vagabondprofessor

The Passing of a Missionary Giant--Ralph Winter

2009-07-25T18:43:00.002-05:00

The following article appeared in the LA Times.

Ralph D. Winter dies at 84; Christian missionary was one of America's most influential evangelicals

By Claire Noland

May 24, 2009

Ralph D. Winter, a Christian missionary who was named one of America's 25 most influential evangelicals by Time magazine in 2005, died Wednesday at his home in Pasadena after battling multiple myeloma and lymphoma. He was 84.

Winter stepped onto the world stage in 1974 at the International Congress on World Evangelization in Lausanne, Switzerland. There he issued a call for other Protestant evangelists to proselytize to the world's "unreached people," those who had not been exposed to Christianity.

In identifying mission fields, Winter looked for "ethnic pockets," isolated areas where language, ethnicity, culture and social status as well as religion had hindered the spread of the Christian Gospel.

He began his career as a Presbyterian missionary in Guatemala in 1956. Ten years later he returned to the United States to become professor of missions at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena. At Fuller he trained missionaries, sharing with students his experiences working with the indigenous Maya people of Latin America.

In 1976 he decided to leave the classroom to become a strategist for Christian outreach, founding the interdenominational U.S. Center for World Mission on the former campus of Pasadena Nazarene College. A year after establishing a research institute there, he founded the related William Carey International University.

By 2005 he was included along with such figures as Rick Warren and James Dobson in Time's compilation of influential American evangelicals.

Winter was born in South Pasadena in December 1924, the middle son of Hugo H. Winter, a prominent freeway designer with the Los Angeles Bureau of Engineering, and his wife, Hazel.

He earned a bachelor's degree in civil engineering at Caltech before serving in the Navy during World War II.

After his discharge, Winter switched gears and studied for a doctorate in linguistics, anthropology and mathematical statistics at Cornell. He then attended Columbia, where he received a master's degree in teaching English as a second language, and Princeton Theological Seminary, where he was ordained a Presbyterian minister in 1956.

By then he was prepared for his missionary calling to Guatemala, setting out with his wife, Roberta, a registered nurse whom he had married in 1951. They had four daughters, all of whom became involved in missionary work. Roberta died in 2001.

Winter is survived by his second wife, Barbara; daughters Elizabeth Gill, Rebecca Lewis, Linda Dorr and Patricia Johnson; 14 grandchildren; one great-grandchild; and two brothers, Paul, a structural engineer, and David, president of Westmont College in Santa Barbara.

Paddock Family Reunion

2009-06-28T19:18:00.002-05:00

Paddock Family Reunion—June 18-24

No matter how far we travel, Colorado will always be home for us. There is a very good chance we will be buried in Kansas, but Colorado will always be home. We still have family there and it is not possible to undo 45 years of living there.

Arletta let it be known that it was time for a family reunion. Her concern was for grandchildren that are growing up and leaving home. She felt that this year might be the last year we could get everyone together in one spot. Grand Junction is the logical place. That is central to California where Becca is and to those of us who live in Oklahoma and Kansas. Vicki was able to get good prices on tickets from Alaska, so Grand Junction was a good spot for her as well. The Paddock children took on the responsibility of planning and organizing the entire event and did a great job.

Our activities began Thursday night with an evening visit at Tad's. Our newest great-granddaughter, Ollie, was there and we delight to see her and the other members of the family who had driven or flown in. My evening was spent trying to locate a lost hotel reservation. Holiday Inn had my confirmation number but no room or hotel to match the number. Bottom line—no place to stay. But a humble servant of Holiday Inn somewhere in Pakistan found us reservations in a brand new hotel in Grand Junction. He did ask if I were depressed or suicidal because they were looking for truck drivers. When we got there it had been open all of three days.

The big excitement began on Friday when we caravanned out to Highline Lake near Loma, Colorado. We used to joke about the Loma Mall which was basically a country store. We also joked about the Loma International airport. A favorite story of mine about the airport goes like this: They were testing a new jet plane larger than the 747. (In fact, the Russians went on to build this plane. You can see it online). They fired up the plane and it started down the runway with a huge cloud of black smoke billowing out of the engines. All of a sudden the engines died and the plane came to a stop at the end of the runway. The engineers for the Loma Institute of Technology ran down the runway to find out what happened. The pilot rolled down the window and his voice boomed out over the desert—"Ran out of coal."

When we lived in Colorado in the 1970s and 80s the Highline Lake was a large puddle in the midst of sagebrush with a sand fringe around the edge. We had a lot of fun at the lake, but it was no paradise. By 2009 some dramatic changes had occurred. Grass had been planted, trees grown up, restrooms, and outdoor tables and shelters all over the place. It even boasts a nice campground for overnights. At 10:00 am the campground was full. The day was cool and the water cold. Still the children enjoyed playing in the water while the older generation sat around, ate and talked over old times. We stayed until 5:00 pm at the Lake and then retired to Tad's for the evening.

Saturday morning found us again at Goodpastures for another great breakfast. We took the Mercedes with a Hemi to a great car wash that took 9 minutes to do the wash, but when it was done the car was spotless. We had picked up a good deal of road crud on the trip from Denver to Grand Junction. Eventually we were back to Tad's for more visiting and final preparations for the Family Picnic at the Long Family Memorial Park near Central High School. Several years ago William Long gave the county the acreage for a huge park next to Central High School. The park is ½ mile long and a quarter mile wide. But the catch to the gift was simple. The county had three years to develop the park or the land reverted to the family. The county got on the ball and built a beautiful park complete with walking paths, sports' facilities, and picnic shelters.

The guest list at the family picnic included all of our children, their spouses, and grandchildren, except for one spouse and two grandchildren. Of course we had our first great-granddaughter there. All of my sister's children (Susan died several years ago) were there. Some of the Linscotts live in the Grand Junction area and one daughter, Debbie, drove in from Oregon. We had a chance to catch up on the lives of these nieces and nephews. We also met some of the new additions to this part of the family. All were doing well. My only brother, Doug and his wife Tommye were there. Arletta's older sister, Chrissie, came with some of her children. One of Marty's old buddies, Scot Bell, came to visit. And then a great surprise, Chris Clark, came to the reception. We were glad to see him again. It was a cold day in Grand Junction even in June and we finally went home around 5:30.

Sunday was the highlight of the reunion for me. We went to church at the Clifton Christian Church. My spiritual roots are in that church. We saw a few old friends including Eleanor Burckhalter who invited me to church in 1957. I owe her a huge debt of gratitude. In church I had my entire family, including most of the grandchildren. It was a powerful moment.

Sunday afternoon Tad fired up the grill and did his usual great job of grilling steaks. We took family pictures and then the party began to break up. Marty and Alisha and their crew started for Kansas. Arletta and I left for Moab Utah to spend time with my brother.

I want to offer a special thanks to our children for putting together a wonderful time. It was the greatest gift they could have given.

CO2 and Global Warming--Christian Science Monitor

2009-06-25T19:28:00.000-05:00

Don't treat C02 as a pollutant

From higher energy bills to lost jobs, the impact of carbon regulations will hurt us far more than CO2 itself ever could.

By Mark W. Hendrickson

from the June 23, 2009 edition

Print this Letter to the Editor Email and share E-mail newsletters RSS

GROVE CITY, PA. - A few days before this year's Earth Day, America's ideological greens received a present they have been desiring for years: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) – responding to a 2007 US Supreme Court ruling – officially designated carbon dioxide (CO2) as a pollutant. That spurred Democrats in Congress to push a major climate change bill. In the next 25 years, their massive cap-and-trade scheme would, according to a Heritage Foundation study, inflict gross domestic product losses of $9.4 trillion, raise an average family's energy bill by $1,241, and destroy some 1,145,000 jobs. Democrats want it passed by July 4.

Get ready for a veritable Pandora's box of complications.

A generation ago, it was considered great progress against pollution when catalytic converters were added to automobile engines to change poisonous carbon monoxide to benign carbon dioxide. Now, CO2 has been demoted.

The EPA's characterization of CO2 as a pollutant brings into question the natural order of things. By the EPA's logic, either God or Mother Nature (whichever creator you believe in) seriously goofed. After all, CO2 is the base of our food chain. "Pollutants" are supposed to be harmful to life, not helpful to it, aren't they?

Of course, it is true (although environmentalists often ignore it when trying to ban such useful chemicals as pesticides, insecticides, Alar, PCBs, and others) that "the dose makes the poison." Too much oxygen, for example, poses danger to human life. So what is the "right" concentration of CO2 in our atmosphere? There is no right answer to this question. The concentration of CO2 in Earth's atmosphere fluctuated greatly long before humans appeared on Earth, and that concentration has fluctuated since then, too.

The current concentration is approximately 385 parts per million. Some scientists maintain that 1,000 parts per million would provide an ideal atmosphere for plant life, accelerating plant growth and multiplying yields, thereby sustaining far more animal and human life than is currently possible. Whatever standard the EPA selects will be arbitrary.

"Forget about the plants," say the greens. "What we're trying to control is how warm Earth's atmosphere gets." To which I reply, "With all due respect, are you kidding me?"

As with a "right" concentration of CO2, what is the "right" average global temperature? For 7,000 of the past 10,000 years, Earth was cooler than it is now; mankind prospers more in warm climates than cold climates; and the Antarctic icecap was significantly larger during the warmer mid-Holocene period than it is today. Are you sure warmer is bad or wrong?

And how do you propose to regulate Earth's temperature when as much as three-quarters of the variability is due to variations in solar activity, with the remaining one-quarter due to changes in Earth's orbit, axis, and albedo (reflectivity)? This truly is "mission impossible." Mankind can no more regulate Earth's temperature than it can the tides.

Even if the "greenhouse effect" were greater than it actually is, the EPA and Congress would be powerless to alter it for several reasons:

1. Human activity accounts for less than 4 percent of global CO2 emissions.

2. CO2 itself accounts for only 10 or 20 percent of the greenhouse effect. This discloses the capricious nature of the EPA's decision to classify CO2 as a pollutant, for if CO2 is a pollutant because it is a greenhouse gas, then the most common greenhouse gas of all – water vapor, which accounts for more than three-quarters of the atmosphere's greenhouse effect – should be regulated, too. The EPA isn't going after water vapor, of course, because then everyone would realize how absurd climate-control regulation really is.

3. Even if Americans were to eliminate their CO2 emissions completely, total human emissions of CO2 would still increase as billions of people around the world continue to develop economically.

Clearly, it is beyond the ken of mortals to answer the metaquestions about the right concentration of CO2, or the optimal global average temperature, or to control CO2 levels in the atmosphere. I feel sorry for the professionals at the EPA who are now expected to come up with answers for these unanswerable questions.

However, I do not feel sorry for the political appointees, like climate czar Carol Browner, because it looks as if they are about to get what they evidently want – the power to increase their power over Americans' lives and pocketbooks via CO2 emission regulations.

From higher energy bills to lost jobs, the impact of CO2 regulations will hurt us far more than CO2 itself ever could. Let's nail shut the lid on this Pandora's box before it swings wide open.

Mark W. Hendrickson is an adjunct faculty member, economist, and contributing scholar with The Center for Vision & Values at Grove City College, where this essay was first published.

John Grisham’s The Appeal

2009-06-08T21:36:00.003-05:00

I am a faithful John Grisham fan. I have enjoyed every book he has written. That holds true for his book The Appeal. I would encourage you to read the book in background for the article that I am putting into this post on my blog. What John Grisham reminds us is that justice is being bought and sold in our country just like every other political aspect from the presidency to the local commissioners. If I really want to have a voice in government then a nice campaign gift opens the door to my opinions and if necessary, my protection in legal matters. But read the book. John Grisham does a much better job of telling the story than me.

Here is the article from Associated Press, dated June 8, 2009. Dateline: Washington [D.C.]

The Supreme Court ruled Monday that elected judges must step aside from cases when large campaign contributions from interested parties create the appearance of bias.

By a 5-4 vote in a case from West Virginia, the court said that a judge who remained involved in a lawsuit filed against the company of the most generous supporter of his election deprived the other side of the constitutional right to a fair trial.

With multimillion dollar judicial election campaigns on the rise, the court's decision could have widespread significance. Justice at Stake, which tracks campaign spending in judicial elections, says judges are elected in 39 states and the candidates for the highest state courts have raised $168 million since 2000.

The West Virginia case involved more than $3 million spent by the chief executive of Massey Energy Co. to help elect state Supreme Court Justice Brent Benjamin. At the time, Massey was appealing a verdict, which now totals $82.7 million with interest, in a dispute with a local coal company. Benjamin refused to step aside from the case, despite repeated requests, and was part of a 3-2 decision to overturn the verdict.

"Not every campaign contribution by a litigant or attorney creates a probability of bias that requires a judge's recusal, but this is an exceptional case," Justice Anthony Kennedy said in his opinion for the court.

Resurrection Meals

2009-05-03T21:57:00.001-05:00

[Message delivered to the Zeandale Community Church on May 3, 2009]

Using the thoughts of Eugene Peterson from his book Living the Resurrection I have chosen today to look at the idea of the resurrection meals. Preparation of food and eating occupy a significant part of our time. Does the Bible give us any insights as to the meaning of these events in our daily life? When we look at some of the meals Jesus participated in, we realize that meals occupy an important place.

Many years ago in Grand Junction, Colorado we had a wonderful couple along with their children move to town. Dick Wilson, along with his wife Velva, became instant friends. We would enjoy a number of heartaches, but even more a great deal of joy with this family.

One great experience we had with the Wilsons occurred when we were having a revival at the Northeast Christian Church. We had invited a great evangelist—Dr. Charles Crane—and were enjoying a week of services. Charles decided that he would like to have the evening meal after services. So around 9:00 pm every night we went to a different home for supper. On Thursday night of the meeting we went to lunch with John and Margaret Ball. John had grilled t-bone steaks and we had a great meal with them. Then my mother called. She really liked Charles Crane and wanted to bring in a snack before the services that night. The "snack" turned out to be big hamburgers on homemade buns and all the trimmings—potato salad and baked beans. Then after the meeting we were to go to the Wilsons for supper. Of course we were all stuffed at this point, but we could not turn down the meal at the Wilsons. Velva outdid herself and fixed a Thanksgiving dinner, turkey, dressing, and all the trimmings. It was a fabulous meal. Their daughter who was a bit shy made a German chocolate cake that was out of this world. When Charles Crane finished his last bite of cake and I knew he was very full, I said to the Wilson daughter, "Dr. Crane was hoping he could have one more, nice large piece of that German chocolate cake." The girl was excited and brought out another generous serving of cake. Charles politely moaned, but ate the cake.

