 |
Harrison Scott Key posted earlier this week over at World Magazine's blog about the difference between values and virtues: The minister made a distinction between values and virtues. Values, he said, were subjective things, the kinds of things even Christians have been duped into embracing. We talk about values, your values, my values. It means nothing, except "that which I deem important."
Virtues, he said, were objective and timeless -- and terribly out of fashion. ...The seven virtues, written about by Prudentius in the 5th century A.D., are these: Chastity, Temperance, Charity, Diligence, Kindness, Patience, Humility. Those aren't values, and they aren't subjective. They are timeless qualities that are appreciated and needed in every age and every culture.
His inclusion of chastity reminded me of a comment I heard last week that Christians who have heard much about abstinence don't always know as much about the larger concept of chastity that it's derived from. That comment came from Christopher West, a friend of Focus on the Family who briefed us recently on some of the rich insights on human sexuality from the Catholic tradition.
Christopher told us that he often hears people say, "You should be chaste until marriage." But that demonstrates a misunderstanding about chastity he explained. Chastity is bigger than abstinence. "When you understand what chastity actually is you know that you can't stop being chaste once you're married," he emphasized.
"In the western world, the term has become closely associated (and is often used interchangeably) with sexual abstinence, especially before marriage, due to the restriction of sexual relations to marriage deriving from the Ten Commandments," reads the Wikipedia entry on chastity. "However," it continues, "the term remains applicable to persons in all states, single or married, clerical or lay, and has implications beyond sexual temperance."
"Chastity," Christopher West explains, "is first and foremost a great yes to the true meaning of sex, to the goodness of being created as male and female in the image of God. Chastity isn't repressive. It's totally liberating. It frees us from the tendency to use others for selfish gratification and enables us to love others as Christ loves us."
Am I the only Evangelical who heard more growing up about abstinence than about the overarching (and amplifying) virtue of chastity?
I got an e-mail Monday saying, "Mr. Rosenberg has some time tomorrow morning." I was all over that.
I've been a big fan of Joel Rosenberg ever since he spoke at a Focus on the Family chapel three years ago. I'm not usually one for platitudes but he's brilliant. Yes, I know, he puts his pants on one leg at a time like the rest of us. It's just that when he does, he writes best selling novels that predict the future.
So yeah, we were excited to have him on The Boundless Show to talk about his new book, Dead Heat. The segment was so good, we alerted the media. Here's a portion of the release: On this special episode, which releases Friday, May 16, and is available free on both iTunes and Boundless, Rosenberg discusses personal failure, his commitment to family, and his own reflections on the Last Days as described in the Bible. He gives a special charge to young adults to live intentionally in light of Christ's return, something he feels is imminent.
"What if Jesus is coming back a lot sooner than we all thought?" Rosenberg asks listeners. "Are you ready to see Jesus face to face? Are you living a life of holiness? Are you living a life of spiritual impact? This is the moment we need to get in the game."
An evangelical Christian from an Orthodox Jewish heritage, Rosenberg was a Washington insider before leaving that fast-paced environment to write books, primarily novels. His success has come in part due to a knack for writing storylines that tend to "come true." The plot for The Last Jihad, written before 9/11, mirrors that day's tragic events.
I think you'll enjoy the interview.
I also think you'll enjoy the rest of the show. In our roundtable segment we answer the question, why quiet times? And in the Inbox we tackle one of man's greatest passions: sports. Is it possible to be a sports fanatic and a Christian? Listen in.
Also this week we've expanded the music bumpers. The music from The Museum is just too good not to.
Yesterday, four judges from the California Supreme Court decided to go against the will of the people and redefine the institution of marriage to include same-sex couples. It was a blatant act of judicial activism with no constitutional basis whatsoever.
Here is Dr. James Dobson's public statement addressing the ruling: "In 1863, Abraham Lincoln said in the Gettysburg Address that ours is a government 'of the people, by the people and for the people.' Well, not in the state of California, where four imperious and unelected justices have just overridden the will of the voters. In 2000, Proposition 22 defined marriage as being exclusively between one man and one woman; the initiative passed by an overwhelming margin of 61 to 39 percent. That emphatic expression of the will of the people has now arrogantly been declared null and void.
"In so doing, the justices have undermined and endangered the basic building block of society, which has been honored and preserved in every nation on earth through most of human history. What an outrage. It will be up to the people of California to preserve traditional marriage by passing a constitutional amendment in the November elections. Only then can they protect themselves from this latest example of judicial tyranny."
Thirty-five years ago, judicial activists on the U.S. Supreme Court "found" a right to abortion. And 50 million dead pre-born babies has been the result. God only knows the ramifications of this outrageous ruling.
Some people have too much time on their hands, like these guys.
It's been almost five years since the release of the final movie in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. If you're pining for Middle Earth, with its walking trees, Fangorn forest, vengeful waters, dwarfs, epic battles, catapults, sword fights and such, then Prince Caspian is for you.
I saw it a couple of nights ago, along with a theater full of others who'd been invited to catch it before its official release tonight at midnight.
I had no idea what to expect, having not read the books. I thought it was a lot of fun, to be honest. Slick CGI, good acting, interesting plot, gripping battle scenes, and so on. It's better, in my opinion, than The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, but not as good as The Best Movie Ever Made, of course.
This is not a kid's movie. Though there's not much blood, it is quite violent.
I was disappointed that the scriptwriters had Susan give a pretty impassioned kiss to Prince Caspian moments before leaving Middle Earth Narnia. I don't think C.S. Lewis would have approved of his character's intentional defrauding of a man who was destined to marry someone else.
Regardless, I thought it was a fun movie. Before you decide whether or not to see it, as with any movie, I'd strongly encourage you to read reviews about it. Plugged In Online is a great place to start.
While commuting to work this morning, I put my car in neutral and coasted whenever I approached a downhill. It's a fuel efficiency technique called the Pulse and Glide. And it's part of my daily battle to see if I can get more than my current 22 miles per gallon average for city driving.
