

Returns it and doesn't even get a reward. An elderly woman took her money out of the bank and sealed it in a box of crackers and then returned it to the Whole Foods by accident (at least that's what she claimed):

Debra had purchased the crackers earlier in the week at Whole Foods at The District shopping center in Tustin. Tustin police responded to their home and speculated the money was part of a drug drop.

Police went to Whole Foods where managers told them an elderly customer came in a few days earlier, hysterical after she realized she had mistakenly returned the box of crackers with her life savings inside. Frightened by the government takeover of several banks, the Lake Forest woman, whose identity was not released, had decided to take her money out of the bank and hide it in her home.

She did receive a new box of crackers when she asked. I guess in this case honesty is its own reward, though it would have been gracious of the woman to give the family a little something to say thank you.

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Great! I guess these people don't watch "ReGeneis" otherwise they might not be so quick to mess around with genetic engineering:

Using homemade lab equipment and the wealth of scientific knowledge available online, these hobbyists are trying to create new life forms through genetic engineering -- a field long dominated by Ph.D.s toiling in university and corporate laboratories.

[...]

Jim Thomas of ETC Group, a biotechnology watchdog organization, warned that synthetic organisms in the hands of amateurs could escape and cause outbreaks of incurable diseases or unpredictable environmental damage.

"Once you move to people working in their garage or other informal location, there's no safety process in place," he said.

And of course we have to worry about terrorists deliberately trying to release an incurable disease or environmental damage.

Oh no! Disney will not be a part of the third installment of C. S. Lewis' Narnia series: "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" will have to sail without Disney. While declining to elaborate, Disney and...

I'm having technical difficulties today with the blog! So, who knows if you'll get to read this or not. I would be very upset if my one post of the day is on the number one iPhone app! I hope...

Classy! I guess that the majority of iPhone users are middle school boys? (via)...

This is what happens when churches borrow to expand. Yes, I know it's hard to get the money up front through donations but it's a black eye on the church to go through Chapter 11. When we take on debt,...

Here's a video of Rick Warren proclaiming his love of gays and straights at a Muslim conference (he also told them that he loved Muslims): .msnbcLinks {font-size:11px; font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: #999; margin-top: 5px; background: transparent; text-align: center; width: 425px;}...

As promised here's my buckle recipe. Don't forget to whip some heavy cream and sugar to go with it! Add 1 Tbsp lemon juice, 1/2 cup sugar and 1 Tbsp cornstarch to peeled and quartered fruit. Mix until sugar dissolves....

Um...then why are we spending $800 billion to stimulate the economy? Especially since we're trillions of dollars over budget. Even as they depict a massive stimulus package as indispensable to turning the economy around, U.S. Democratic leaders are aggressively lowering...

Without the God part of course. Parents want an environment to raise their children with like minded people. They want an community that meets regularly where they learn to raise their kids: They are not religious, so they don't go...

Getting on Movable Type. I think it might have been a problem with Vista. (Drat MS! They really blew it this time!) I finally thought to reboot my computer and now, as you can see, I was finally about to...

So, I got back on my diet just in time for the traditional Christmas eating binge :-) We already started the sugar binge yesterday with sugar cookies and pastries. We were celebrating the snow day and I thought it might...

Al Roker checks out some of the Christmas decorations in some of the store windows in NYC. I have never been to the city during Christmas (usually way to busy to make the trip) so I appreciate stories like this....

Over Obama's invitation to lead in prayer during the inauguration, here's the heart of the matter:The Bible admonishes us to pray for our leaders. I am honored by this opportunity to pray God's blessing on the office of the President...

Oh boy! Could you imagine what the MSM would do with this story if McCain had won the election? It would be the news of the day for a week! Johnston is the mother of Levi Johnston, the Wasilla 18-year-old...

"We're talking about Christianity." That's what Gretchen of "Fox & Friends" fears if we allow the atheists to have their say and we just ignore it. The context of the quote is the Washington capital atheist sign controversy. Michelle Malkin...

Because he came out against gay marriage:"Your invitation to Reverend Rick Warren to deliver the invocation at your inauguration is a genuine blow to LGBT Americans," the president of Human Rights Campaign, Joe Solomonese, wrote Obama Wednesday. "[W]e feel a...

He thinks it could hurt minority businesses:Al Sharpton: Yeah, the outsourcing, well I'm all for, and as well for those who don't believe in the right to organizing, clearly I'm for any legislation to give any state the right to...

What? Rev. Wright wasn't available? :-) Pro-life pastor Rick Warren will give the invocation at President-Elect Barack Obama's inauguration. It makes a whole lot of sense. Even though Warren and Obama disagree on the life issue, they do see eye...

I bet Time magazine is so happy to finally be able to pick an actual person this year and one that makes since instead of pretending that the obvious man of the year didn't exist (Bush). This year the obvious...

Now that a pro-abortion Democrat is about to take over the presidency, abortionists are waiting to get their piece of the federal pie. They've submitted a 55-page plan outlining their list of demands:The plan was signed by groups which include...

You kill two birds with one stone! The poor get a car and the big 3 will rake in millions of tax payers' dollars and the earth is happy because the poor will trade in their older, less fuel efficient...

And run the risk that they'll take their money and flee, you should at least write the law in such a way that the revenue can be used for other sources if it's not used by a certain date. California...

And Obama better watch it because it looks like she's foreseeing a time when Obama might want to do an end run around her and she's warning him not to do it: In talks with Emanuel and others, sources say,...

That's the headline of this report in the LA Times. Just imagine the reaction to that headline if Obama was a Republican: Barack Obama said Monday that an internal investigation had found his staff had no inappropriate conversations with Illinois...