When the Paddocks moved to Rifle to provide ministry for a church that was coming out of the Disciples' Movement, we were living in the parsonage next to the church building. Early one Sunday morning Dick and Velva arrived with a complete surprise breakfast. We had a good time and a lot of laughs as a result.

Only recently did I learn the significance of such events. And that's what we want to talk about.

Let's look at Peterson's presentation:

Ordinary meals

Twice the story of Jesus' resurrection includes meals. "The unimaginable transcendence of the resurrection is assimilated into the most routine and ordinary of actions—eating a meal. We have a long tradition among Christians, given shape and content by our Scriptures, that practices the preparing, serving, and eating of meals as formational for living the resurrection."

First meal:

Two people, perhaps man and wife, walking to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-32)
They have plenty of time to go into depth on any subject as they walk along
Talked about:
- The trial and crucifixion of Jesus
- Their own feelings about him—"The immense authority and sense of divine presence they associated with him."
- Expectations aroused
  - "We hoped he would be the one who would deliver Israel."
- The rumors in Jerusalem
  - Women who claimed they could not find the body
  - Women saw angels who told them he was alive
  - Others (men) went to the tomb and confirmed it was empty
  - But at that point the couple does not know if anyone actually saw Jesus
Jesus comes alongside
- The couple from Emmaus are unaware of who this person is. "They were in the presence of resurrection, walking in the land of the living, and didn't know it."
- Jesus puts all that happened in the framework of Scriptures.
- As the couple listened they were not "getting the big picture." See v. 32
The couple asked Jesus to join them for a meal.
- Stopped at the bakery and picked up a loaf of bread
- Purchased a bottle of wine
- That would be supper—bread and wine
Time for a flashback—review the background
- The couple had just returned from Passover, the feast that normally lasted a week. "This great Hebrew feast of salvation, with all the energy and drama attending it." You have
  - Ritual
  - The place
  - Memories
  - Stories
  - Songs
  - Your Jewish identity reaffirmed
- Then sudden desecration
  - A man that you highly respected and who was recognized as a prophet, a holy man, is brutally beaten and crucified at the behest of the mob that are stirred up by the Jewish leaders, the godfather high priest and his gang of Mafia members.
  - Then you hear rumors of angels and resurrection. "On successive days in Jerusalem you were hurled from celebration to anguish to bewilderment. Your whole world spun out of control."
  - Finally you are on your way home, back to peace and tranquility. Your nerves are beginning to settle when this stranger comes along and begins to put together the pieces of the puzzle. Finally, you are at rest knowing the big picture.
  - You buy a loaf of bread and a skin of wine. You invite the stranger home for supper
    - You pour the wine
    - But the stranger takes the bread, blesses it, and breaks it.
    - Suddenly you realize—"this is Jesus."
- Breakfast on the beach—gospel of John
  - Seven of the eleven apostles are there, having gone fishing
  - Caught nothing
  - Jesus directed them to cast their nets on the other side of the boat—result: 153 fish
  - John is the first to realize the stranger on the beach is Jesus.
  - Peter jumps in the water and swims to shore. "Don't you just love it when people with spiritual experiences leave you to clean up the dishes?"
  - On shore Jesus has a breakfast ready of bread and grilled fish.

"Christian practice in matters of spiritual formation goes badly astray when it attempts to construct or organize ways of spirituality apart from the ordinariness of life."

The meals were not a religious occasion, not metaphorical, but real meals. Recognition of the resurrection is delayed.

"Jesus is host, always. We are never 'in charge,' of our spiritual formation. We don't decide the menu. We don't customize the details according to our tastes and appetites. But at the same time we are completely present and participatory, engaged in the actual formation-by-resurrection itself."

We are rapidly losing 'the culture at the table."

The common meal:

The way we take care of our physical need for food
Our social need for conversation
Cultural need to carry on traditions and convey values.
The meal is
- Inclusive
- Comprehensive
The experience of sacrifice. Something had to die for almost every part of the meal
- "Eating a meal involves us in a complex, sacrificial world of giving and receiving. Life feeds life. We are not self-sufficient. We live by life, and life is given to us."
The world of the meal has greatly diminished.
- "Fast-food means there is little leisure time for conversation."
- Explosion of restaurants—less preparation time at home.
- The invasion of television
- Instant microwave meals

The shape of the liturgy—the Lord's Supper

Jesus and meals:

Taking
Blessed
Broke
Gave

The events:

Feeding the 5000
Feeding the 4000
The Passover/Lord's Supper
Emmaus

Jesus takes what we bring to him—"our bread, our fish, our wine, our goats, our sheep, our sins, our virtues, our work, our leisure, our strength, our weakness, our hunger, our thirst, whatever we are."

Jesus blesses and gives thanks for what we bring. Remember he said to Andrew, "Five loaves and two fish? Is that all you come up with?"

Jesus breaks what we bring. "All too often we come to the table with our best manners and a pose of impenetrable self-sufficiency. We're all surface, all role—polished and poised performers in the game of life." Jesus is after what is within, including our inadequacies. He does not allow us to be self-enclosed or to be self-sufficient. Jesus gives back what we brought, but it is no longer what we brought. Every meal is an extension of the Lord's Supper.

Now, how does this work out for us today?

First, I want to emphasize the simplicity of the meals Jesus served.

Feeding of the 5000—bread and sardines
Feeding of the 4000—bread and sardines
Lord's Supper—bread and wine
Road to Emmaus—bread and wine
By the Sea of Galilee—bread and grilled fish

Because Jesus was involved these became special events. Jesus wants to be in our special events. He wants to take the simple and turn it into the profound. He wants us to have resurrection experiences.

Note some recent events at Zeandale:

The Soup supper and hymn sing—on a Sunday evening and our crowd was as big as the morning service. We had a great selection of soups, nothing fancy, but everything good. The following hymn-sing lasted for over an hour and even when it was "officially" over, one of the church pianists pulled up to the out-of-tune piano in the basement and the hymn-sing went on for another 45 minutes. No one was anxious to go home. The interaction and pure enjoyment kept them there. It was a resurrection event.
Not much later we had our famous Easter breakfast. We have people come to this breakfast that are never seen again until the next year. But there is so much resurrection experience going on. On Saturday the men of the church get together and prepare for the breakfast. There is a great time of fellowship accompanying the cinnamon roll preparation. All get excited like small children waiting for the first sample to come from the oven. Then on Easter Sunday at 8:00 am the men are busy again and the fellowship is rich. It is a resurrection event.
Recently we had a choir party to celebrate the end of another season. People came early and stayed late. We officially started at 6:30 pm, and our last visitors left shortly before 10:00.
Two years ago, our second daughter graduated from Washburn School of Law. It was a big family event. For her graduation dinner she wanted Navajo tacos. The trick to this is making the Navajo fry-bread upon which the taco makings are placed. Two of our sons rolled out and cooked the fry-bread outdoors. It was a resurrection experience for them as they live a thousand miles apart and seldom see each other. Another resurrection event was taking place in the kitchen where Arletta and our daughters and ladies from the Zeandale church were busy preparing the rest of the meal. The preparation was followed by the meal and then by the afterglow where people just hung around and visited with one another. Probably 40-50 people were involved.

The message is plain. When we let Jesus become part of an event, it becomes a resurrection event. Probably more so that some church services. Jesus had a desire to interact with people where they lived. They didn't have to come to him with predetermined conditions for fellowship. He ate with them the food they had. He blessed the menu and saw that it met the needs of all present. Somehow we need to have more such resurrection meals. Most of all we need to recognize that in the meal and the fellowship we are experiencing the resurrection.

The Resurrection Experience and the Sabbath

2009-04-26T19:39:00.001-05:00

The Resurrection Experience and the Sabbath

Because I was in the midst of a series on Spiritual Warfare prior to Easter, and on Easter Sunday we always have a cantata, I decided to have a series on the resurrection after Easter. My inspiration comes from Eugene Peterson's excellent little book, Living the Resurrection, (Colorado Springs: NavPress, 2006). The first week we talked about the wonder element of the resurrection and looked at the story from the viewpoint of the four authors of the Gospels. All of them stressed the matter of the wonder of the resurrection and how unprepared people were for the event. The resurrection knocked out cold the guards who guarded the tomb and left the first responders—women—in a state of amazed awe. None had planned for the event. Peterson' point is that resurrection wonder cannot be planned or programmed. But we must be in position to receive it and we can't do it by multitasking and working day and night. We have to make room for God. More than just room. We need to determine that we will be in a close relationship with Him all the time.

The next event we wish to explore is the relationship of the resurrection experience to the Sabbath.

To begin with we need to see what the Bible teaches about the Sabbath. The first time the Sabbath is discussed is in relationship to God and the creation of the world. Simply, after God spent six days in the process of creation, he rested on the seventh day (Genesis 2:1-3).

The first statement in regard to the observation of the Sabbath is found in Exodus 16:23-25 where the regulations for the gathering of manna are given. The people were to gather one portion of manna for each person each day. But on the sixth day they were to gather a double portion. There would be no manna available on the seventh day.

The actual law regarding the Sabbath is found in the Ten Commandments—"Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy." Later in Exodus 31:12-16, Moses outlines the Sabbath Laws:

12 And the Lord said to Moses, 13 "You are to speak to the people of Israel and say, 'Above all you shall keep my Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I, the Lord, sanctify you. 14 You shall keep the Sabbath, because it is holy for you. Everyone who profanes it shall be put to death. Whoever does any work on it, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. 15 Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day shall be put to death. 16 Therefore the people of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, observing the Sabbath throughout their generations, as a covenant forever.

Note that the Sabbath was a sign that indicated the relationship between Yahweh and Israel. It was a reminder that Yahweh had sanctified them and they belonged to Him. Every seven days they were to observe the Sabbath to remind themselves of their relationship to God. And all they were to do was rest. No cooking, ladies. No fires to be built. No travel. Livestock could be cared for. Babies could be delivered. Circumcision could be performed since babies come on their own schedule and are not particular about arriving on the Sabbath. But other than that it was a day of rest.

Those who claim to observe the Sabbath today fail to recognize the real purpose behind the Sabbath.

Peterson emphasizes that the first picture we have of God in the Bible is a picture of God at work. He is not discussed in some abstract theological tome, but instead is found at work. In Genesis 1:1-31 he is busy creating the world. From the beginning God put his mark of approval on the workplace. Even Adam and Eve had work in that they were to care for the Garden of Eden. We do not know what they were to do, but they had work. After the fall the work level increased dramatically for Adam and for all future human beings. God designed human beings to work. They are at their best when they are at work.

God also observed a Sabbath after he finished his work of creation.

The big issue is how to bring God into the workplace. In every area of employment, including Christian organizations, it is necessary to bring God into the workplace. Even Christian workers can become so involved in technology and programs, that they begin to forget the place of God in their lives.

We have become so wrapped up in technology that we subconsciously believe we really do not need God anymore or at least we are too busy to give Him any of our time.

Working with college students I never cease to be amazed at their efforts to cheat. College professors face an annual challenge to try to keep students from cheating. Recently I assigned students to read William Young's book, The Shack, and write a review of it. What I neglected to consider was the number of book reviews that are on the internet. So I have no idea how many used book reviews from the internet and may never have read the book. One student even copied a negative review verbatim on the assumption I would not detect it.

I do not allow computers in my classes because several years ago I had an issue with students using Instant Messaging and joking among themselves while I was discussed the Passion of Christ. To the outside observer it would appear that the Passion of Christ was a big joke we should laugh at. I determined at that point no more computers. Then this year I learned that when students are allowed to have computers in class, they spend their time on Facebook rather than paying attention to the lecture. One student on Facebook confessed to another student they were using Facebook in class. When I confronted the student about the confession, the student said, "Oh Dr. Paddock, I never did that in your classes."

What does this have to do with the Sabbath? If a person is so involved in technology that he/she cannot pay attention in a college class, then how can they possibly hear God?

This year at the time of Lent, an Italian cleric in Italy asked his congregation to give up text-messaging for the forty days of lent. I can assure you that college students would consider that an act of personal suicide, not to be able to text-message for 40 days. Even though they are asked to put their cell phones away, they move to the back row and stealthily text message back and forth continuously.

I would suggest that to observe the Sabbath principle we need to bring under control our use of technology. I have started turning off my computer at 4:00 pm on Friday and not looking at it again until Saturday night or Sunday morning. As often as I have done this I am amazed of how little I missed. If people need to contact me, they can use the old fashioned telephone. I still have one. There are very few emergencies. I see people literally addicted to their Blackberries and I-phones. They are constantly working them, anywhere, everywhere. I seriously doubt that God is going to speak to you through the I-phone. Turn it off! Let it rest! Let your mind rest! Observe a Sabbath from technology.

Years ago I found myself wore out all the time. My wife encouraged me to go to a doctor. He gave me a complete physical and declared me physically fit. Then he told me this. As a minister and a college professor you are working seven days a week. You are under the control of your telephone. Your church people can call you at any time and expect you to answer the call. You need to get out of town, away from the telephone.

We didn't have much money, but we got in our car and drove out of town for the day. There were lots of places to go where we didn't need to spend any money. No telephone, no demands, no students and we were able to enjoy each other. My vim, vigor, and vitalis soon returned. I never forgot that lesson.

God intended us to work only six days a week and then have a day off where we can commune with God. I encourage you to do exactly that.

Trip to Colorado March 26-30

2009-04-02T19:35:00.002-06:00

We discovered on very short notice that the World Missions Crusade was to be the weekend of March 27-29. We thank Dene Johnson, minister at Rifle, Colorado, and a former student from IBC, for sending us his newsletter that told of the event. It was not a lengthy debate about whether we should go or not. Three things moved to make a positive decision in this direction:

We would have an opportunity to make contact with numerous old friends and colleagues. I'm guessing that we did meet around 200 of them as well as their children.
We would represent MCC at the conference.
We would get to see our new great-granddaughter in Grand Junction.

We won't tell you which of these items was the most important.

Our trip to Grand Junction is described as follows:

To say that our trip to Colorado was exciting would be an understatement. Disneyland or Six Flags over Manhattan couldn't have produced as spectacular an event as we experienced. I'll try to verbalize it so that you can enjoy the experience as well.

Oh yes, this was one of the God-things that Christians always like to talk about. Some are spreading rumors that I am a Christian. In order to dispel those rumors, I'll admit to it gladly.

The first piece of the puzzle came when our oldest son Geoffrey called to say that he thought he could get time off to go with us to Colorado. Would we like him to come along? The answer was simple: Of course we would like to have him. So after playing a late night ball game, he drove to Manhattan and arrived about 2:00 am on Thursday morning.