Other things I'm trying include:
- Driving slower
- Coasting to stoplights, stop signs and parking spots
- Accelerating slowly from stops
- Keeping windows and sunroof closed
- Parking in pull-through spots
- Clearing out my trunk
I found these tips on Ecomodder.com. They have tons more for all you polar bear savers out there (and I say that with great affection). My goal is simply to improve my gas mileage from 22 to 30+ miles per gallon. I estimate it'll save me about $25 a month.
Oh, and I'm also taking advantage of a local grocery store's promotion that saves me 20 cents a gallon for every food purchase over $50.
So what are you doing to cut down of fuel costs?
The thing is, if polar bears need to be saved from anything, they need to be saved from overpopulation.
"The Interior Department ruled Wednesday that the polar bear will be protected as a threatened species. Why special treatment for an animal whose population has more than doubled over the last 50 years?"
So begins an article explaining that, though the number of polar bears has dramatically increased over the past few decades, they are now considered -- despite facts to the contrary -- as an endangered species.
Why? Because of unfounded fears that the ice caps are melting, thus threatening the bears' habitat.
Let me challenge you to examine the raw facts. Let me challenge you to take a look at the actual data, rather than rely on a reporter's or bureaucrat's or pseudo-scientific huckster's misinformed spin. Check out the charts and satellite images for the north and south poles here. You may be surprised to see that, while ice does melt during summer (run for the hills!), for the past three decades the average global sea ice area has remained constant, at just over 22 million square km during the winter. Southern hemisphere sea ice area has actually increased over the past 30 years.
So why, despite the fact that polar bear populations have skyrocketed and global ice has remained pretty constant (taking into account seasonal fluctuations, of course), are these animals considered endangered? Simple: The politics of global warming alarmists have trumped scientific fact.
Thank God that we have access to the facts. Otherwise, these politicians and entrepreneurial alarmists might persuade us too to succumb to fear, rather than to trust in God and find our rest in Him.
Have I ever mentioned that I won't buy Girl Scout cookies? That's right. When those adorable little girls come to the door in their cute little brown outfits, I just smile and say no thanks.
It's my personal conviction. I simply cannot stomach giving money to an organization that has been taken over by radical feminists and supports Planned Parenthood.
Related to this is to today's Boundless article called "Basketball Jesus" by George Halitzka. It's about how Christians often have varying degrees of conviction about issues like politics, alcohol, R-rated movies, and when, and when not to, boycott something. Have you ever met folks who think R-rated movies are a tool of the devil? Or setting foot inside a bar is sinful, and voting Democrat means supporting baby-killers? If you ever question the views of those "Super-Saints," they'll cheerfully tell you how unspiritual you are.
Maybe on the flip side, you've encountered Believers who vote straight Democrat (because Big Oil has Republicans in their back pocket). They enjoy slasher movies and have nothing against a good chugging contest. When you wonder about their shady lifestyle, they scoff at your "legalism."
For 2000 years, Christians have argued over stuff that isn't covered in the Bible — only the topics have changed. In ancient Corinth, the disagreement was over meat.
Though I'd argue the sanctity of life is covered in the Bible, I do get his meaning. So go ahead and buy your box of Thin Mints, I won't judge. Really, I won't. As a matter of fact, my father-in-law often has them in his pantry. And I'll even enjoy one once in awhile when I'm visiting.
On May 14, 1948 Israel became a nation for the first time since Jerusalem was destroyed by Rome in A.D. 70. After Rome took over, the Jews were dispersed -- spreading out to many different countries -- no longer connected by a common land. But after the Holocaust the United Nations voted to make Israel a nation once again -- the Jews would again have a place to belong.
In the 60 years since Israel has been a country, there have been many wars and almost no peace. As we all know, the fight over this tiny piece of land continues. When asked by Time Magazine where Israel would be at in 60 years, Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel wisely responded: When it comes to Jewish history, it is dangerous to indulge in prophecy. Who would have predicted Abraham leaving the grandiose home of his father and his idols to discover that God alone ruled the world? And Moses, the man with a speech defect, an inspired spokesman for his people? And David the young shepherd, a warrior and king?
Had anyone predicted Hitler's crimes? Only three years after the saddest and cruelest chapter in Jewish history, a sovereign Jewish State was proclaimed: Was it predictable? Was its military victory over five well armed Arab armies predictable? And the Six-Day war? And the Yom Kippur war? And the influx of a million Jews from the Soviet Union? And the assassination, by a Jewish fanatic, of the legendary Prime Minister Itzhak Rabin?
To try to predict is ill-advised and dangerous.
When it's summed up that way, it does seem silly to try to predict what might happen with God's chosen people, although we do know that it all ends with a newly created Jerusalem. But in the meantime, the Bible calls us to pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
Whatever your politics when it comes to Israel, the 60th anniversary of this small nation is a good time to remember to pray for peace within its walls.
I think the emphasis for May in my daughter's Sunday school class is "helping others." At least, that's the gist I got from the calendar she brought home from church which listed different ways to help others on different dates. Things like "pick strawberries for a neighbor" and "clean your room on National Clean Your Room Day."
But, among the different dates was one that made me stop. May 15th. National Chocolate Chip Day.
Can that be right, I wondered? So, I did a little checking and yep, the National Confectioners Association has dubbed May 15th, this Thursday, to be National Chocolate Chip Day.
Normally, I'm not all that into, you know, pagan holidays. But this is one I could really sink my teeth into (he, he). I also liked the encouragement of "helping others," so ... what to do with chocolate chip cookies? Turns out, my church needs some for their cookie ministry (the deacons take cookies after church each Sunday to each new visiting family because, I don't know, nothing woos the lost like delectable brown sugar, butter and pieces of cocoa delight).
Then, the words started echoing in my mind. Cookie. Ministry. Cookie. Ministry. So, here's my invitation (to girls and guys alike--both my husband and my brother-in-law make some mean chocolate chip cookies): Will you join my family in celebrating National Chocolate Chip Day? But, remember, we want to do ministry. So, maybe you could take some cookies to your church staff. Or to the homeless. Or to your neighbors that you haven't met yet. Or to those people at work that kind of annoy you (just make sure they don't read this blog).
I know that there are some big problems in this world. And cookies won't solve them. But, who knows? Maybe we could shine just a little of God's love in our own little corners of the world--one cookie at a time.