Well, I guess Dobson's taken down another NAE leader for not towing the party line. He couldn't get him ousted over his global warming position (as if that had anything to do with sharing the gospel) but he could over...

Here's an excellent article on what it was like to be in the crowd the day the Wal-Mart employee was trampled to death. It reinforces my decision never to go to a Black Friday sale to save a few bucks...

In the UK, husbands and boyfriends can fool their wives and girlfriends into thinking they loved them enough to wrap their gift themselves, all for $5:90: "Nearly as many people are asking for CrapWrap as for our normal gift-wrap," Wood...

Professor Opliphint shares some thoughts on the debate at Westminster. He makes a pretty good point about the medium impacting the message (the debate was being filmed for a documentary) and he notes the moment in the debate when it...

If it was related to Palin, why set a fire now when she's no longer a candidate? It would have been a much louder statement when she was still running. Damages to the Wasilla Bible Church were estimated at $1...

I took my last exam yesterday and don't have to go back until February! It was a lot of work and I'm glad I'm done. I liked the subjects and would have enjoyed the readings more if I wasn't...

Apparently if you ask a question, even a fairly benign question, it gets flagged by the Obama goons. So much for free speech. Too bad the Obamanites aren't allowing the public to ask their messiah the tough questions because the...

Looks interesting. I'm going to see it no matter what the critics say:...

Reid would rather see Blagojevich resign and Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn make the appointment then allow the voters the comfort of knowing that cronyism wasn't involved in the selection. We all know why he's doing this, he doesn't want the...

So, Obama is allowing the average citizen to submit questions about his policies and then allowing us to vote for the ones we like. Justin Taylor submitted this question: Would you consider rescinding your promise to sign the Freedom of...

What are they thinking? When I say this I couldn't believe that the DC city council members are that stupid to allow drunken people milling about causing trouble when the cops should be focusing on making sure no one tries...

Pretty appropriate given the big news story of the day, huh? How much do you think Caroline Kennedy is paying for Hillary's seat? (via)...

Have you guys seen the article on gay marriage in Newsweek? The one where Christians are beat up by a woman who lacks a basic understanding of the Bible or counts on the fact that her readers do. The one...

And for the light posting this weekend. I was studying for my Prophets final which was today. I think I did OK. It was a lot of work but I read everything I was supposed to read, listened to all...

Here's an interesting article about the Republican, Joseph Cao, who beat William Jefferson, it was published before the election. I thought this was pretty funny, the Republicans should use it a lot in 2010 :-)Running against an entrenched incumbent doesn't...

By a Vietnamese candidate! How cool is that! He'll be the first Vietnamese representative in Congress: Voters in Louisiana ousted indicted Democratic Rep. William Jefferson on Saturday, instead electing a Republican attorney who will be the first Vietnamese-American in Congress....

And her wish is granted! Awwww...so cute! It made me cry: For those of you who are broadbandless here's the story (via) BTW, this struck me as odd: the Pine Hills Church Santa Hey, brothers and sisters in Christ, does...

Well, that didn't take long, did it? What the heck was this person thinking: A controversial anti-religion placard that's a part of the Capitol's holiday gift went missing Friday morning only to turn up at a Seattle radio station nearly...

This ad reminds me of the kid who kills his parents then wants leniency from the court because he's an orphan. Can't say I have much sympathy for them after reading this, why should we pay for their stupidity? We'd...

Kathryn Jean Lopez of the Corner didn't like the episode as much as I did: The story angles on abortion and motherhood disturbed my sleep. I think the writers, etc. may think they were being fair. I give them points...

I can't figure out what they think the ultimatum is: ABC News' Z. Byron Wolf Reports: Democrats sent a clear message to the White House tonight - make some of the $700 financial industry bailout money available to the domestic...

I thought they did a very good job handling abortion on "Private Practice" last night. Usually on TV shows the pro-life position is written as a straw man that can easily be knocked down but the "Private Practice" writers looked...

OK, I'm a little conflicted about this story. I totally support the separation of church and state (no such thing as a Christian nation, Jesus said he's kingdom isn't of this world, can't impose Christian morality on unbeliever, blah, blah,...

This poor woman was too afraid that a call from Obama was a prank so he hung up on him twice. She even hung up on Emmanuel (she should of at least recognized his voice since he's a collegue from...

In the state Capital of Washington: I love how the atheist is pushing the whole winter solstice thing. Yeah, we are running out and buying presents, decorating our houses with lights and nativity scenes and preparing to make cookies and...

Who will be the mouthpiece of the new adminstration? Evidently, MSNBC is a strong contender, it already has Fox-type players in place as Jon Stewart demonstrates: (via)...

Here are some shots taken in Mumbai as the city has to cope with the aftermath of the terrorist attack. (via)...

He was upset that his teacher sent him out of the room and he wanted to drive home and complain to his mom. He did over $10,000 worth of damage. I'm thinking that the mom will probably not be too...

Why in the world can't we let each other talk? Why do we want to silence those with different opinions? Here are two very different cases of people trying to exercise their right to free speech, having to fight those...

Blathering bimbo alert:ALEX WITT: You know, John, and it's interesting because there are many who had such an optimistic and hopeful opinion of things, and you certainly can't expect things to change [snaps fingers] on a dime overnight, but there...

Oh.My.Heck! Do they not realize that it's robots' "ethics" that lead to them trying to eliminate the source of the world's problems: man. In all of the robot-takes-over-world type movies that is the issue, I, Robot, Eagle Eye, and The...

The speculation is that the terrorists were trying to destabilize the region to disrupt Pakistan's help with al-Qaida (they might have to move their troops off the border with Afghanistan):Relations between India and Pakistan were on a knife edge last...