Prior to leaving I had some serious reservations about going. The weather reports indicated a bad storm coming into western Kansas. Then I saw reports of a coming bad storm in the mountains of Colorado. Not exactly the formula for a great trip. No beautiful scenery.

I got up at 5:30 and cared for the zoo, ate breakfast, prepared coffee for my class (Mr. Ingmire needs to look into the problem of so many students drinking coffee in the 8:00 am classes), and went to school.

I taught my class and then proceeded home.

Geoffrey and Arletta had the car loaded. I tied my computer to the roof so that it would stay cool (joke). We left around 10:30 am from Manhattan. Breakfast at Mac's lounge and then on the road.

Weather was beautiful as we went, temperature 58 degrees.

With no significant excitement we drove to Hays where we refueled and had lunch at Arby's. But we noticed that the wind changed and the temperature began to drop, but the sky was still clear. As we went by Colby and Goodland the local radio stations were warning people to hunker down, stay off the roads, and get ready for the big blow. Lots of that white stuff on the way. But we continued on.

Geoffrey was now driving. He got a call from a friend in the Denver area who told him that I-70 was closed from the Kansas border to Tower Road (just outside Denver). But we continued on.

When we got to the Kansas border the weather was deteriorating with a little blowing snow from the north across traffic. Perfect for drifting. Traffic was moving along and so we continued also most of the time in the passing lane.

At this point let me give a sales pitch for the Chrysler 300. Without chains we made the entire trip. Only on one very slick stretch did we have any slippage. Other than that the car climbed Lookout Mountain, Eisenhower Tunnel and Vail Pass without a bit of hesitancy. Of course that could be due to the Pirelli racing tires I installed on the car recently. The car is Arletta's and she said she wanted racing tires so that she could really "enjoy" the car. But that car performed marvelously.

We arrived at Limon in a blizzard. The roads were still open. We stopped to take on petrol and make one other important stop. The snow was really blowing now. But the clerk in the store told Geoffrey, "I-70 is now open." Later we would find out I-70 had been closed up to that time. So maybe our guardian angel had made arrangements for our continued progress. We will give Him the credit.

We pulled out on I-70 again into the blizzard, but the road was still drivable. As went along we saw numerous snowplows and highway patrol cars, all going east. The gates were open and the barriers down (although we may have crossed the barriers on top of the snow. We are now driving a Chrysler 300 Snowcat.

The trip from Burlington to Denver was exciting. Part of the time we could only see 100 feet down the road. The wind was blowing across the highway and there were occasional slick spots. But our angel driver did a great job of keeping the big 300 under control. Around Strasburg we ran into ice on the road and even the 300 fishtailed a little.

Finally around 5:00 PM we made it to Denver. We ate supper at the only restaurant in town--the Village Inn. We have eaten at the Village Inn off Federal Blvd since 1960. Actually the rest of the trip was not bad.

We then began climbing the passes out of Denver. The storm had basically passed and CDOT had done a good job of cleaning the roads. Roads were snow packed, but not slick. The Pirelli racing tires bit into the snow and took up the passes and helped control the downward passage.

We did run into some more bad roads outside of Glenwood Spring.

Finally we arrived in Grand Junction about 12:30 CDT. Tad and Nick had waited up for us. I sent them updates along the way so that they knew where we were.

For the entire trip we were either just behind or just ahead of a storm. Our angel was busy. The news reported today that Denver really got dumped on last night. If we had stopped in Denver we would still be there.

A special thanks to Geoffrey and his mountain driving skills. All of our boys are pros when it comes to driving in the mountains. And we do appreciate them. Our girls also know how to drive in the snow. If they didn't they would definitely be stay at home girls.

We did have a wonderful time at the conference. I was among the original people who started this conference back in the 1960s. Erskine E. Scates was a missionary visionary and he wanted the churches of Western Colorado to be involved in missions. As a result "The World Vision Crusade" was inaugurated. Down through the years we had the best of missionary speakers and programs. I am sure that many were influenced to not only go to the mission field, but to support missions with funds and prayers. I can remember well the stirring services we had.

This year the featured speaker was David Butts, a prayer guru. He did a marvelous job discussing the role of spiritual warfare and the place of prayer. He gave me the ammunition for several future sermons inasmuch as I am in a series of messages on spiritual warfare.

We also spent time with our family in Grand Junction, the Mama, the Papa, the Grandma, the Grandpa, the Uncle (Nick) and ultimately the great granddaughter, Olivia Jean Paddock, "Ollie." We oohed and aahed at her by the hour, watching her every movement. "Ollie" is certainly in love with her Grandpa Tad. She has him wrapped around her finger already. My brother and his wife, Doug and Tommye Paddock, came from Moab Utah and we had a great afternoon together on Sunday.

The trip home was much less eventful than the trip to Colorado. On Sunday afternoon high winds hit the Grand Valley followed by an inch of snow. That gave us cause for concern, but our concern was unfounded. Our trip went well all the way to Manhattan.

Reflecting on the weekend, I marveled at the support we received from our boys. It was a great family experience. First, our oldest boy, Geoffrey, took off work so that he could help his parents get to Colorado. Marty took off work to stay at our house with his own children whom we normally watch when his wife is teaching. In fact Marty and Alisha stayed at the house and took care of the zoo while we were gone. Much appreciated, Marty. Finally, Tad and Gloria treated us like royalty. Great food, great hospitality. Special coffee was brought just for the old Grandpa and Tad prepared gourmet meals. We just want our boys to know they are appreciated and a source of joy and pride as we grow older. Thanks boys!

Hiram Cassel Graduates to Glory

2009-03-18T15:42:00.004-06:00

On March 15, 2009 Hiram Cassel at the age of 74, came to the end of his earthly journey and moved on to eternity. He was a common but extraordinary man. David Pape and Ron Brown conducted the funeral services for him on March 18 at the University Christian Church to a packed house. It was planned to be a celebration of a great life and that was exactly the way it was handled.

Hiram was noted for being an outstanding husband, father, teacher, counselor, guide, college professor, humorist and friend. No one met him who was not immediately affected by his smile and his dry wit. He even exercised his wit on unsuspecting strangers that came to visit the church. One couple who drove up in an expensive car entered the vestibule of the church. Hiram went up, shook hands, and told the couple, "We have a nice seat for you right down front next to the offering basket that awaits your generous gifts." When everyone laughed then the couple knew that Hiram was not serious.

When Arletta and I came to Manhattan Hiram immediately became the best friend anyone could ask for. He and Marcy made it a special point to welcome us to the community and to UCC where we attended when I was not preaching elsewhere. I will miss Hiram.

Hiram was noted for his generosity. An example of this was during the last few days of his life, one of his renters lost his job. Hiram instructed Marcy that when the renter came to pay his rent, she was give it back. Numerous illustrations of his generosity spoke volumes of the big heart this man had for everyone.

Hiram graduated from Midwest Christian College in Oklahoma City. The school is now gone, but Hiram's ministry as a result of the training he received there lives on in the lives of thousands.

Farewell Hiram. I'll plan to share a cup of coffee with you when I get to heaven.

Spiritual Warfare in Daniel, part three

2009-03-16T15:10:00.001-06:00

Spiritual Warfare in Daniel, part three—"Some through the fire"

One of the weapons that Satan has used throughout history is physical persecution and the threat of the same. In 1980 I visited Uganda shortly after the fall of Idi Amin. This man had been in the British military system and in a coup overthrew the president of Uganda in 1971. The assumption was he was a good ruler and would do well for the country. No one could foresee the hell on earth this man would create. He would rule until 1979 when his government would be overthrown by an invasion from Tanzania.

Idi Amin began by destroyed the local tea industry because it was owned and operated by "Asians". These were people from India who had migrated to Africa and demonstrated unusual entrepreneurial skills. They were good business people and they were making a lot of money, not only for themselves but also for Uganda. It was a classic case of the Golden Goose parable. Idi Amin decided that he and his people would be able to enjoy the wealth of the Asians and remove a despised class from Uganda. Soon all kinds of people were running our in Mercedes-Benzes and other luxury cars until they needed repairs and the cars then sat by the side of the road. The tea plantations languished for lack of care and Uganda lost the income she had been receiving from the tea.

A more serious attack took place against the Christians. Idi Amin was a Muslim and he identified all Christians as infidels worthy of death. Several hundred thousand Christians died in Uganda at his hands. Sometimes he would go into the prisons where Christians were being held and actually help execute them using a sledge hammer. Children witnessed the death of their parents in horrible ways that create trauma they would never overcome. Thousands would be thrown into the Nile River to the crocodiles. It was said that the crocodiles in the Nile were the largest and fattest in the world. They enjoyed a rich diet of human flesh.

These Christians understood what persecution was all about. They had seen it at its worst. But Satan was not successful in destroying Christianity in Uganda. The church learned to fervently pray and powerful churches rose up, not only evangelizing in Uganda, but in the surrounding nations of Zaire (now Congo), Rwanda, Tanzania, and Kenya. I met a number of these leaders, many of them women who had come through the fire.

Today we want to talk about three men who literally came through the fire.

In the last chapter Nebuchadnezzar had a dream about a great image and it terrified him. Because his counselors could not tell him the dream and at the same time explain it, he ordered all of them put to death. One counselor, not real smart, told the king, "No real king would make such a demand." That set off the fireworks and the news went from bad to worse. Daniel as a young man, just starting in the advisory business to the king, chose to pray. Most likely he prayed very fervently for God to give him the answers that he needed to save not only his own life, but the other advisors of the king. Daniel convinced the soldiers who came to execute him to give him some time so that he could determine the dream and its meaning. Fortunately Daniel was given the time.

An ego issue—One of Satan's favorite tools is to use the egos of men and women to accomplish his goals. An interesting study would be to show how many times the sins we commit against one another are based upon an ego issue. So we see Nebuchadnezzar as one man with an major ego problem.

In regard to the dream, Daniel identified Nebuchadnezzar as the head of gold. Now in chapter 3 Nebuchadnezzar has determined to erect a gold pillar apparently in honor of himself. If he is the head of gold in the dream, then it will be appropriate for people to worship Nebuchadnezzar as a god. Satan has appealed to Nebuchadnezzar's ego in a big way. Now he wants to be worshiped. He may have also used this as means to unite his kingdom. If everyone has to bow down to the pillar that represents Nebuchadnezzar, then everyone has a common focus.

But on the other hand, the statue is not designated as the image of a god, or the image of Belus; therefore we agree with Klief. in his opinion, that the statue was a symbol of the world-power established by Nebuchadnezzar, so that falling down before it was a manifestation of reverence not only to the world-power, but also to its gods; and that therefore the Israelites could not fall down before the image, because in doing so they would have rendered homage at the same time also to the god or gods of Nebuchadnezzar, in the image of the world-power.

The pillar was 90 feet tall and 9 feet wide, most likely like one of the obelisks in Egypt. Keil and Delitzsch suggest that the upper part was like a human and the lower part a pillar, based on the use of the Aramaic tselem. It was set up on the plain of Dura and was designed to impress people from a distance. Unfortunately we do not have the pillar any longer. Some future ruler probably pealed the gold from it and melted it down. All in all it would have been a very impressive sight.

The event was very political as well. Nebuchadnezzar wanted to impress everyone with just who was in charge.

Eight classes of officials called:

Satraps—chief representatives of the king, "the chief representatives of the king in the provinces."
Prefects—military commanders
Governors—civil administrators—"the presidents of the civil government, the guardians of the country."
Advisers—chief arbitrators, counselors of the government
Treasurers—handled the money of the kingdom
Judges—administrators of the law, guardians of the law, lawyers
Magistrates—passed judgment in keeping with the law, judges in the narrow sense of the term
Other provincial officials—anyone who had an official position in Nebuchadnezzar's government.
Perhaps even Zedekiah had been summoned.

Since everyone was required to bow down indicates the religious significance of the statue along with the political significance. In the world of that day religion and government worked hand in hand. No discussion of separation of church and state. Nebuchadnezzar is most likely invoking a new level of religion—that is, worship of Nebuchadnezzar. He will be both head of state and head of religious affairs.

Everyone in the Babylonian empire is to recognize this. All peoples, nations, and men of every language were to accept the rule of Nebuchadnezzar. These officials would be expected to go back to their respective provinces and tell their people about the new government.

Preparations for the big celebration. Strike up the band. Nebuchadnezzar not only wanted to make a statement about his newfound significance, he also wanted to do everything he could to make it a memorable event. Just as we use music to set the stage for preaching, Nebuchadnezzar is using music to set the stage for his big announcement. Note the selection of instruments:

Wind instruments—horn and pipes
- The horn is the far-sounding tuba of the ancients
A reed instrument—the flute—pan pipe
Stringed instruments—zither, harp, lyre
Some of the instruments had Greek names which show the interaction between cultures at that time.

The penalty—anyone who didn't show up to worship the image would be cast into a blazing fire. It is interesting how rulers who want to impress their followers often resort to penalties on those who fail to properly respond.

While we in Kenya from 1985-88 we went to a big political rally held in a park. It was a grand affair complete with parade, marching band, a total Air Force flyover (all six jets), and a parade of soldiers and the dozen tanks the army had. Most people went to the rally to see the air show and the parade. Then it came time for President Daniel Arap Moi to speak. There was a mass exodus for the gates of the park. But as people tried to leave they found the police had all the gates blocked. You had to stay and listen to the president speak. We had planned to leave also, but had to stay through the boring presentation made in Kiswahili and so we didn't understand any of it. President Moi used many tools to control his country so that he could remain in power. If someone in the press spoke out against Moi, he found himself in jail. People were not allowed to have ham radios or any other means of communicating with the outside world. That way all information flowing from the country could be controlled by the government.

The accusation

Everywhere you turn you find people whose goal in life is to catch someone else doing wrong. Especially is this true if it happens to be someone they don't like. Take the presidency for an example. Some see the president as some sort of divine messiah, a gift from God. But others hover like vultures waiting for the president to make a mistake so that they can say, "I told you so." So in the case of this image that Nebuchadnezzar set up, there were those who were keeping track of certain people to see if they would bow down to the image. The target of their interest was Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego.

As soon as the astrologers (some of the court advisors) saw that the three Jewish boys were not in attendance they immediately went to Nebuchadnezzar and denounced them, literally, "tore them in pieces" (verbally). The astrologers were determined to destroy the boys. The boys were part of the captive population which should be under submission to the real Babylonians. Yet they had been given positions of great importance in the Babylonian government. The astrologers were also hoping to gain favor with the king by letting him know they were faithful when these Jewish boys weren't.

We do not know why Daniel was not included in the accusation. We can be sure that he did not bow down to the statue. Was he out of town? Was he too powerful to accuse by these astrologers? We have no answers.