By the way, here's a recipe celebrating National Chocolate Chip Day that I'm going to try. Maybe Ted can perfect it after he wraps up that chicken wing thing.
I couldn't help but blog about Bella after seeing it in the theater.
Now that it's been released on DVD, I can't help but buy a copy of this remarkable film.
I wrote that "Bella will make you a better person." Candice wrote that it's "the message of the gospel wrapped beautifully, subtly in a story that will change you." This movie inspired my wife to write that "if we'll take our eyes off ourselves and our problems, focusing our attention on the needs of others, we may just start changing the world one heart at a time."
Dr. Dobson enjoyed it. Focus on the Family President Jim Daly loved it.
Bob Hoose and Steven Isaac of Plugged In Online concluded that "Bella is an unusually intelligent, humane film that reminds us how easy it is to impact one person's life—and perhaps save another's—simply by being sensitive to hurting people and carving out time to care. It is a tender tale of grace, faith, redemption and the sanctity of life...."
Rare is the movie that will make you a better person. Bella is among them.
It's that time of year again. You know, when we make our annual trek to Louisville, KY for the New Attitude conference. I always look forward to the worship, teaching, and fellowship. So edifying.
This year The Boundless Show host Lisa Anderson will be with me. She'll help out with the booth and take the lead on the interviews we've scheduled with Josh Harris, Mark Dever and Albert Mohler. I'm sorry to report, though, that John Piper gave us the big dis (not really) when we requested an interview -- something about going on hiatus from interviews because of a book he's writing.
Oh, and we'll be debuting the Boundless Magazine. It's a prototype of what we hope will become a regular quarterly print publication with all exclusive content. Be one of the first to receive it by signing-up on our interest list. Much more on this later.
As for the prototype, it's got all exclusive content too and we're hoping to have our PDF version available soon. But if you want a hard copy, you'll just have to come to Louisville and drop by our booth at New Attitude.
So who's going?
There are many crises in the world to worry about, and at times it's easy to become overwhelmed. I'm sure many Boundless readers have causes that they're deeply devoted to and support, so I'm not going to suggest you change where the Lord might lead you.
But let me suggest something to think about. The word genocide is thrown around too lightly these days, but a case can be made for a real genocide going on today in the Darfur region of Sudan. It's a slow-motion genocide, receiving limited attention in the press because of the logistical difficulties of reporting from one of the most desolate places on earth and because of the very real danger of death at the hands of the genocidal perpetrators -- the government of Sudan in Khartoum.
The roots of the Darfur tragedy are long and deep, but here is a good, succinct summary. For a more disturbing, firsthand look, though, I highly recommend you view the movie The Devil Came on Horseback and read the accompanying book by Brian Steidle. (The film and book take their title from the name of the government-sponsored Arab militias that terrorize the people of Darfur: the janjaweed. The word means "devil on horseback" in Arabic.) Warning: the film contains some very disturbing images and content, but I think we owe it to ourselves to look this evil square in the eye in order to understand it -- and confront it.
Nearly 10 years ago, when I reported on the war and slave-trading in southern Sudan, I became despondent that so few people in the world seemed to care. But I realized my vision was too narrow. Through the patient efforts of many people, a peace treaty was signed in 2004, and while the people of southern Sudan still live in tenuous circumstances, they at least are not having to dodge bombs and bullets.
I was mere days away from flying into Darfur back in 2006, but the situation deteriorated rapidly with the removal of African Union troops, and the janjaweed started targeting aid workers, so my trip was cancelled. But I'm able to keep up with developments and support the people of Darfur through the Save Darfur coalition.
Please check out the situation for yourself. And if the Lord so leads, please pray for and support the people of Darfur.
This Sunday is Mother's Day. So our host Lisa Anderson kicks off The Boundless Show with an encouraging word about her mom and how she prays for the show each week, even though she's never heard it; because she doesn't own a computer and refuses to get one because of "all that porn." But she understands it's an audio show so at least it's in the ballpark.
Steve Watters ends the segment with a poignant reminder of why we all need to take the time to make this Mother's Day a special one.
Roundtable -- 6:50
Is it OK for Christians to go camping alone with their girlfriends or boyfriends? Hmm. That's one of the dating dilemmas we discuss in our roundtable this week. Other dilemmas revolve around jobless men and spendthrift women. It's a fun segment, but we hope you'll find it helpful as well.
Culture -- 22:35
Many of you have probably already seen Facing the Giants from Sherwood Pictures, the movie production arm of Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Georgia. Well, they have a new movie coming out this September called Fireproof and Lisa had a chance to sit down with Jim McBride and Steven Kendrick after a special screening here at Focus on the Family. I couldn't make it but based on what everybody had to say, it's a must-see!
Hungry Years -- 33:29
When John Thomas was offered his first job out of college, he was a reluctant candidate. One of the marks against it was the location ... his hometown. And who wants to move back home right after college. Nobody, right? But despite low pay and no benefits, would it turn out to be an offer he couldn't refuse? Check it out. I guarantee you'll laugh out loud.
Inbox -- 38:50
Does Boundless have an unbalanced view of marriage? One of our listeners thinks so after Candice brought up a woman's "help meet" role in last week's podcast. The questioner asks in short, shouldn't women who've done all the right things to "get married" stop chasing men and seek God? Steve and Candice tackle this one with resounding, We agree! But....
I'm including your listening options here because we're working on our artwork this week. If you're inclined to listen on iTunes, please take a moment to leave us a review. Also, if you like to stream or download the MP3 or want to subscribe through RSS, all those options can be found on our Feedburner page.
And last but not least, I'd like to end by thanking West Coast Revival for letting us use their music this week. It really adds to the show. And if you want to hear more go to their Web site.
You're a single Christian woman, and you have in your head that you're not supposed to initiate relationships; that's the guy's role. And yet it's your heart's desire to be married, to enjoy your husband, to raise children.
So how might you get from where you are now to where you want to be?
Among other things, you can pray. While prayer seems more mystical and less practical than other things you could try, it is truly effective. After all, it consists of presenting your requests before the Creator of the universe. He not only cares for you, but is able to do something about your situation.