A King's response

Nebuchadnezzar was furious. Regardless of what the boys had previously done, they were not exempt from this new ruling. Nebuchadnezzar did not pass judgment immediately, but waited to see what the boys had to say. When they appeared in his presence he reminded them of his authority and the fact that the decree would be carried out immediately if the boys did not bow down to the statue. He also reminded them that no god existed who could rescue them from his hand. Here we see that Nebuchadnezzar is claiming absolute authority in both political and religious realms. Under the influence of Satan he was actually challenging any god, including Yahweh, to confront his authority. So we have a power encounter developing. This is a challenge of wills and of power.

Display of Confidence

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego let the king know that they would put their trust in their God. Specifically they said that Yahweh could deliver them if he wanted, but even if he did not deliver them from the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, they would remain faithful to Him. The authority of Yahweh superseded the power of Nebuchadnezzar. Yahweh had specifically told them they could not worship other gods. If that meant death, then so be it.

Deliverance 3:19-30

The faith of these boys did not impress, but only angered Nebuchadnezzar. To make his point he ordered the furnace heated up seven times greater than normal. The intent was to put the fear of Nebuchadnezzar in their hearts. Actually the hotter the fire the more quickly they would die. As the boys were tossed in the furnace, the men who threw them in were killed by the intense heat.

Nebuchadnezzar chose to observe the whole proceedings at a safe distance. He is amazed by several items:

The boys are walking around in the furnace unbound
There are four men in the furnace, one who looks like a son of the gods
The boys were alive!

Nebuchadnezzar now approached the furnace and called for the "The servants of the Most High God" to come out. This was quite an admission on the part of Nebuchadnezzar. He had believed that the Babylonian gods were superior to Yahweh, but no Babylonian god ever delivered a person from a fiery furnace. Even in all of this Nebuchadnezzar did not acknowledge Yahweh as God.

When the boys walked out of the furnace there was no hint they had ever been in a fire. Anyone who has been around a campfire knows how pervasive smoke can be. When we had our house fire, the smell of smoke was throughout the entire house. The restoring people brought in ionization machines to clean out the unfriendly smoke smell. Did the process work? The answer is given by a kitchen cabinet door that had been removed and placed in the garage. It did not experience the ionization process. When we got ready to hang the door again, the smell of smoke was very strong in the door and it took weeks of scrubbing and cleaning to get the smell of smoke out. But these boys had not been singed, they had not experienced any form of pain.

Nebuchadnezzar's response

He honored the boys and threatened those who would attack them again with severe penalties. God had won the victory again.

Watch out for Falling Rocks, part II

2009-03-16T15:03:00.002-06:00

One sign you seldom see in Kansas and Nebraska on the highway is "Watch out for falling rocks." But in Colorado you see them on a regular basis. The legend is told that an old Indian chief lost his son. The chief went through all the mountains of the west putting up signs for people to look for his son. The signs said, "Watch for Falling Rocks." Okay, that was bad, but it is true that on many roads in Colorado you need to watch for falling rocks.

While I attended and later taught at Intermountain Bible College in Grand Junction, Colorado I spent a great deal of time up the Colorado River in the metropolises of Grand Valley (now Parachute) and Rifle. I was only a freshman at IBC when I began traveling to Grand Valley with Harry Scates who was the senior minister there. Our route was to go through the Debeque Canyon where the Colorado River has cut out the canyon in the sandstone creating high bluffs and spectacular scenery. But sometimes the scenery took a notion to move and when it did it was not uncommon for a big 100 ton rock to wind up in the middle of the highway. Two of these events come to mind.

The first was in 1957-58. On this occasion it was more than a big rock, but the entire mountainside moved almost damming up the Colorado River. The highway was closed for several weeks while they rerouted the road and shoved the mountainside into the riverbed. Harry and I even took the train one weekend to get to Grand Valley. There was a road around the canyon, but it was graveled only and slow going. If I were to take to the Debeque Canyon I could show you the exact spot of the landslide.

A footnote to this event. A man was traveling down the canyon when he realized the slide was coming. The speed limit was 60 mph, so he was going way too fast to stop. The man jammed on the brakes locking the rear wheels of the car. He shifted the car into reverse, gunned the engine and the transmission and drive line miraculously handled the shock, and the car shot backwards just barely missing the slide.

The next experience with a big rock was in 1967-68. On this particular day I was commuting from Rifle where I was preaching to Grand Junction to teach. Coming around a blind corner I saw a huge rock in the highway ahead. Fortunately it had already landed and I had ample time to get stopped. There was room to get around it and I was able to go on. I remember my passenger, the elderly Otto Duckworth, about had a heart attack when he saw the rock. It was big enough that if it had hit railroad engine it would completely destroyed it with room to spare.

Living in Colorado gave us an awareness of the power of big rocks and what they could do. My father came close to death when a rock dropped from the ceiling of an underground mine. The miner's helmet he wore saved his life.

Today as we look at Daniel we are going to witness the story of another big rock. Jesus talked about this rock when he said, "Jesus said to them, "Did you never read in the Scriptures,

The stone which the builders rejected,

This became the chief corner stone;

This came about from the Lord,

And it is marvelous in our eyes?

Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people, producing the fruit of it. And he who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust.""(Matthew 21:42-44 NASB)

Jesus is echoing a spectacular event in the book of Daniel. It is a story about the power of one amazing big stone. And now to that story we turn in the book of Daniel.

The Background of Daniel

Daniel was a teenager when along with a number of other young me he was taken to Babylon as a hostage by Nebuchadnezzar II in 605 BC. In less than 20 years Babylonia had risen from an unknown entity to the leading nation of the world. Babylonia had conquered all comers, including the once powerful Assyrians and Egyptians. The world stood in awe of this power. Theologically, all nations believed that their power was dependent on their gods. Obviously Babylonia's gods were the most powerful. In fact no god was able to stand before them and as far as the world knew that list included the God of Israel—Yahweh.

What they did not know was that Yahweh had given Babylonia its power In order to punish the adversaries of Israel and of greatest significance to punish Israel for her unfaithfulness to Him. Jeremiah and Habakkuk especially discuss this in their prophecies.

Along with Daniel were three other fine young men—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. These boys were dumped into a quagmire of pagan, idolatrous worship and threatened with being overpowered by the demonic forces at work in Babylon. Imagine four teenage boys separated from all the restrictions they had previously known. No prophets of Yahweh preaching doom anymore. No parents telling them to pick up their dirty clothes and wanting to spoil their fun. No government leaders making demands. These boys were free to do whatever the Babylonian society allowed. The sky was the limit. These boys would learn about spiritual warfare at its highest (lowest?) levels. They were in a "get-down-and-dirty" spiritual world. Remember, these boys are teenagers? How many teenagers do we know today who were dropped into such circumstances survive? I know a few. I also know those who fall to the lure of what the devil has to offer. In a college town we see hundreds of them taking the plunge into hedonism and sin.

Just like Joseph, over a thousand years earlier, these boys were thrust into a situation where they could do what they pleased because no one was watching. For all of them, someone was watching. That unseen force would keep them in line in all circumstances.

They are not in the city of Babylon very long when they are recognized as being quite handsome and talented. I've never had to deal with either gift, but I know those who do. They are given by the grace of God a greater challenge than us common folk. The Hollywood crowd is so proud of itself that it regularly performs public acts of self-adulation. In February we had the Oscars in which those who consider themselves the best of society in turn chose the ones they considered the best in their sub-culture. Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego were blessed with that issue. Note what the book of Daniels says:

3 Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, the chief of his ²officials, to bring in some of the sons of Israel, including some of the ³royal family and of the nobles,

4 youths in whom was no defect, who were good-looking, showing intelligence in every branch of wisdom, endowed with understanding and discerning knowledge, and who had ability for ¹serving in the king's ²court; and he ordered him to teach them the ³literature and language of the Chaldeans.

5 The king appointed for them a daily ration from the king's choice food and from the wine which he drank, and appointed that they should be ¹educated three years, at the end of which they were to ²enter the king's personal service.

6 Now among them from the sons of Judah were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah.

7 Then the commander of the officials assigned new names to them; and to Daniel he assigned the name Belteshazzar, to Hananiah Shadrach, to Mishael Meshach and to Azariah Abed-nego.

Several things to note about these boys:

They were high bred and came from high class families in Israel. Actually God rescued them from a culture that was rapidly becoming more pagan than what they would find in Babylon. Their move here was an act of protection. They most likely had received whatever education the nobility of Jerusalem received—primarily reading and understanding the Torah. What else they may have learned we do not know.
They were good looking with no defects. Imagine being checked over by someone to see if you have defects. In Israel only priests had to be free of defects. As far as we know these boys were not from priestly families. This may have been one of the considerations for their selection to go to Babylon in the first place. Nebuchadnezzar had a habit of taking the best of people he found to be in his country where they could be productive for him. His hope was that he would win their loyalty and their commitment to him and his country. Young boys would be especially malleable
The boys were intelligent and capable of being trained. They had the characteristics that would make them do well in school. They were the kind of scholarly material for which the Babylonian government looked. They would serve well in government and ultimately provide strength for the government. They were to be taught Babylonian language and literature. That would be the Aramaic language and of course Aramaic literature. This would have been written in a cuneiform style script. Simply, these boys were to be given the best education that Babylonia could provide. In a special way God was preparing leaders by giving them an excellent education. They would be trained for three years and then enter the King's service. That means they would have a place on the king's advisory staff, be well paid, have nice homes, and all the amenities that accompanied such positions. Smith says about this:

Those selected were to undergo a thorough program of education and indoctrination—a virtual Babylonian brainwashing! They studied the literature and language of the Chaldean people.⁵ The subject matter no doubt included language, astronomy, mathematics, natural history, mythological literature, agriculture, and architecture. These young men were not being trained as soothsayers, but as upper-level administrators and advisors.⁶ Nonetheless, the purpose of this curriculum was to change the way these young men thought—their worldview, their value system (1:4b).

Daniel and his friends were to be given the best of food from the king's table—best wine, best desserts, richest cuts of meat. But here a problem arises. For the first time in the history of the Bible there is a dietary challenge presented. Prior to this, except that it is mentioned in the Law of Moses, little consideration is given to what can or cannot be eaten. Another aspect of brainwashing is being employed. The goal here was to change the lifestyle of these young men.
New names. Look at the comparison chart. The young men would give up their God/Yahweh honoring names and take on names that honored Babylonian deities. This time the goal of the government is to change the loyalties of the boys. Their teachers knew that the boys came from a religious background. Religion was also important to the Babylonians and they wanted the boys to recognize and serve the gods of Babylon.

BRAINWASHING THROUGH NAME CHANGE

HEBREW NAME

MEANING

BABYLONIAN
NAME

MEANING

HANANIAH

MISHAEL

AZARIAH

DANIEL

"The Lord is Gracious"

"Who is What God is?"

"The Lord has helped"

"God is my Judge"

SHADRACH

MESHACH

ABED-NEGO

BELTESHAZZAR

"Command of Aku"

"Who is what Aku is?"

"Servant of Nebo"

"May Balak protect"

What the Babylonians were to learn was simple. You can change my name and you can send me to school, but you are not going to change the "main man" that is down inside me. Daniel made the decision that he would not defile himself by eating the king's food.

"Defile" here is in reference to the laws of Moses. Food was a large issue in the law of Moses. There were rules about the kind of meat you could eat, the kind of birds you eat, the kind of seafood you could have and even the bugs you could eat. "Defile" is in reference to moral and spiritual defilement. Daniel knew that if he ate from the king's table he would be morally and spiritually defiled. This is the only time in the Old Testament where we have a Jewish person taking issue with the food being served. But the issue of defilement looms large in the time of Daniel and the period after the Babylonian exile.

Seventh Day Adventists today point to this passage to bolster their claims that we should all be vegetarians. But there are much larger issues here. The demonic forces plan to use food to help lure Daniel and his friends away from the worship of the True and Living God. Daniel asked for a special dispensation and willingly submitted himself to a test to prove that he was right. The official was concerned. If Daniel and his friends looked sickly then it could be his head. Daniel asked for ten days to demonstrate that the diet would work. If not, they would eat the food from the King's table. The test—eat only vegetables or grains for ten days. No meat of any kind and no wine. Water only.

We do not know why Daniel made such a decision. Was he trying to demonstrate his faith or to display his confidence in his faith. One suggestion is that he had a heavenly vision that told him to do this. Because of Daniel's closeness to God, this may well be the case. Issues that would have prompted Daniel were:

The meat could have been unacceptable. Babylonians ate pork and horsemeat. Both were forbidden by the Law of Moses.
Any meat provided would not have been prepared in a kosher style. This refers first to the way the animal is killed and then to how the blood is handled from the animal.
There was strong likelihood that any meat provided had previously been offered to an idol which would make it sacred meat. Probably this is the only type of meat the king used because it would afford him spiritual power and special physical strength. Even in his eating he was worshiping his deities. Though this is never an issue in the Old Testament it certainly does become one in the New Testament. Paul clearly warns his followers not to eat meat sacrificed to idols. The meat has not changed, but the message the meat sends has.
Wine was often poured out as drink offerings (libations) to the gods, so there was even a religious
Daniel can eat grains and vegetables because these were not likely to be offered to idols.

Some factors to be considered:

At first glance this request seems simple enough, but a number of factors rendered this a courageous act. Stephen Miller makes the following points:

To refuse the royal diet could have been taken as an insult to the king and as an act of direct disobedience to Nebuchadnezzar's orders.
Pressure from Daniel's peers most certainly made the decision difficult. Everyone else was doing it. By choosing this course of action, Daniel and his friends were setting themselves apart from the others. Now they were different, strange.
Such unorthodox behavior could have jeopardized their chances for advancement.
The quality of food would have been attractive. It was the best in the land.
Their new location may have tempted them to be unfaithful. Judah was nine hundred miles away; parents and friends would never know whether or not they kept God's laws. Yet Daniel and his friends were aware of a very important fact. Other people might not know their actions, but God would know, and someday all will give an account of themselves to him.
It would have been natural to argue that since God had not protected them from captivity—this horrible situation—they did not have to be careful to obey his commands. They could have become bitter toward God during this time. Sometimes believers fall into this trap. All of these factors could have caused some people to compromise, but Daniel and his friends remained faithful to their God.

The chief eunuch or overseer allowed Daniel and his friends to take the test. At the end of the ten days he saw that the Hebrew boys looked better than those who ate from the king's table. They were not more chubby, but their flesh had a better texture to it. He removed the four from the royal diet permanently. Most likely the other boys had indulged a little too much in the rich food from the king's diet and had more wine than they needed; thus they didn't look so good.

When the time of education was complete the four boys were interviewed by Nebuchadnezzar himself. The conclusion of the author of Daniel says that the boys were ten times wiser than anyone in the kingdom of Babylonia. Daniel would serve in the king's court until the days of Cyrus when the Persians defeated the Babylonians (539 BC). With the help of God Daniel passed the course with flying colors.

But God is beginning to quietly demonstrate his power over the Babylonians. Probably even Daniel did not know the real agenda that was represented by the food. "The change in the appearance of the young men was the result of God's grace, not the properties of the foods consumed."

Nebuchadnezzar's personal encounter with the Big Rock

As we move into chapter two of Daniel we are immediately brought face to face with a serious problem that could radically affect the lives of Daniel and his three friends.

First, we learn that Nebuchadnezzar experienced a bad dream. The dream troubled his spirit and kept him from getting any more sleep. Remember, these people placed much more stock in dreams than we do today. So a bad dream might very well be bad news. Note the parallels between this event and the story of Joseph.

Joseph and Pharaoh	Daniel and Nebuchadnezzar
Joseph brought out of prison	Daniel brought from Jerusalem into exile
Pharaoh has bad dreams	Nebuchadnezzar has a very bad dream
Pharaoh does not understand his dream	Nebuchadnezzar does not understand his dream
Pharaoh tells the dream to his advisors	Nebuchadnezzar demands his advisors tell him the dream and explain its meaning
Pharaoh's advisors are unable to explain the dream	Nebuchadnezzar's advisors are unable to tell the king his dream. They offend the king further by suggesting that "no real king" would make such a demand
	Nebuchadnezzar threatens to kill all the advisors and turn their homes into public toilets
Joseph is brought forward and he is able to explain the dream	Daniel pleads for time and is able to explain the dream
As a result of Joseph's skill in explaining the dream he is made number 2 in all of Egypt	"Then the king gave Daniel high honors and many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon and chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon.49 Daniel made a request of the king, and he appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego over the affairs of the province of Babylon. But Daniel remained at the king's court." Daniel 1:31

King Nebuchadnezzar had a bad dream. The usual procedure for such an experience would be to bring the matter to court where all the advisors were, tell the dream, and then the advisors would play with it for a while in an attempt to explain the dream. But they had never been challenged like this before. Nebuchadnezzar may have had a bad dream, but he is not going to tell them what it was. Perhaps he was weary of their phony ministrations and explanations when it was that they had no idea about that of which they spoke. Perhaps he was weary of fawning men in front of him who were currying favor with him so that they could make special requests. Perhaps Nebuchadnezzar was a shrewd, intelligent man who had seen through their little game. Right after the dream is mentioned, Daniel switches to Aramaic. The book of Daniel is in Aramaic from Daniel 2:4 to the end of the seventh chapter.

Now the pressure is on. And to make it worse, some advisor who was long on lip and short on brains suggested that no real king would make such a request. Even if the statement were true, it was not a smart political move. The person who has little respect for life is the one to make such a demand. Nebuchadnezzar became extremely angry and ordered his guard to begin the execution of all the wise men in Babylon. This would include Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. Daniel did not attend the fateful meeting, but it wasn't long before the king's guard was at Daniel's home. Their intent was to arrest and execute Daniel. Daniel boldly went to the king and requested an audience so that he could explain the dream. Then he rushed home and told his friends they needed to do some serious praying to gain God's assistance in resolving this life-and-death issue.

Remember these are not older, seasoned warriors, but young men who have barely graduated from the University of Babylon. Suddenly they are thrust into the crisis mode. Up to this point the test of their faith was over what they would eat. Now the test is whether or not God is going to allow them to live. They put their trust where it ought to be—in God and the power of prayer. Later we will discover that these men are willing to die for their faith rather than go against God's will. But at this moment they cannot be sure of what is going to happen.

Daniel 2:19 says, "Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven." (NASB). Daniel praises God for his greatness and thanks him for the wisdom he needed to tell and explain the vision which Nebuchadnezzar had. When Daniel appears before the king, Daniel explains that no human could tell and explain the vision, but there is a God in heaven who able to do so.

This brings us to the heart of matter—Nebuchadnezzar's bad dream. Nebuchadnezzar saw a giant image made up of different types of metal. In the conclusion of the dream he also saw a stone cut out of a mountain that came and destroyed the image. Following is a simple chart explaining the dream. We also need to be aware that this chart is also the basic outline of the book of Daniel. This chart will be expanded in later visions that Daniel has, but they will all follow the same pattern. The chart is the development of history. It goes far beyond the time of Daniel. If we believe that Daniel wrote this book, then we have to believe that God revealed him this information. Modern scholars have challenged this idea claiming that Daniel did not write the book, but someone in 165 BC wrote the book, purporting it to be prophecy when in reality is was a description of the history from Daniel's time to the time of the Romans. Later in the book of Daniel the detail will become even more significant. Thus one is forced to make a choice. Can God foretell history with this sort of accuracy? Or is this really history put in prophetic form?

The "Parts" of the Dream	The meaning of the parts
A single great statue, large, extraordinary splendor, appearance awesome	World history
The Head of fine gold	Babylonia	2:36-38
Breast and arms of silver	Medo-Persian	2:39a
Thighs of Bronze	Greece	2:39b
Legs of iron	Roman empire	2:40
Feet of clay mingled with iron	Roman empire with its satellite states, usually ruled by local rulers, not Romans	2:41-43
Stone from the mountain	Kingdom of God	2:44-45

We have to remember that Nebuchadnezzar is the most powerful man in the world at this time. He has been granted this power by the God of heaven, but Nebuchadnezzar either credits his own gods or even worse, credits himself. He is a great man because of what he has accomplished. Without his direct knowledge, Nebuchadnezzar is also being directed by Satan in his activities. Later Daniel will tell us that there are demonic forces who are influencing world empires. Daniel tells us that God's angels are responding in kind to the demonic forces.

As we often see in the Bible, Satan assumes he has won a great victory because of his success over the people of God. He has effectively tempted them and led them into sin. In some situations he has participated in their downfall and destruction. But God has other plans for his people who are in Babylonia. He is determined to protect them in order that he may bring them back to Israel after 70 years.

What we have here is a direct frontal attack on Daniel and his friends. The attack is like the one Satan used to try to destroy Jesus at his birth. Herod the Great sent his army into the little town of Bethlehem and had all of the young boys, two years and younger, put to death. Herod's plan was to wipe out Jesus which likewise was Satan's plan. What better way to end God's program of salvation than to nip it in the bud—destroy the child before he can do anything? This is exactly the same plan facing Daniel. Satan arranged for the death of all the wise men in Babylonia which of course included Daniel and his three friends. They are still young and by destroying them Satan can minimize any opportunities the four would have to do good for Israel or for the worldwide kingdom of God.

They statue may be big and awesome, but it is vulnerable if a big rock fall on it. That big rock represented the power of God.

Nations will rise and fall, but all will come under the stone of the Kingdom of God. No kingdom or nation is too big. Satan may advise and guide, but he will not be ultimately successful.

Big Rock Falling!

The Babylonian Empire came to an end in 539 BC and today if you go to the city of Babylon you will find only ruins. The last inhabitants of Babylon disappeared around AD 600. Since that time no one has lived there. When archaeologists began to uncover the old city during the 1800s, they could not get workers to stay in the city. The workers said the city was full of evil spirits and they were not about to stay there.

The Medo-Persian Empire would come to a terrible end at the hands of Alexander the Great around 323 BC.

The Greek Empire started by Alexander the Great would be taken over by the Roman Empire by 150 BC.

Finally, the Roman Empire, and the later Holy Roman Empire, would come to an end as well.

But the Rock, the Kingdom of God is still rolling along. The power of God will ultimately rule over all the world.

Christian apologists

2009-03-11T17:10:00.004-06:00

(picture of Carl Ketcherside)
Last week I had the opportunity of hearing in person Ravi Zacharias, a noted Christian apologist, who travels all over the world discussing the philosophical and theological issues related to Christianity. I had not been acquainted with this gentleman before, but one of the members of the church where I minister spoke highly of him. When I found out Ravi was to be in town I tried to get tickets for several of us, but the general admission tickets were gone. The lady from the local Assemblies of God asked me if was a student, on staff, or on the faculty at KSU. I told her I taught at Manhattan Christian College. She told me I could come get a free ticket. I passed the word on to my students that they could in free also by getting tickets which a number of them did.

Ravi Zacharias had an excellent presentation. He able defended the faith in a form that would resonate with university academics. I appreciated the excellent job he did.

The director of the Christian campus organization explained that a university was a place where all ideas could be discussed and the students allowed to sort out what they believed to be true. Therefore Christians had the right to present their position in such a setting. I wanted to shout "Amen." The university system is not open to Christian ideas and some campuses have been to remove all Christian organizations from their campuses.

Years ago, a Church of Christ minister (non-instrumental Church of Christ) from the St. Louis, MO area carried on a similar work. Carl Ketcherside began his work of trying to get the various factions of the Restoration movement back together. He saw unity as an issue that had been long neglected. I believe his work bore fruit and today there is more fellowship among the various factions than every before.

But Carl was great at doing the same thing as Ravi Zacharias. He could go on college campuses, enter into debates and present Christianity in a way that resonated with college students. What most people did not know was that Carl Ketcherside had only a high school education. He did not go to college, but instead was self-taught. People who heard him were amazed at the breadth of material--historical, philosophical, and sociological--that this man had. He was a virtual walking encyclopedia. I heard him on several occasions and always enjoyed his presentations.

Christians who can go on to college campuses are rare and they are to be commended for what they do. I thank God for the memory of Carl Ketcherside and for the present day work of Ravi Zacharias.

KSU Collegian

2009-03-11T17:01:00.003-06:00

Every morning one of the librarians runs the "paper-route" in which he or she delivers us a copy of KSU newspaper, The Collegian. I usually glance at the headlines and deposit the paper in file 13 for later disposal. But recently two articles of great significance caught my eye.

The first was a full front page spread about a drag queen who performed on campus. Obviously such an act was very important to the life of the collegians at KSU. On the back page was a small picture of Ravi Zacharias, a noted Christian apologist who appeared on campus the night before. A very brief description, but not a word about his message. Ravi Zacharias had been upstaged by a drama queen.

Then this Monday the big news was the Fake Patty's Day celebration held last Saturday in Aggieville. Aggieville makes no bones about being anti-Christian. Christian activity is not welcome. But getting college students drunk by the hundreds is all right. And of course, the day was celebrated by the Collegian. Not much later a young man was found dead on another Kansas campus, apparently from drinking too much. But that did not make the front page of the Collegian.

Kansas State University is a great school. It has produced some very worthy people. I wonder why the college paper wants to cater to the lowest common denominators of society. I'm guessing that is not the only university campus with these issues.

Spiritual Warfare--Daniel

2009-03-02T14:44:00.002-06:00

"Watch out for Falling Rocks—Especially Big Ones"--Daniel and Spiritual Warfare

Today as we look at Daniel we are going to witness the story of another big rock. Jesus talked about this rock when he said, "Jesus said to them, "Did you never read in the Scriptures,

The stone which the builders rejected,

This became the chief corner stone;

This came about from the Lord,

And it is marvelous in our eyes?

Jesus is echoing a spectacular event in the book of Daniel. It is a story about the power of one amazing big stone. And now to that story we turn in the book of Daniel.

The Background of Daniel

3 Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, the chief of his ²officials, to bring in some of the sons of Israel, including some of the ³royal family and of the nobles,

6 Now among them from the sons of Judah were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah.

7 Then the commander of the officials assigned new names to them; and to Daniel he assigned the name Belteshazzar, to Hananiah Shadrach, to Mishael Meshach and to Azariah Abed-nego.

Several things to note about these boys:

They were high bred and came from high class families in Israel. Actually God rescued them from a culture that was rapidly becoming more pagan than what they would find in Babylon. Their move here was an act of protection. They most likely had received whatever education the nobility of Jerusalem received—primarily reading and understanding the Torah. What else they may have learned we do not know.
They were good looking with no defects. Imagine being checked over by someone to see if you have defects. In Israel only priests had to be free of defects. As far as we know these boys were not from priestly families. This may have been one of the considerations for their selection to go to Babylon in the first place. Nebuchadnezzar had a habit of taking the best of people he found to be in his country where they could be productive for him. His hope was that he would win their loyalty and their commitment to him and his country. Young boys would be especially malleable
The boys were intelligent and capable of being trained. They had the characteristics that would make them do well in school. They were the kind of scholarly material for which the Babylonian government looked. They would serve well in government and ultimately provide strength for the government. They were to be taught Babylonian language and literature. That would be the Aramaic language and of course Aramaic literature. This would have been written in a cuneiform style script. Simply, these boys were to be given the best education that Babylonia could provide. In a special way God was preparing leaders by giving them an excellent education. They would be trained for three years and then enter the King's service. That means they would have a place on the king's advisory staff, be well paid, have nice homes, and all the amenities that accompanied such positions. Smith says about this:

Daniel and his friends were to be given the best of food from the king's table—best wine, best desserts, richest cuts of meat. But here a problem arises. For the first time in the history of the Bible there is a dietary challenge presented. Prior to this, except that it is mentioned in the Law of Moses, little consideration is given to what can or cannot be eaten. Another aspect of brainwashing is being employed. The goal here was to change the lifestyle of these young men.
New names. Look at the comparison chart. The young men would give up their God/Yahweh honoring names and take on names that honored Babylonian deities. This time the goal of the government is to change the loyalties of the boys. Their teachers knew that the boys came from a religious background. Religion was also important to the Babylonians and they wanted the boys to recognize and serve the gods of Babylon.

BRAINWASHING THROUGH NAME CHANGE

HEBREW NAME

MEANING

BABYLONIAN
NAME

MEANING

HANANIAH

MISHAEL

AZARIAH

DANIEL

"The Lord is Gracious"

"Who is What God is?"

"The Lord has helped"

"God is my Judge"

SHADRACH

MESHACH

ABED-NEGO

BELTESHAZZAR

"Command of Aku"

"Who is what Aku is?"

"Servant of Nebo"

"May Balak protect"

The meat could have been unacceptable. Babylonians ate pork and horsemeat. Both were forbidden by the Law of Moses.
Any meat provided would not have been prepared in a kosher style. This refers first to the way the animal is killed and then to how the blood is handled from the animal.
There was strong likelihood that any meat provided had previously been offered to an idol which would make it sacred meat. Probably this is the only type of meat the king used because it would afford him spiritual power and special physical strength. Even in his eating he was worshiping his deities. Though this is never an issue in the Old Testament it certainly does become one in the New Testament. Paul clearly warns his followers not to eat meat sacrificed to idols. The meat has not changed, but the message the meat sends has.
Wine was often poured out as drink offerings (libations) to the gods, so there was even a religious
Daniel can eat grains and vegetables because these were not likely to be offered to idols.