And you could invite friends to join you in prayer. Nothing at all wrong with that.
Speaking of practical, let me be practical: Click right now over to the Women Praying Boldly Web site and join their community. It's free, the fellowship is encouraging, and you'll have friends who'll pray for you, and for whom you too can pray.
This may seem like a shameless plug for a friend of mine, but it's really not. It's about helping you do what you can to help marriage happen.
It's a puzzling biblical truth that sometimes we "do not have, because we do not ask." I implore you to join the community of women at Women Praying Boldly, and then, with them by your side, to go ahead and ask.
 I'm a big fan of intergenerational friendships among Christians. I've often heard someone my age say, "I want to get to know an older believer to glean from his wisdom and experience." But sometimes wisdom comes from the young. An excerpt from my personal blog.
Soft-spoken with gentle eyes, 16-year-old Zach Hunter doesn't look the part of an abolitionist. But beneath a quiet exterior beats a fiery heart akin to William Wilberforce or Martin Luther King Jr. In the past four years, Zach has written two books, founded an anti-slavery campaign and spoken all over the world.
This morning I sat at a table with Zach and his mom. When asked if he ever gets to be a "normal" 16-year-old, Zach shrugs and says, "Sometimes." His next words challenge me. "A lot of times kids my age are going out and doing things I don't want to do—because they're not right." He's talking about seeing certain movies or going to prom, things most teens—even Christian ones—probably wouldn't think twice about.
Zach has a keen sense of right and wrong—a quality that led him to start "Loose Change to Loosen Chains" when he was 12. The student-led campaign continues to raise thousands of dollars each year to end slavery. Gentle and humble (remind you of anyone?), Zach isn't your average powerhouse influencer. And yet his fierce dedication to God's calling on his life and willingness to sacrifice are inspiring a generation to take action. In a CT article, he says of his generation:
"I want us to make history—and I don't mean to get our names in some history book, but to be known as a generation that did something for God, cared for the poor, and totally stopped slavery."
And God is blessing Zach's willingness to commit his youth to this cause. Zach's book Be the Change surprised publishers with the number of copies sold. And his upcoming book Generation Change will be accompanied by parent-youth events to help parents empower their children to follow God's calling on their lives.
I'm glad for examples like Zach. God challenged me to a higher standard through him. You can catch Zach's wisdom on his blogs at breakawaymag.com.
Earlier today I talked about how housing is one of the "big five" expenses for families. That also means it's one place where mistakes can be very costly -- for families or singles.
And over at Boundless, I wrote an article titled "Home Buying Mistakes" where I list 15 common home-buying mistakes and how to avoid them. I also tackle whether there is anything distinctive Christians should be considering in the home buying process.
I'd be interested in what you think. Take a quick look at the article (it's an easy read -- nice bolded topic headings) and see if you agree. Have you made any of these mistakes? I have. Anything you hadn't thought about before? What about coming at home buying from a Christian worldview -- any ideas for that?
And in the spirit of being "shining stars" in the blogging world and showcasing the intelligence and originality of our readers, will you promise not to start any comment with "I haven't read the article ... but"? I'm really interested in what you can think of that I haven't. I promise, you will make my day! (Of course, "Amens" are perfectly allowable. You know..."Amen to #7! I learned this by..." That kind of thing.)
Also, if I had to add mistake #16, I think it would be buying a home where the master bathroom has no separating wall between it and the master bedroom. Whether you are married or want to be someday, I will swear by this one. We do have a separating door, so this morning when my husband hopped into the shower at 5:45am, I was able to simply roll over in the darkness, put the pillow over my ear and get 45 more minutes of sleep. Ah, bliss.
In a Yahoo Finance article titled "Can You Live on One Income? It's Worth a Try," financial writer Laura Rowley has some advice for those considering single-income family life: Beware the Big Five.
Rowley quotes Elizabeth Warren, author of The Two-Income Trap, who has determined that today's two-earner families spend 75 percent of their budgets on five things (where the single-earner family of the 1970s only spent one-half of their budgets on the same things).
What are the big five? Food? Clothing? Electronics? Automobile? Nope. According to the article, those costs have actually gone down on an inflation-adjusted basis. But five costs have skyrocketed:
- Housing -- Up 100 percent in inflation-adjusted dollars since the 1970s
- Health Insurance -- Up 74 percent
- The Second Car -- Though the inflation-adjusted price of cars has dropped since the 1970s (this surprised me), families now have two cars instead of one.
- Taxes -- The income of the second-earner is going to be taxed at a higher rate than the income of the first earner. So, taxes on the family unit have risen 25 percent.
- Child Care -- In 2007, the average cost for infant care in a licensed center was $14,647.
The takeaway according to Rowley is to be intentional: "You see lots of articles discussing ways to eliminate the second income -- things like clipping coupons, buying second-hand clothes, and cutting out vacations and cable television. But ultimately, paring those expenses isn't going to cover the gap for most middle-class families, because those aren't the costs that drive them to the economic edge. The real problems are ...'the big five.'
So, if you're serious about raising your future children at home, take a hard look at that list. Good financial choices now (in housing, autos and health insurance) can give you many more choices in the future.
And realize that there will be sacrifices. Rowley quotes financial coach Judy Lawrence: "You have to be willing to do some soul-searching about the things you're going to change and let go of," Lawrence says. "It's going back to your true priorities, values and goals and saying 'it's the best choice for me, my family, and our future' -- not 'we'll be locked into a life of drudgery and we can't do what we want to do.'"
From my experience, the sacrifices are absolutely worth it.
Once coed dormitories became the norm on college campuses, you had to know it was only a matter of time before male and female students were allowed to room together. I guess college administrators felt that sharing floors and bathrooms just wasn't enough to completely destroy gender distinctions.
Here's an excerpt from an MSNBC article one of our readers sent us: In the prim 1950s, college dorms were off-limits to members of the opposite sex. Then came the 1970s, when male and female students started crossing paths in coed dormitories. Now, to the astonishment of some Baby Boomer parents, a growing number of colleges are going even further: coed rooms.