Some factors to be considered:

At first glance this request seems simple enough, but a number of factors rendered this a courageous act. Stephen Miller makes the following points:

To refuse the royal diet could have been taken as an insult to the king and as an act of direct disobedience to Nebuchadnezzar's orders.
Pressure from Daniel's peers most certainly made the decision difficult. Everyone else was doing it. By choosing this course of action, Daniel and his friends were setting themselves apart from the others. Now they were different, strange.
Such unorthodox behavior could have jeopardized their chances for advancement.
The quality of food would have been attractive. It was the best in the land.
Their new location may have tempted them to be unfaithful. Judah was nine hundred miles away; parents and friends would never know whether or not they kept God's laws. Yet Daniel and his friends were aware of a very important fact. Other people might not know their actions, but God would know, and someday all will give an account of themselves to him.
It would have been natural to argue that since God had not protected them from captivity—this horrible situation—they did not have to be careful to obey his commands. They could have become bitter toward God during this time. Sometimes believers fall into this trap. All of these factors could have caused some people to compromise, but Daniel and his friends remained faithful to their God.

Death of a Great Newspaper--the Rocky Mountain News

2009-02-27T19:57:00.002-06:00

I have to say that I had a great feeling of sadness and nostalgia when I learned today that the 150 year old paper in Denver, Colorado, the Rocky Mountain News, was closing its doors. No, I don't have any personal ties to the paper, I do not know anyone who works there, and as a paper I will not miss it, especially since I live in eastern Kansas and we have the fabulous Kansas City Star and the Manhattan Mercury. I have other reasons to regret the passing of this paper.

I was the 6th grade in Leadville, Colorado when I started working for the Rocky Mountain News. My local employer was Mrs. McCaulliffe, who was married to the only Colorado Highway patrolman we had in the area. My father had met Patrolman McCaulliffe a few times for violations on the open road, but of course we were convinced that the Patrolman had it in for our father whom we believed could do no wrong. But Highway Patrolmen were not paid the fabulous salaries they get today along with many other public servants and since the McCaulliffes had a big family, Mrs. McCaulliffe became the distributor for the Rocky Mountain News.

The paper route, delivered by sled in the winter or packed on my back, and on my old bicycle in summer, provided me with a little spending money that bought a few things that I thought I needed. I would deliver papers for three years on a 20 block route and faithfully collect from my customers.

The Rocky Mountain News covered the losses that occurred when people didn't pay their bills, sometimes as much as $3.00. Likewise they would good to their carriers. Every month they provided us with a little party and if we got a few "starts" (new customers), we could win all sorts of prizes. Sometimes Mrs. McCaulliffe just gave us the prizes whether we had starts or not because she appreciated the work that we were doing for her.

We didn't use rubber bands or plastic bags, but we learned how to fold the papers so that you could throw one 30-40 feet and it would not come open. Papers had to be delivered before we went to school, so that meant being up early and out on the street regardless of the weather. Wow, could we have used snow days!

So to the Rocky Mountain News, I say "thanks for the memories." You were good to me in the 1950s. I am sad to see you go.

New stage for our socialist government

2009-02-27T19:53:00.003-06:00

The news reported tonight that the government is going to take over one of the banks that failed. It will keep as the head of the bank the person responsible for the failure which makes good sense. It will pour more taxpayer money into the bank so that bonuses, personal jets, and posh offices might continue to be maintained. I have confidence this will be a great deal when you think of the great job our government did with Amtrak.

Former student/good friend

2009-02-14T20:36:00.003-06:00

Friday morning brought a welcome visitor who brought a blast from the past. Dave Sloan attended Intermountain Bible College from 1968-1974. He would come in as a monotone and leave an excellent baritone singer. Dave would spend a few years in the "professional" ministry and then become an outstanding "lay" worker. Dave works for City Market, a supermarket chain in Fruita, Colorado connected with Krogers, King's Soopers, and Dillons stores in Kansas. He has worked there for a long time while raising his family and caring for music in local churches.

Dave came to IBC with a group of special guys, most of whom are still active in the ministry--Dennis Whisler (Roy, Utah), Rick Bender (Cortez, CO), Carroll Moore (Deceased), Vernon Ely (forest department in Arizona). We had a lot of fun with these guys as most of them lived with us for a time in the boys' dorm.

Dave and the gang invited my wife over one night for supper. They also invited several girls to the dinner. When dinner was over Dave gathered up all the dishes and marched to the toilet. Soon we heard the toilet being flushed. Dave came out with the wet plates, as serious and a judge, and announced, "Dish washer." My wife and I knew it was a joke, but the girls didn't. Some of them turned green and were ready to lose their suppers. That legend will live with Dave forever. I hope someone brings it up at his funeral.

Several years later I visited Dave at El Paso where he was working with El Paso Christian College. Dave wanted to take me to a meal at a Mexican restaurant across the border in Juarez. We ordered our meals and while we were waiting a cat strolled out of the kitchen. I thought I was going to lose Dave. We stayed and finished our meals, but Dave was very nervous about the whole situation. Dave had one other thing to share with me in regards to a waitress with a deep voice at Denny's. But in light of our present culture I'll just have to let you guess what that was about.

We had a great visit. I was honored by the visit and the memories. The years of college that I spent with Dave will not be forgotten.

Logos/Libronix Library System

2009-02-14T20:31:00.002-06:00

About a year I became intimately acquainted with a great library system for computers. I believe it is the finest Bible reference system on the market. I recommend it to students and hope to see it use for all our classes at MCC in the future. You can do exegetical studies, review commentaries, prepare Bible studies and sermons all from the convenience of your computer. Take time to go to Logos.com to find out more about the program.

The program now has available 10,000 volumes with more being added daily. Logos keeps you updated constantly on new products.

Bankers Grilled by Chef Congress

2009-02-14T20:26:00.002-06:00

Last week we saw the big bankers apparently eat crow over the mistakes they made in handling the first bailout. It was a good show. It happens all the time. Congress calls for hearings, the villains are brought in and grilled, and promises of change are made. But nothing changes. The bankers went back to planning on how they were take advantage of the next trillion dollar bailout and the committee looked good for taking on the bankers. Nothing changes. Too many hands are in the pockets of the bankers. An old proverb "You don't bite the hand that feeds you." So don't expect any change and very little help for the common person from the multi-trillion dollar bailout plan.

The Other Side of Teaching

2009-01-30T19:46:00.002-06:00

On Wednesday I gave a brief glimpse of a minority of students that I have to deal with, men and women who are not sure why they are in Bible college and after a few days of classes are trying to figure out how to get by with the easiest courses. They check with their colleagues who advise them which professors to avoid. Some of the professors they need to avoid are also teaching the core courses, so eventually they will have to take their classes.

But today I received a postcard from a former student that was one of the finest young men I ever met.

Shawn Inchaustegui and his brother Anthony were born and raised in Mexico. Their father, Pecos, married their mother who hails from Wichita, Kansas. Pecos attended and graduated from MCC many years ago as a fellow student along with Dr. Rick Wright. Pecos is a big guy, jovial, and full of the love of the Lord for his people in Mexico. His wit and sense of humor and love for people he passed on to his boys. They were both special while they attended MCC.

Both boys married MCC girls and now have families of their own. Both are involved in ministry.

In class I often reminded the boys they needed to take their skills, their mastery of Spanish, and their knowledge of Mexican culture back to Mexico and evangelize there. So today I received this card from Shawn. He and his family have joined with New Mission Systems International, a premier organization in doing missionary work. That in itself is exciting. I am acquainted with some of the great leaders this organization has and they are among the best. So the training Shawn will receive will be the best.

The card brought tears to my eyes. I had to say, "Thanks, Lord. It is worth it all."

Shawn wrote:

We pray that this card finds you both in wonderful shaped and delighting in our Papa's goodness. You always have been such a blessing in your belief and encouragement of God's call for my life. Dr. Paddock's ringing words: "Go back to your own people." The dream is coming true and we are getting close to our return to Mexico to being our work as we live for God reaching out to the youth of Mexico.

Those are the words that stir the heart of a teacher and missionary. If I were to claim no other victory for 14 years at MCC, this one would be worth it all.

Jesus or economics

2009-01-28T17:49:00.002-06:00

I teach a course called Life and Teachings of Jesus. It is a core course in our curriculum so every student who plans to graduate has to take it.

The other day I had a student come in to drop the course. His rationale was interesting:

"I really don't need Jesus, but I can see micro-economics helping me out down the road."

At least he was honest. He reflects the attitude of many. It is a matter of priorities. Micro-economics certainly tops ancient history.

Another disappearing trillion

2009-01-28T17:43:00.002-06:00

As the Bush administration came to an end, a bill for nearly 1 trillion was approved by the Democratically controlled Senate and House. As Obama comes to power he has convinced his fellow Democrats to spend another trillion dollars. We do not know where the first trillion went, except into the pockets of bankers and the politicians that they support. The issue of people losing homes over mortgages disappeared with the morning dew.

Now we are going to give the same people another trillion dollars. Sounds good on paper, but the average person will never see a single Lincoln penny of the money. Instead it will wind up in the pockets of the bankers and politicians.

Gran Torino

2009-01-12T19:50:00.004-06:00

In spite of his age, Clint Eastwood has not lost his touch as a actor. The movie Gran Torino tells about a Korean veteran who finds himself in a neighborhood of Hmong people from Vietnam. For him all Asians are alike and he has a strong distaste for them. Events in the movie bring about a change of heart.

This is a powerful movie regarding race relations and the problems of inter-ethnic warfare in American cities. It also uses very strong language. If you are uncomfortable with profanity then this movie is not for you.

The conclusion is classic Clint Eastwood, but not what you would expect. To tell anymore would ruin the movie for you.

Rick Warren’s The Purpose of Christmas

2009-01-09T10:32:00.001-06:00

Jesus offers you The Peace of God

Rick Warren is famous in Christian circles for his books The Purpose Driven Life and The Purpose Driven Church. His notoriety has increased greatly because he was asked to offer the invocation at President Obama's inauguration, much to the delight of the gay community. Someone told me once that a book was worth reading if you found one gem in it. Following is the gem I found in Rick Warren's The Purpose of Christmas.

Rick Warren writes:

"Once you make peace with God, you'll begin to experience the peace of God in your heart and in your mind. The more you pray, the less you'll panic. The more you worship, the less you worry. You'll feel more patient and less pressured. The Bible promise, 'You, Lord, give true peace to those wo depend on you, because they trust you."

"What robs you of your peace? Most of the culprits fall into one of three categories: uncontrollable circumstances (like illnesses, deaths, and layoffs), unchangeable people (who refuse to cooperate with your plan to change them), and unexplainable problems (when life seems unfair). People respond to these peace robbers in one of three ways: They try harder to control everything, but they're guaranteed to fail at that. They simply give up with a fatalistic attitude, feeling controlled by their circumstances. Or they gain true peace of mind by responding to situations the way Jesus did and depending on his Spirit to empower them to do that.

"You've probably heard of the Serenity Prayer, which was made famous by Reinhold Niebuhr, but you may not have read the entire prayer. The first third of the prayer is often quoted and written on posters. But to experience the serenity mentioned in the first third of the prayer, you need to follow the steps laid out in the rest of the prayer:

God grant me the serenity to accept the things

I cannot change; courage to change the things

I can; and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time; enjoying one

Moment at a time; accepting hardships as the

Pathway to peace; taking, as He did, this

Sinful world as it is, not as I would have it;

Trusting that He will make all things right

If I surrender to His Will; that I may be reasonably

Happy in this life and supremely

Happy with Him forever in the next."

Alaska Cold result of Global Warming

2009-01-08T11:28:00.002-06:00

I just finished reading an article from the Anchorage Daily News describing the power of the cold weather they are experiencing. It is some of the worst in Alaskan history. Anchorage rarely gets this cold. In places around Anchorage it was down to 47 below and no hope for respite.

Of course the global warming contingent will tell us that this is the result of global warming. I bet if the ice age were to come again, the global warming gang would claim it was the result of global warming.

You can read the full story online at:

http://www.adn.com/anchorage/story/646174.html

A Woman Special to God

2008-12-27T21:13:00.002-06:00

A Woman Special to God—Hagar

I have taught the story of Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar more times that I can count. Yet all of those times my focus was on Abraham and Sarah. Hagar received the status of a villain and certainly not that of a heroine. In a recent study of the book of Isaiah, in a commentary, I found a list of people in the Old Testament who experienced epiphanies. This was in connection with Isaiah 6 where Isaiah had his encounter with God. But something in the list surprised me. I came across the fact that Hagar experienced two epiphanies with God, something that very few people in the Bible can claim. So what does that say to us about Hagar? My contention is simple: Hagar was special to God. Her story is related in Genesis 16 and 21:9-21.

When we use the term special we usually mean special treatment. My dog is special to me, so he gets special privileges. He gets to sit in my chair either with me or when I am gone. I make sure that he is fed twice a day and take him on regular walks. My wife would tell you that Alexander is spoiled. He isn't spoiled, just special. Special people enjoy privileges, the good life, needs and wants being met, and are comfortable. So if Hagar was special to God, then why did she have such a rough time?

Chapter 11 of the book of Hebrews gives us a list of people who were special to God. Just a few of them are:

Abel, who died at the hands of his brother Cain because Abel was special to God.
Noah, suffered humiliation and ridicule for 100 years while he built the ark because God told him he was special.
Abraham, who left the security of Ur to go to a place he didn't know, led by a God he couldn't see on the promise that "someday" he would be special.
Sarah, given by her husband to kings to be in their harems, but never complained because she was special.
Paul was told he was a special messenger for God who would learn what it means to suffer because he was special.
Jesus was by far the most special person to God, and his special privilege was dying an excruciating death on the cross.

The list goes on. The point that Hebrews 11 makes is this: being special to God may cost you a great deal in this life.

Hagar's Story

We do not officially know how Hagar came into the picture, but since she was an Egyptian we can assume she was part of the deal Pharaoh made with Abraham in Egypt. Famine was in the land of Canaan when Abram (later changed to Abraham) arrived for the first time. As it would be in the days of Joseph, Egypt had grain for sale. Abram was afraid that the Egyptians would see his beautiful wife and kill Abram for her. So he told the story that Sarai was his sister. Actually it was a half-truth as she was his half-sister. They had the same father and different mothers. Sarai was taken into Pharaoh's harem. What is noteworthy is the fact that she was 65 years of age at the time.

Pharaoh's household came under a curse. Somehow Pharaoh discovered that Sarai was already married to Abram. God's protection of Abraham is apparent because Pharaoh could have easily put him to death and then taken Sarah. Instead Pharaoh chose to give Sarah back to her husband and also richly reward him. He gave him gifts which included male and female servants. It is quite likely that Hagar was one of them.

Regardless of where Abram and Sarai acquired Hagar the fact remains that she was a slave. As a person she had no rights and could never be free unless her master chose to free her. She could be called upon to do anything the master desired. The evidence of Hagar's lack of freedom is seen when Sarai decides that Abram can have a child by her. A woman of the same rank as Sarai could not be expected to do such a thing, but a slave was a slave and could be used as her owners saw fit.

Hagar accepted the role of surrogate mother for Sarai. The concept, still very much alive today, was that Hagar would have a child but the child would belong to Sarai. Such a practice was legal in Abraham's society. Once Hagar knew she was pregnant things became very tense between Hagar and Sarai. Sarai could not abuse the slave now at the risk of harming the unborn child. Hagar may have flaunted her expanding waistline. "You can't do this." Finally the antagonism between the two women became so intense Hagar chose to flee.

This was not a very rational decision on Hagar's part. It was an act of desperation. It would be better to be dead than to live in such circumstances. Hagar really had nowhere to go. No cities were nearby and it was a long ways between waterholes. In fact, Hagar had no idea where the waterholes or wells even were.

But God met her in the wilderness, the first of two meetings they would have. He told Hagar to go back to Sarai and Abram and submit herself to her mistress.

God's presence at this point said to Hagar, "You are special to me. And I have an assignment for you." The assignment was to bear the child of Abraham who would become famous in the world. Hagar heard the words, but did not have any idea of the significance of them. God promised Hagar the following: (Genesis 16:10-12)

10 Moreover, the angel of the Lord said to her, "I will greatly multiply your descendants so that they will be too many to count."

11 The angel of the Lord said to her further,

"Behold, you are with child,

And you will bear a son;

And you shall call his name Ishmael,

Because the Lord has given heed to your affliction.

12 "He will be a wild donkey of a man,

His hand will be against everyone,

And everyone's hand will be against him;

And he will live to the east of all his brothers."

Hagar then names the place Beer lahai roi, "the well of the God who sees." Afterwards she returned to the camp and there submitted to Sarai.

Abraham is 86 years old when Ishmael is born. He loved Ishmael very much and wanted him to be the heir of promise.

When Abraham reached 100 and Sarah 90, God chose to allow them to have a child. The child was named Isaac ("Laughter") because both Abraham and Sarah laughed when they heard they would have a child in their old age. When it came time to wean Isaac, Ishmael mocked him. This offended Sarah and she demanded that Hagar and her son be driven away.

Here we see the value of the individual. Abraham is told by God to listen to his wife. He gives Hagar a bag of water and some bread and sends them out into the wilderness. Did Abraham believe God would take care of Hagar? We don't know. But when Hagar was at the point of death along with Ishmael, now an 18 year old boy, God appeared to her again. He showed her water and she survived.

God appeared to Hagar because she was special to him. God chose to care for her and to honor her in ways she would never understand.

Lesson: God can use anyone he chooses. In Hagar's case he used a slave. Later God would use a slave named Joseph to save a nation.

“Lawrence of Arabia”

2008-12-27T20:48:00.001-06:00

Friday, December 26, 2008 was a beautiful day in Kansas. Before the day ended the temperature had reached a record 70 degrees. But the wind changed and by midnight we had rain and the temperature dropped to 30. I walked the dog and took the car in for its regular lube job. When supper was over my wife told me that "Lawrence of Arabia" would be on TCM. I checked the schedule and discovered this was a four-hour movie. I'm always interested in history especially of the Middle East. I also wanted to know more about this legendary figure of World War I.

The film belongs to a genre of movies that are epic in nature. What the director wants to do takes four hours to accomplish and none of the time is wasted. David Lean, who directed "Lawrence of Arabia," produced a number of these epics. They are powerful in their message presented in a powerful fashion. David Lean directed several other movies that have become classics: "Dr. Zhivago," "The Bridge Over the River Kwai," and "Passage to India." Each of these films is epic in nature. I have seen Dr. Zhivago several times. It is a great historical document of what communism did to the intellectual establishment in Russia. Dr. Zhivago is cut off from his life and left at loose ends until he finally disappears.

Both "Lawrence of Arabia" and "Dr. Zhivago" begin with a lengthy overture that speaks musically of everything that is to come. The theme songs will be replayed throughout the entire movie.

So when you have a little time on your hands and are tired of the garbage on commercial television, watch these two fine movies.

Bankers Rip Off American Taxpayers

2008-12-23T08:45:00.002-06:00

The News that is the News on December 19, 2008

2008-12-19T16:52:00.001-06:00

News in KC Star for December 19, 2008

In a study of corrupt states, Kansas is rated as one of the three least corrupt states in USA. Florida has the highest rate of convictions for public officials while Illinois is 7th in the country. Louisiana has the highest conviction rates per capita and Illinois is 6th. Kansas is unranked.

The William J. Clinton foundation has raised $492,000,000 to build the Clinton library and other projects the Clintons are involved. Foreign governments including Saudi Arabia, Norway and India gave $46,000,000. Other high profile givers include Bill Gates and a whole host of the Hollywood crowd. Saudi Arabia alone gave $10,000,000. Other government donors include Kuwait, Qatar, Brunei, Oman, Italy, Jamaica, and Tenerife. The Dutch national lottery gave between 5 and 10 million dollars.

Also of interest in the article is the note that Hillary Clinton served on Wal-Mart's board of directors. Wal Mart gave between one and five million dollars to the Clinton foundation.

It is foolish to assume that Hillary Clinton will not be influenced in her decisions as Secretary of State by those whom support her husband's library. (WP)

On the more serious side Burger King has launched a new men's body spray called "Flame." It is described as having the scent of seduction with a hint of flame-broiled meat." (Guys using this should be careful that their dates are not hungry! WP)

In Rogers, Arkansas Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar had their 18th child, a little girl, delivered by C-section. Jim Bob is 43 and Michelle 42. Their oldest child is 20.

That's all the news that is the news for today.

Il Divo and Amazing Grace

2008-12-19T14:43:00.002-06:00

This is one of the finest renditions of Amazing Grace I have heard.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtrnB4FZ-yc

“This Little Light of Mine”

2008-12-14T17:42:00.001-06:00

"This little light of mine"

Years ago small children were taught a popular song—"This little light of mine." Not really heavy on theology, but actually loaded with meaning. Especially in the area of light.

At Zeandale we are going through Max Lucado's 3:16 in the morning Bible study. Today's lesson dealt with Hosea and Gomer. The focus was on Hosea's love for Gomer which was descriptive of the love God had for his people Israel. One of the greatest lessons we got from the lesson was the fact that God loves regardless of how people respond.

God's love is not exclusively for believers. We become believers by responding to God's love, but that doesn't change the fact that God loves unconditionally. Everything we have is a gift from God. Everything that the Muslim, Hindu, atheist, or evolutionist has is a gift from God. Whether or not people do not recognize the source of the gift does not change the fact about it's source.

There are believers who brag about their accomplishments. Sometimes they will include God up to the point that they must be very special in the sight of God because of all that God's for them. I used to have a good friend that no matter what I accomplished he did something either faster or better or he was obviously better blessed. Once I wrote him about some of medical experiences and his answer was to let me know that his medical experiences were worse than mine. The guy never changed!

Charles Chaffin led in the devotional time for the offering this morning and he focused on the fact that we have received light from God. Everyone receives light from God. Paul talks about this in Romans 1. So just like everyone receives everything they have from God, so also do they receive God's light as well. Charles suggested that the light could be seen in the fact that everyone has a conscience.

Again, it is a gift from God. If one studies anthropology he/she discovers that there is no culture without a moral system regardless of how "primitive" they may be. Where did they get their information? The earliest culture systems which began to use writing also developed legal codes. How did that happen? And how is that there are so many parallels found among the various legal systems? Some would suggest they just copied from one another. Even if they did copy they still recognized the value of a controlled value system.

A Socialist America takes another step forward

2008-12-10T20:38:00.002-06:00

When Joseph rescued the Egyptians from the upcoming famine he took 20% of the grain grown and then sold it back to the Egyptians. The Egyptians first used up their money to buy food, then they sold their livestock, and finally their land to the Egyptian government. When the famine ended all the money, livestock, and land belonged to the government. After the famine the government let the people use the land and taxed them 20% of their produce. In essence, Joseph set up a socialist government.

Our government is spending over a trillion dollars to bail out banks and industries who mismanaged their funds and businesses. But the one item that no one may have noticed is the placement of "czars" to oversee the industries that the government is helping. This is a giant step toward socialism in which the government takes control of industry and banking. Someone might say, "Never in America." But it is happening. The republic the founders of this nation produced is long gone. It is also noteworthy that anything the government manages becomes notorious for waste.

The Year of the Jubilee

2008-12-09T20:10:00.002-06:00

When Moses received the Law, part of it included both environmental and economic sanctions placed by God upon his people. The environmental part was called the Sabbatical year. That law stated the Israelites were to let the land lay fallow (unplowed) every seven years so that it could renew itself. Back in the 1960s I lived in southern Illinois. While there I was given the chance to learn how to farm. A godly man, one of the elders in the church where I preached, took the time to train me how to farm. I learned how to harvest, plow, and cultivate. For some reason Frank Shepard never let me plant. That part he always handled.

Farmers in that era practiced crop rotation. Part of the rotation was to leave a section of the land fallow every seven years. They would plant alfalfa on it and the next fall plow the alfalfa under. They were using artificial fertilizers by that time, but they still practiced crop rotation. I'm not sure if this practice is observed anymore.

The next part of the Law of Moses we want to consider is the year of Jubilee. This law stated that every 50 years all debts were to be forgiven and the land was to be restored to its original owners. This meant ever person had the opportunity to start over with a clean slate every fifty years. Certainly such a practice would not be popular with bankers, but it was the law of God.

It is my own unhumble opinion that the Israelites never observed the year of Jubilee and it is possible that they were also careless about the sabbatical year as well.

But, Praise the Lord, we are observing the year of Jubilee in 2008. Billions of dollars are being given to bankers and automobile manufacturers who are going broke. This is all being done on the premise that the little guy about to lose his home will be able to save it. So far I have yet to hear of one little guy getting so much as a nickel of the $700 billion. But the bankers and industrialists are all standing in line for their handout. It is almost a comedy to watch the auto makers pleading with Congress for billions.

Here is my concern. I have debts--mortgage on my house, a credit card or two, an automobile. Is there some way that I could get a small portion of that $700 billion? Now if I were making $22 million a year or more I would have a better chance. But my income is a bit less than that. I have friends that deserve a portion of that money since it is the year of Jubilee, but I doubt that they will get any either. I work for a non-profit institution that could use a bit of this bailout money and we work across from a major university that needs a minimum of $56 million to simply do the maintenance needed that has been delayed for years. Let me know if I am wrong, but I bet neither we nor the university will see a red cent from the big bailout. We have done nothing dishonest nor have we taken advantage of the foolishness of people. But that's not the way the bailout will work. Those who made financial fools of others will receive the reward.

I'm sure that Moses would see this as an odd way to observe the Jubilee.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

2008-12-07T19:44:00.004-06:00

One of my colleagues called this afternoon and invited me to go with him and his wife to see "The Boy In the Striped Pajamas." My wife and I went with them to this powerful statement about the most tragic part of World War II. You can look up movie reviews to get a sense of the direction of the movie. But you will have to see it to fully appreciate the way it ends. It is, to say the least, a moving experience. It is not a film to enjoy, but it one from which we can be reminded of lessons from the past. Every adult needs to see it. It is not a movie for children.

A question that must accompany such a movie and the events it points to is, "How in the world could such a situation develop?"

We need to realize that after World War I Germany experienced a horrendous depression. People needed wheel barrows to take their money to the grocery market. The Allies had punished Germany severely for World War I and this added to the depression. In the midst of this economic circumstance a messiah arose. Adolf Hitler promised to lead the nation to the heights to which Germany belonged. People would have to put their trust in him and follow the direction of Hitler and his henchmen. Although there was some protest, Hitler's government quickly evolved and Hitler soon declared himself the dictator of Germany.

In order to make people feel better, Hitler led them to believe that the Jews were the real problem in the nation. To get rid of this pox on the nation, the Jews needed to be annihilated. This would solve another problem--bring a great of wealth into the hands of the government.

In Hitler's case, Nazism became the religion of Germany with Adolf himself being the high priest of the religion.

Such messianic scheme dot the landscape since World War II. One that started much earlier in 1917 was the Communist party in Russia. Vladimir Lenin, Trotsky, and Josef Stalin were involved in this political experiment that promised to correct the financial abuses in Russia and the wealth of the rich would be distributed among the poor.

The Pol Pot regime in Cambodia that massacred a million people. Fidel Castro and Che Chevera led people in South America and Cuba on the basis that each man was a messiah who was going to deliver his people. Such individuals are scattered all over Africa. The results of the work of these messiahs has been horrific.

Some wise acre once said, "Those who refuse to learn the lessons of history are doomed to repeat them."

Zeandale Makes the news for Community Good Will

2008-12-03T18:31:00.001-06:00

Community Good Will

Recently the local newspaper, the Manhattan Mercury, has made mention of the community service provided by Zeandale Community Church. The first was in an article about the Angel Food Program. Zeandale was instrumental in helping bring the program to the Manhattan area. For the time being our people as well as the rest of the churches involved in the Manhattan area, go to Topeka to pick up the items to be distributed. An hour after they leave Topeka a crew of busy people get the boxes ready and usually by 12:00 noon on Saturday the food is all gone, much of it to needy people who were wondering where their next meal was coming from.

The Angel Food program is unique in that it is open to anyone who wants to participate. One box of food, which is loaded with high protein products, costs $30.00. There is enough food in the box for one person for a month and for a family of four for a week. Purchases can be made either by cash or food stamps and the orders have to be placed and paid for three weeks before delivery. Last month we gave away 18 boxes of food to needy people.

Zeandale was again mentioned by Gary LaGrange who set out to raise school supplies for children in Iraq as an act of good will from our country to theirs. Gary noted that they had raised 38,000 pounds of goods—school supplies and backpacks—and $20,000 to help ship the supplies. Zeandale was mentioned as one of the contributing churches.