At least two dozen schools, including Brown University, the University of Pennsylvania, Oberlin College, Clark University and the California Institute of Technology, allow some or all students to share a room with anyone they choose — including someone of the opposite sex. This spring, as students sign up for next year's room, more schools are following suit, including Stanford University.
What's next? Clothes-optional dorms and classes?
On the next The Boundless Show, guest contributor Suzanne Hadley makes the point that staying overnight with a member of the opposite isn't just about sexual temptation, it's about sharing an intimacy that's reserved for marriage. And the more you do things outside of God's design, the more likely it is that you'll never know its real meaning.
But Ivory Tower elitists don't know or care about stuff like that. And college isn't just about learning anymore. It's about gender blending.
A few years ago the Swiss government asked an ethics panel to consider "plant dignity." So the Swiss Federal Ethics Committee on Non-Human Biotechnology got together and produced the "Dignity of Living Beings with Regard to Plants" report.
Here's the gist of the report from The Weekly Standard's "The Silent Scream of the Asparagus": A "clear majority" of the panel adopted what it called a "biocentric" moral view, meaning that "living organisms should be considered morally for their own sake because they are alive." Thus, the panel determined that we cannot claim "absolute ownership" over plants and, moreover, that "individual plants have an inherent worth." This means that "we may not use them just as we please, even if the plant community is not in danger, or if our actions do not endanger the species, or if we are not acting arbitrarily."
There's a lot to unpack here. But my mind immediately went to the issue of abortion. Consider the implication of language like, "living organisms should be considered morally for their own sake" and "individual plants have an inherent worth" and "we may not use them as we please." It appears the Swiss want to assign more value to plants than Americans currently give pre-born babies.
It shows you just how distorted human reason can become with an ever declining Judeo-Christian influence.
"So, Mommy," my daughter sheepishly began. "Did you know that Riley gets paid to do jobs for her mom?"
"Hmm, no, didn't know that," I smiled.
A few minutes later I have agreed that yes, I will think of some jobs my 7-year-old can do for me to earn money. No time like the present to learn a good work ethic and what we do with our money once we earn it (oh yeah, you know me, reinforcement on tithing cannot be far away).
Evidently, though, I'm a little slow off the draw because my daughter hits me up within a few hours. She has thought of some jobs. "Oh, really, honey? Let me hear them."
Idea #1: She will do a play and her dad and I will pay for tickets. Here we have a talk about the things we do for our family simply because they are family. She's disappointed, but not defeated.
Idea #2: She will get up a little early and set the breakfast table for me. Another talk. This one is about how if we are going to get paid to do a job it needs to be one, something that we work hard for, and two, something that mommy really needs help with.
I come up with an idea: she can clean blinds. You can see the wheels spinning in her head. Obviously not what she had in mind. But after a few days of contemplating and also seeing the Barbie at Target that I remind her she can buy when she has her own money, she's ready.
So, this weekend for three hours (no, I'm not kidding), my daughter sat on the living room floor taking the vacuum across the blind slats, one by one. One dollar per window and she didn't stop until she had enough money for her tithe plus the Barbie.
It was a great day for both of us. She learned about the rewards (and not just financial) of hard work and I felt an incredible satisfaction in her dedication and also in the fact that she really did help me. I hate cleaning blinds.
It made me wonder how often I am like my 7-year-old when I'm talking with God. Yes, Father, I want to do some work for you, but I've got my own great ideas. How about I do this? I really enjoy it and that can be my work. Or how about this? It gives me a lot of satisfaction and it's not too hard.
Justin Taylor touched on this in yesterday's article, Working Out a Theology of Work: Whatever your vocation, God calls you to honor Him, to reflect His image, and to labor with all of your might. You may not be in your dream job right now. But the secret is to honor God in the little things and to sanctify the ordinary.
Am I laboring with all of my might? Am I working heartily, as for the Lord and not for men? This weekend, I felt I had a small glimpse of God's perspective. The play would have been fun. Setting the table wouldn't have been too hard. But my daughter worked hard and she did what I really needed her to do. God, make me that kind of daughter to you. Even if it means cleaning blinds.
Someday my prince will come ... and that day is May 16.
That is the release date of Prince Caspian, the second Chronicles of Narnia film produced by Walt Disney Pictures and Walden Media.
Mark Moring of Christianity Today interviewed Andrew Adamson, the film's director. Adamson directed 2005's The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and the first two Shrek films. A few other interesting facts about Adamson: He was the son of Christian missionaries to Papua New Guinea; he duked it out with Lewis' stepson Doug Gresham over the role of women in the first Narnia film; and he's intent on being faithful to one of the best-loved children's books of all time.
Doug Gresham, who has been intimately involved with the production of both films, believes Prince Caspian is a better film than The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, even though it's a more difficult story to tell. Adamson explains:
The story of Lion/Witch was already very cinematic with sort of a five-act structure. In Prince Caspian a lot of the story is told in retrospect, with Trumpkin telling the kids what happened when they were gone. So I restructured it to make it more linear. It's a challenge, but sometimes the limitations you face actually create more interesting solutions. And that's what I think makes this movie feel like a bigger movie, a more complex and interesting movie.
Despite his evangelical upbringing, Adamson feels a greater duty to his art than Lewis' Christian fan base:
I feel my responsibility to C. S. Lewis's fans is just being true to
the books, and letting people take from it what they will. What you
take from it depends on your belief, and how much interpretation you
place upon it. I think by staying true to the book, I'm staying true to
what any fan gets from the book.
For those of you who, like me, are excited to see Prince Caspian come to the big screen, you may want to check out this excerpt of the excellent Radio Theatre audio drama of the work produced by Focus on the Family.
Last week, I blogged about the influence the Hispanic birth rate will have on America over the next 50 years. In that same time frame, the Japanese government now projects they will lose a third of their population. In an article titled, "Japan Steadily Becoming a Land of Few Children," the Washington Post writes: Japan, now the world's second-largest economy, will lose 70 percent of its workforce by 2050 and economic growth will slow to zero, according to a report this year by the nonprofit Japan Center for Economic Research.
 Demographers discuss Japan's dramatic population reversal in a new documentary called Demographic Winter. Because Japan never had the baby boom America had, they are showing more quickly a pattern demographers are seeing around the world -- not enough children to support aging populations.
The growth of world population at this present moment, the commentary explains is not from new births -- rates are dropping almost everywhere -- it's from a health explosion that is allowing people to live longer and longer.
All the efforts around the world to control population (documented in books such as Fatal Misconception) have been rather effective, but have now made it likely that many of the readers of this blog will be asked to pay a larger share of the taxes required to care for an expanding aging population dependent on a shrinking workforce.
My concern is that this expectation might lead to resentment among young workers toward the people they are supporting and could lead to a coarsening attitude toward the elderly and even greater acceptance for euthanasia. That would be a tragic scenario, especially knowing it could have been averted if the population debates of the past three decades could have been less hysterical and more honest about what objective demographers actually knew about population trends.
He stood at the stoplight at the bottom of the freeway exit ramp. Dirty, disheveled, most if not all of his worldly possessions in a few bags at his feet. He held a scrawled cardboard sign: "Homeless: Just tryin' to survive."
I watched him from about four cars back. Interesting touch, I thought, making note of the dropped "g." With an apostrophe, no less! That's when my son spoke up: "Why isn't anyone giving him money?"
Why, indeed? Had I become so jaded that I took it for granted that no one gives money to beggars on street corners?
It's a common dilemma. I lived and worked in Manhattan in the mid-'80s, during the height of the crack epidemic. One encountered three or more dirty, disheveled beggars on every block, each holding the ubiquitous blue-and-white Greek coffee shop paper cup. When I first moved to the city, I was genuinely torn as I walked down the street; even if I was so inclined, I did not have enough money to give to everyone who asked. In those first days, I put a few quarters in a few cups. But a few days later I saw one of my beneficiaries staggering down the street, drunk out of his mind. I had no doubt where my quarter had gone.
That's when I stopped giving money. A few offers to buy a meal were turned down. That solidified my resolve. And when a woman in a full-length fur coat gave me a sob story about how she'd just inherited the coat and wouldn't part with it because it was her aunt's favorite coat ... blah blah blah, so could you please give me some money, I just walked by, giving her barely a glance. Living in the city had hardened me.
Twenty-plus years later, I had taken a purely clinical approach to the man at the bottom of the freeway ramp. My son, alas, had not yet been hardened.
I'm still not sure how to think about this. There are Jesus' words in Matthew 25:45: "I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me." Those words are a dagger to the heart every time I think of how callous I'd become in New York -- and on the freeway ramp.
But then I read the apostle Paul's words in 2 Thessalonians 3:10: "If a man will not work, he shall not eat." The homeless man was young and able-bodied, and surely he could find work somewhere. Giving money to beggars merely encourages irresponsible behavior.
But then ...
I can go back and forth on this forever. One thing I can do is to give generously to organizations such as the Salvation Army, Samaritan's Purse or Compassion International that are able to pool resources and do genuine good for the least of these -- no equivocating or questions asked.
Our self interest makes the world go 'round. That's the understanding of how most markets work. In The Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith made his argument about "the invisible hand" of self interest that drives our economic system. He wrote: It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker, that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest. We address ourselves, not to their humanity but to their self-love, and never talk to them of our necessities but of their advantages.
If we were to look pragmatically at our lives, we'd recognize that many of our decisions about our work, our education, our free time, and so forth is guided by an invisible hand of self-interest. Though we'd rarely admit it, even the things we feel called to do as Christians often get filtered through the question, "What's in it for me?"
Or maybe I'm the only person who's thought that. Maybe I'm the only person who has stopped to calculate what recognition and even what compensation I could get from various promptings I feel toward ministry opportunities.
Which is why I've appreciated Gary Thomas's book The Beautiful Fight. On my second pass through the book this morning, I spent some time praying about Gary's point on page 122 that "The point of Christian ministry is not personal fulfillment." He goes on to say: It is not to gain a sense of importance, relevance or significance. The primary purpose of having hands and feet that reach out to others is to display God's glory. This reality necessitates a focus on God's empowerment as opposed to human giftedness.
I know this kind of Christianity 101, but this can be a quite a struggle to put into practice. While Adam Smith is saying on one hand that it is self interest that guides most of our actions, Gary Thomas is saying that our calling as Christians should not be about what's in it for us, but how God can be glorified.
Gary goes on to explain that what we do out of a desire for importance, relevance or significance will only go so far, but that when we seek to glorify God, he can do more through us than we could have ever done in our own strength and wisdom. "Your limitations can bring glory to God as they provide platforms for him to do something that has no other explanation but God," Thomas writes.
So, question for discussion: How can we as Christians do all to the glory of God while living in a world where everything seems to function on the motivations of our self interest?
We received an e-mail this morning from a young woman who's been married for just under a year. Here's an excerpt (edited slightly for brevity): Not too long ago I walked into our bedroom and found my husband reading my journal. Now, I'd never told him not to read it. I'd never told him it was off limits to all eyes but mine. I'd never told him how I felt about my journal -- because in the home that I grew up in, journals were sacred. It was a spoken rule in my parents home that a journal is totally, completely, entirely private.
And I've enjoyed that privacy between the pages of my journal for the last decade. During the ugliness of the aftermath of my parents divorce (i.e., court battles, custody arguments), my journal was my best friend. During the awkward time of my adolescence, my journal was a place of refuge. My journal has been a place I go to write when I am angry or frustrated or disappointed; when I am grateful or feeling distant from God.
For me, writing is therapeutic. And in my married relationship, it has been a "friend" for me to turn to when I am frustrated in order to sort out my feelings of anger before I react, so I can calmly approach my husband with kind words in times of conflict (and avoid situations where gossip or bias might arise if I were to verbally voice my frustrations to another person). In short, my journal has been my good friend for all these years.
After I found him reading my "sacred" musings, I was hurt. I felt violated. We talked about the situation -- or at least tried to. But because of his background and because he feels that it would be fine for me to read his journal (if he had one), he doesn't understand why I am so upset about the whole ordeal.
I've told my wife that nothing is private with me any more. She's free to rummage through my computer and read old e-mails, free to dig through boxes of stuff I've collected during my single years, free to open my mail, free to tell her friends whatever she wants about me, and so on. If she discovers anything that she has questions about, I see it as an opportunity to be more transparent with each other, for her to get insights into who I am and who I've been.
That said, I do understand this woman's desire to keep some of her thoughts private. She admits that she uses her journal to work through things before "going public" with them. And I think that's a legitimate use of a private journal.
So, though ideally (in my opinion) there'd be nothing entirely private between a husband and a wife, I think it's fair for this woman to ask her husband to not look at her private journal. And her husband should respect such a request. Perhaps in time she'll be open to opening its pages to him; in the meantime, he should trust that her request is being made out of good motives, and not out of a disrespectful desire to keep something from him.
That said, I'd love to hear what you think. Is it OK for some things to remain secret even within marriage? Should you allow your spouse to keep some things private, and not take offense that they're "keeping" certain things from you?
I was in a Christian bookstore the other day and saw a key chain that read: "It is Yoo Hoo He died for." I giggled at the use of a chocolate milk brand to tout Christianity. In her review of Rapture Ready!, Slate writer Hanna Rosin considers the strange world of Christian subculture. She notes: At this point in history, American evangelicals resemble the Israelites at various dangerous moments in the Old Testament: They are blending into the surrounding heathen culture, and having ever more trouble figuring out where it ends and they begin. In politics, and in business, they've mostly gone ahead and joined the existing networks. With pop culture, they've instead created their own enormous "parallel universe," as Daniel Radosh calls it in his rich exploration of the realm, Rapture Ready! A Christian can now buy books, movies, music—and anything else lowbrow to middlebrow—tailor-made for his or her sensibilities. Worried that American popular culture leads people—and especially teenagers—astray, the Christian version is designed to satisfy all the same needs in a cleaner form.
Growing up in a Christian home and attending a Christian college, I've experienced my share of Christian subculture. I listened to Christian music, owned a "witness wear" t-shirt and even wore a WWJD bracelet. While I believe these things strengthened my identity with Christ at the time, I can see how they could have appeared silly to outsiders. Rosin writes on the advent of Christian subculture: In the '80s, Christians were known as the boycotters, refusing to see movies or buy products that offended them. They felt about commercial culture much the way a Marxist might: that it was a decadent glorification of money and meaningless human relationships. Then, sometime during the '90s, when conservative evangelicals started coming out of their shells, they took a different tack. The boycotters became coopters and embarked on the curious quest to enlist America's crassest material culture in the service of spiritual growth.
I'm wary of this blending of Christianity and culture to produce a brand. At the same time I wonder what would be a more effective approach. Aren't wholesome, biblically-based alternatives for teens a good thing? Honestly, I believe that Brio magazine (an alternative to mags like Seventeen and Sassy) sustained me through my teen years.
However, there is a fine line. We certainly don't want to be the money changers in the temple—leveraging Christian products for financial gain. Neither do we want to give teens and children a warped view of faith in Christ—as a sub-par way of doing life. Rosin writes: For faith, the results can be dangerous. A young Christian can get the idea that her religion is a tinny, desperate thing that can't compete with the secular culture.
Reducing Christianity to a sickly brand is not only detrimental to the cause of Christ but just plain wrong. Still, quality Christian products can and have changed lives. Maybe the key is to consistently renounce the silly and champion the inspired, and ask God to grant us the wisdom to see the difference.
Tim Challies offers a good review of Rapture Ready! on his blog.
 |
 |
Subscribe to our podcast, The Boundless Show, through iTunes now! You may also access the podcast through our RSS feed.
|
|
I have a tween niece who's into Hannah Montana. That's about all I knew of the Disney Channel show before news broke of semi-nude photo shoot of its star, Miley Cyrus. Here's what I know now:
Miley is the 15-year-old confessing Christian daughter of Billy Ray Cyrus, the confessing Christian country singer who's famous for his song "Achy Breaky Heart" and love of the mullet hairdo.
Anyway, we talk about this controversy to open this week's The Boundless Show. Among the perspectives we cover is something I blogged about months ago, the sexualization of our daughters. Now I know Billy Ray says he wasn't there during that portion of the shoot. But to me it sounds a little like Adam blaming Eve for the fall.
C'mon Billy Ray. Be a man and take responsibility for the sexualization of your little girl.
Roundtable -- 5:50
Is it possible that the reason so many 20-somethings have difficulty transitioning into adulthood -- from high school to college to career to family -- is because of helicopter parenting? Are our padded playgrounds and sanitized gels producing a bunch of mama's boys and cell-phone tethered girls? That's one theory put forth in the book Nation of Wimps from Psychology Today's former editor in chief Hara Marano. Lisa kicks off the discussion with the story of college drop out.
Culture -- 19:30
We're excited to have Plugged In's Bob Waliszewski back with us this week to talk about all the new entertainment releases, including Grand Theft Auto. No judgments here; just slight dispiritedness at the sight of dozens of 20- and 30-something men lined up around the store of the local gaming outlet. As for new movie releases, Bob gives us his perspective on Iron Man and Baby Mama, and an update on Expelled.
Hungry Years -- 31:00
Do nice guys really finish last? Not for those interested in wooing Kara Schwab. In this week's Hungry Years, Kara talks about her attraction to guys who know their way around a spreadsheet. And who finish what they start.
Inbox -- 35:53
This week Candice tackles a really sensitive issue: when to stick your nose into your friend's relationship when you see red flags all around. Candice clarifies the questioner's obligation and how she can do it in a way that preserves the friendship.
Lastly, we have some great new music to feature this week from The Museum. Be sure and check them out on Virb and leave a message about how much you enjoy their stuff. Ted already has.
My most recent article talks about life after college and all of the stresses and decisions that came with it. Basically, during my senior year, I suddenly realized that I would soon have to find an apartment, pay bills and work eight hours a day -- I would have to be an adult! It scared me: People were expecting things of me — lying on the couch and watching daytime soap operas wasn't going to cut it. And so, instead of getting to the task at hand and embracing the idea of becoming a responsible adult, the resentment began to build. Just who did people think they were, expecting me to work and pay for things?! I thought it was all pretty rude.
Unfortunately, people (and by "people" I mean, of course, "my parents") weren't all that sympathetic to my plight, so I rethought my bitterness. I began to think logically about my options, probably like you're doing right now (in between panic attacks).
The options I outline in my article include getting a job, going to graduate school or taking a year off. The work option seemed most logical, but also kind of frightening -- mainly because I had decided I didn't like my major all that much. But it also caused me to realize something: I had bought into our culture's idea that, in order to do something well, I had to be utterly and completely passionate about it. Many of us have come to believe that feeling fulfilled in our careers is of highest importance — worth more than the wages we earn or the family we'll be supporting in the near future.
Graduate school was a good option, but I wasn't quite sure what I wanted an advanced degree in. So, I decided to attend the Focus on the Family Institute, which was probably one of the best choices I've made. I learned a ton and it opened the door for my current job.
So, what options did you consider once you graduated college? Did you make the transition to adulthood with grace, or did you stumble along the way?
I can't think of a more harmful conversation starter among friends than, "I make $_2,000 a year. What do you make?" But maybe that's because I'm over 35.
According to this New York Times article, young professionals are more open about discussing their salaries with friends because a little comparison shopping helps them know if they're making enough where they are or need to start looking for a new job.
Another reason cited in the article is the job-hopping mentality of 20-somethings. Robert H. Frank, an economics professor at Cornell, said that an open flow of information is deemed crucial by young professionals who think of themselves as free agents, not company men.
"People move between jobs a lot more now than they used to," Dr. Frank said. This mobility alone increases the instances that salary might come up among friends.
"If you change jobs, that's news," he said. "If you get a better salary, that's the explanation of the news: 'They’re paying me 80 grand, the last place only paying me 65.'"
Barbara W. Keats, an associate professor of management at Arizona State University who studies money attitudes among the young, said that their relative lack of manners regarding salary can be traced to the self-esteem movement embraced by baby boomer parents.
"As they moved through primary and secondary school, the focus was always to avoid anything that might stifle their creativity or hem them in," she said, which has bled into their sense of etiquette. "They're special, and however they say things is very cute."
Gone are the company men whose identities were very much tied to their line of work. They've been replaced with a generation who've been told "you're special" all their lives. And who already share every other detail of their lives on Facebook and MySpace.
Still, there's no getting around the inherent problems with divulging your salary. Still, there are good reasons that generations of parents have instructed their children to keep quiet about money, social scientists say. In a meritocratic country, money has always been the great divider, the primary way Americans connote status.
Thus it is impossible to engage in a conversation about income that is entirely innocent, said Herb Goldberg, a clinical psychologist in Los Angeles who has written about financial issues.
"When people talk about money," he said, most people traditionally have presumed that there is "a motive behind it, and the motive is what makes it seem impolite." People bombarded with unwelcome salary information, or pressed to disclose it, assume someone is raising the topic to subtly brag, or put someone else down, he said.
I can think of a couple of more problems. The high earners will be expected to be more generous and judged if they do not meet those expectations. And the low earners will be scrutinized every time they go indulge in a latte.
So my advice is to avoid such discussions altogether.
In tenth grade I decided I wanted to be a journalist.
My motivation was less than noble—I wanted to meet Steven Curtis Chapman. Still, I was intent enough on my goal to write to the editor of my favorite magazine to ask her how I could get a job there. That magazine was Brio, and that editor was Susie Shellenberger.
Susie wrote me a personal letter back telling me about her writing experience and suggesting that I join my high school newspaper, study journalism in college and get things published. "You won't have to think about getting a job for a long time," she wrote. "But here are some things to get you started." Even back then, her writing advice was pragmatic in its "just do it" spirit.
Six years later I started my job at Focus on the Family as assistant editor of Clubhouse and Clubhouse Jr. magazines. On the day I shared my story with my department, I read that letter Susie had written years before. What I didn't know was that Susie had her own writing mentor. In her article "Writing Without Inspiration" Susie says: I don't think Mrs. Milton knew what she was starting. She gave our fifth grade class the assignment of reading a book and reporting on it. After I read and reported on my book, I decided it couldn't be that tough to write one, so I created my own "book" and gave a second report. That was it. I was hooked.
Susie was my Mrs. Milton. On that day I brought that letter to work, Susie patted me on the back, smiled and said, "I'm glad I wrote that letter." I doubt Susie knew what she was starting when she typed up that single sheet. I hope her article today inspires you in the same way.
Oh, and I did meet Steven Curtis Chapman -- three times.
Hispanics have surged to 15% of the United States population according to new Census Bureau reports. That growth is increasingly from births to Hispanics more than from new immigration. A Wall Street Journal article today explains this demographic trend: Between 2006 and 2007, about 62% of the increase in Hispanics came from births.
"The Hispanic population has taken on a momentum of its own," said Kenneth Johnson, senior demographer at the University of New Hampshire's Carsey Institute. "If you close the borders tomorrow, there is still going to be a large Hispanic increase."
As America's leading financial newspaper, the Wall Street Journal is especially interested in the effect this trend has on America's economy: As Americans age and the baby boom generation retires, Hispanics may help buttress the economy and the Social Security system. The average white woman in the U.S. has 1.8 children, which is under the replacement rate of 2.1 necessary to maintain a stable population. Hispanic women, meanwhile, give birth on average to 2.8 children.
According to the Pew Research Center, whites are projected to make up only 45% of the working-age population in 2050, down from 68% in 2005. The center projects that the share of Hispanics in the working-age population will rise to 31% from 14%. The ratio of senior citizens to working-age people age 25 to 64 will grow to 411 seniors per 1,000 working-age people in 2030 from 250 per 1,000 in 2010, according to Dowell Myers, a demographer at the University of Southern California.
Demographics are destiny. Increasingly, the face of the United States over the next 50 years will have everything to do with the cumulative effect of millions of private decisions about getting married and having children. As it looks now, the distinct Hispanic embrace of marriage and family makes them the segment of the U.S. population with the fastest growing influence over the nation's future.
Copyright 2008 Focus on the Family. All rights reserved. International copyright secured. The Line and Boundless Line are trademarks of Focus on the Family.
|
Recent Comments