When this project started I asked one of new member if he and his wife would take this project on. They did gladly. In a short period the couple reported they wanted the stuff moved because they had one bedroom in their home fully packed with school supplies. Gary LaGrange was impressed. He was impressed enough that he remembered the little stone church in Zeandale that helped out in a big way.

Illegal Immigrant Air Service

2008-11-28T16:10:00.005-06:00

Have you ever wondered about what happens to all the illegal immigrants arrested in the US. Do they go to jail or when they are deported do they have to find their own way back home? Are they taken to the border of Mexico and sent across to make their way back to whatever Central or South American country which is their country of origin? Read this article in the Kansas City Star to find out what happens. http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_action=doc&p_docid=124B4B1867BCF558&p_docnum=1

Notice that over 350,000 made the trip to places as far away as Indonesia and Pakistan.

The Zimbabwean travesty

2008-11-25T09:46:00.002-06:00

A young child looking at what is left of his house in Porta Farm, west of Harare, after the Zimbabwean government razed it in 2005 as part of "Operation Murambatsvina," a campaign to eliminate "illegal" structures and shantytowns.

Between 1985 and 1988 I made several trips from Kenya into Zimbabwe. If you have never been to Zimbabwe you are unaware of the beautiful fruitful land that it is. The early white settlers in the region came in 1890 under the direction of Cecil Rhodes, hence the name Rhodesia, Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) and Northern Rhodesia (Zambia)

Britannica tells us: "By 1892 about 1,500 settlers from the south had arrived in Rhodesia. The railway reached Bulawayo in 1896 and Victoria Falls in 1904. By the following year there were 12,500 settlers in the country, and in 1909 gold exports were worth more than £2,500,000. Agricultural development, however, was slower, and it was not until 1907 that steps were taken to facilitate the acquisition of land. By 1911 nearly £35,000 worth of tobacco was being exported annually, and the European population had risen to 23,600."

Mugabe became the first prime minister of the new independent nation of Zimbabwe on April 18, 1980. Mugabe's government was determined to correct the inequality that existed between whites and blacks. The land was to be redistributed. During the 1980s the economy began to seriously decline, first because of drought conditions, and second, because many of the white farmers chose to leave the country.

The economy of Zimbabwe continued to worsen throughout the 1980s and 1990s. At the beginning of this period 4,000 white farmers controlled about one-third of the arable land of Zimbabwe. Most of these farms were either taken over by squatters or forcibly taken by the government to be redistributed. It turned into a very ugly time in Zimbabwe. The end result was that the farming system was effectively destroyed and now millions of Zimbabweans are on the brink of starvation, totally dependent on outside food supplies because essentially very little is being grown in Zimbabwe.

And Mugabe remains in power. The picture included is one of his gentrification projects. Mugabe ordered bulldozers to level the slums around Harare driving thousands of people into the streets. What a solution for food shortages!

Zimbabwe needs to be returned to people who understand how to farm. Sounds racist, I know, but it is reality. What they have now is progressively starving the nation to death. The white farmers could progressive train Africans in the skills they need, but in the meantime provide the needed food for the land.

Unfortunately, Zimbabwe has no oil, so why should we care. After all the dying are just more Africans.

Mitch Morrow Ordination

2008-11-17T21:00:00.007-06:00

(Picture--Geoffrey Paddock and Randy Ingmire)
On November 16, 2008, at Valley View Christian Church, near Wichita Kansas, Mitch Morrow was ordained to the Christian ministry. Mitch was a student of mine at MCC and then was involved in several projects around our house and at the Zeandale Community Church. So when Mitch asked my wife and I to attend his ordination we were glad to do so.

( 2nd Picture: Tom and Judy Morrow with Mitch after the service)

Mitch is a man with a servant's heart. His concern the entire time I have known him is to serve others. I am confident he will go far in the ministry with his servant's spirit. At the moment he is ministering to the community of Vici Oklahoma which just happens to be one of our daughters-in law's home town. A number of her relatives attend the church. Mitch is already doing a good job there.

Randy Ingmire, Vice President of Academic Affairs, gave the charge to Mitch. His message "Fire in the Belly" reflected on the importance of passion, compassion, and Jesus' passion when it came to being a minister.

My oldest son, Geoffrey, and myself took part in the "laying on of hands" ceremony. It was a beautiful service and we pray for Mitch that he has a long and successful career.

A Church Alive

2008-11-17T20:49:00.002-06:00

The Zeandale Community Church is a small rural church east of Manhattan Kansas. Attendance runs between 50 and 80. But it is a very active church regardless of the fact that the majority of the congregation is over 50 years of age.

Pictured here are sixty boxes packed for the Christmas Child project sponsored by Samaritan's Purse. We have been involved in this project for several years. Two years ago one of the missionaries we support in Kenya was involved in the delivery of Christmas Child boxes. We will never know whether or not some of our boxes were involved, but our church was involved on both ends.

Over a year ago the church got involved in the Angel Food project. Angel Food provides high protein food for people an a minimum cost. At the moment Angel Food provides enough food for one person for a month for $30.00. The same amount will take care of a family for a week. No strings attached, no restrictions on who can buy. So our people go to Topeka and collect the food we will distribute through Zeandale. Families in the church also buy Angel Food boxes that are designated "gift boxes" and are given to needy people every month, not just at Thanksgiving and Christmas.

The church also supports a food pantry that is maintained at First Presbyterian Church in Manhattan. Every month a basket of non-perishable food is taken to the pantry to be distributed to people in need.

Grandmas Paddock and Mother Mary

2008-10-21T20:18:00.001-05:00

Grandpa Tad and Papa Nathan

2008-10-21T20:15:00.000-05:00

Olivia Jean Paddock October 16, 2008

2008-10-21T20:12:00.000-05:00

IRS law changes

2008-10-16T20:17:00.002-05:00

Our grandson, Nathan, is studying and Mesa State University in preparation to become a CPA. This fall he began a course in IRS law. At the beginning of class his instructor gave each student a huge packet of material written in fine print. The students were amazed at all the material and wondered what it was for. The instructor said, "These are the law changes that came about as a result of the $700 billion bailout." Anyone dealing with the IRS will have to be familiar with this entire new body of law!

Serious Natural Gas Shortage

2008-10-16T18:12:00.001-05:00

As we made our way from Glenwood Springs Colorado to Grand Junction we were again amazed at the number of oil/gas derricks that were in operation. One company reported the starting up of 20 wells and 15 wells were completed. As of September 47 of the 52 planned wells had been started. As of September 80 wells were producing on an average 4.1 MMcfednet (million cubic feet equivalent per day). The wells drilled in the Piceance basin were producing 58 percent natural gas and 42 percent oil.

At the same time there are significant projects going in Kansas around Arbuckle and Lansing with 17 wells started there. Also there have been eleven workovers/recompletions have been completed.

The bottom line is that there is a good deal of gas and oil being produced here in the US. The potential for more is there as well especially in the oil shale deposits in Western Colorado.

From a different direction as we came by Belleville and Leonard Kansas we saw the huge forest of windpower generators. Down the hill from the big boys was one old-fashioned farm windmill pumping away providing water for livestock. Perhaps the little windmill was dreaming of being a big one day some day.

The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch

2008-10-16T11:43:00.003-05:00

Several weeks ago Arletta bought me the book The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch. The title comes from a guest lectureship that Dr. Pausch held at Carnegie Mellon University. Here is the blurb from the website:

On September 18, 2007, computer science professor Randy Pausch stepped in front of an audience of 400 people at Carnegie Mellon University to deliver a last lecture called "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams." With slides of his CT scans beaming out to the audience, Randy told his audience about the cancer that is devouring his pancreas and that will claim his life in a matter of months. On the stage that day, Randy was youthful, energetic, handsome, often cheerfully, darkly funny. He seemed invincible. But this was a brief moment, as he himself acknowledged.

Randy's lecture has become a phenomenon, as has the book he wrote based on the same principles, celebrating the dreams we all strive to make realities. Sadly, Randy lost his battle to pancreatic cancer on July 25th, 2008, but his legacy will continue to inspire us all, for generations to come.

This is a must read (or listen to) book. I want to see how I can incorporate this book into some of my classes. It is a work that challenges all of us in our day to day living. Dr. Pausch was a believer, but he does not make that point until the end of the book. That was probably wise. For many people to hear one more story about how God saves the day would have kept them reading any further.

Western Fellowship of Professors and Scholars 2008

2008-10-13T21:00:00.002-05:00

Western Fellowship of Professors and Scholars

In Manhattan KS, October 3-4, the third annual theology conference was held. Dr. Mark Alterman, back from his sabbatical in Europe, led the program, although others accomplished the groundwork for the program this year. Dr. Alterman saw a similar program in St. Louis several years ago and encouraged others to consider doing a similar project at Manhattan Christian College.

This year the program enjoyed the facilities of Kansas State University. Excellent meals were served by the KSU kitchen and a comfortable room provided the backdrop for the presentation of several different papers.

A young scholar, Derek Maris, for the second year in a row, set the stage by presenting new ideas from Ray Anderson. Derek acknowledged that what he was doing was a work in process, but he wanted to bounce his ideas off others. Feedback lasted for 20 minutes.

Following Derek came Russ Dudrey from York, Nebraska. Russ always presents outstanding scholarship and dealt with the issue of interpreting the use of the Old Testament in the New Testament.

An Anglican priest, Andrew Grosso presented a paper on the situation of the Anglican Church today. My personal observation about Andrew indicated that he is very close to the Christian church position on the Bible, baptism, and the Lord's Supper. He personally believed in adult baptism and high respect for the Lord's Supper. It will be interesting to see what this man will do in the future.

A missionary to India, Lowell Bliss, dealt with the issue of global warming and its impact on missions. He belongs to the school that believes the latest trends on global warming as held by Al Gore and the Hollywood crowd. I personally was turned off by his rhetoric in that regard. But his greater concern caught my interest. Rather than trying to find someone to blame for global warming, he instead suggested that the church needs to be a significant part in helping people in the world deal with the problem. For example vast areas of Bangladesh are less the five meters above sea level. That means that whenever a typhoon hits the entire area is flooded and again when the rivers flood, the entire area is flooded. These are annual events and refugees from the area are trying to find a place to live. Not easy, because India does not want the refugees. Bliss reminded me of the Church Growth principle that says, "Areas that will be open to the gospel are areas that are going through change, whatever the cause." Certainly flooding and relocation are causes for change.

The program will be again next year at about the same time. It is possible that we will be able to meet in the newly refurbished Joliffe Hall on the MCC campus. Anyone interested in presenting a paper should contact Dr. Mark Alterman at alterman@mccks.edu.

More from Chuck Colson

2008-09-25T11:05:00.002-05:00

Take time to go to Chuck Colson's website--Breakpoint--and review the offerings for the past two days. Colson provides an interesting perspective on the solution to the problem.

Chuck Colson and the Financial disaster

2008-09-23T12:12:00.002-05:00

Chuck Colson verifies what I wrote in an earlier blog about the financial situation in Washington and the mortgage industry. Where do we find men and women with an ounce of integrity to deal with our country today?

Accounting for Disaster
Wall Street, Congress, and You

September 23, 2008

I have said for the past year on "BreakPoint" that much of the financial crisis we are facing stems from moral failure—moral failure on the part of greedy Wall Street speculators, and moral failure on the part of ordinary Americans who bit off more mortgage than they could chew. And all of that is true.

But there is another cause of this crisis that we cannot ignore: the near-incestuous relationship between politicians and big-time government-supported financial institutions.

The near collapse and buyout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are prime examples of Washington corruption. For at least a decade, a few brave politicians have sought to reform these quasi-governmental behemoths, only to be beaten back by political power brokers. Why? Because, as they say, money talks.

Few politicians are unsullied. According to Politico.com, Fannie and Freddie spent more than $200 million lobbying Congress over the past decade. Among politicians, Barack Obama ranked number three in terms of campaign contributions received from the two agencies—more than $100,000. His chief advisor in the vice-presidential vetting process is a former CEO of Fannie Mae.

As for John McCain, to his credit, he has called for reform of both corporations. But according to the New York Times, his campaign manager "was paid more than $30,000 a month for five years as president of an advocacy group set up" by Fannie and Freddie "to defend them against stricter regulations."

So what did Fannie and Freddie get for their lobbying efforts? Political cover and huge compensation packages for their executives, like Franklin Raines, who received $91 million over a seven-year period. And they were pushed by House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank to dive into the incredibly risky sub-prime mortgage business.

Why would Frank and other politicians encourage that? Well, according to a recent Wall Street Journal article, Congressman Frank "pushed through" an "affordable housing" trust fund in the Congress, a fund that "siphons off . . . as much as $500 million a year each" from Fannie and Freddie profits to another "fund that politicians can then disburse to their favorite special interests."

So while the politicians were busy padding their cozy little nests, the chickens have come home to roost, and U. S. taxpayers—you and I—need hip waders.

The first step in the cleanup is a massive $700 billion plan proposed by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson. The government will buy up bad loans, some of which may be re-sold over time. The plan is necessary to stave off financial collapse.

Of course the people who are going to steer this plan through Congress are the very characters who brought us this crisis. And they are already looking for political and financial goodies they can hang on to the plan.

I've got a better idea. Those who steered Fannie and Freddie into the ground should return to the taxpayers their ridiculous compensation. And if there's criminality involved—either with corrupt executives or elected leaders—then let's have some indictments. Churck Colson in Breakpoint

Training for Congress

2008-09-22T21:25:00.001-05:00

An Indian walks into a cafe with a shotgun
in one hand pulling a male buffalo with the other.
He says to the waiter:

"Want coffee."

The waiter says, "Sure, Chief. Coming right up."



He gets the Indian a tall mug of coffee.
The Indian drinks the coffee down in one gulp,
turns and blasts the buffalo with the shotgun,
causing parts of the animal to splatter everywhere
And then just walks out.

The next morning the Indian returns.
He has his shotgun in one hand, pulling
Another male buffalo with the other.
He walks up to the counter and says to the waiter


"Want coffee."

  The waiter says "Whoa, Tonto!


We're still cleaning up your mess from yesterday.


What was all that about, anyway?"

The Indian smiles and proudly says ..

"Training for position in United States Congress:
Come in, drink coffee, shoot the bull,
leave mess for others to clean up,
disappear for rest of day.

The Death of Freedom

2008-09-22T20:55:00.001-05:00

Os Guinness told us a year ago that the secret to America's greatness was the ability to dialogue, to openly discuss issues and allow everyone to present his/her ideas without fear of rejection or reprisal. Dr. Guinness observed that we have lost that ability in our nation. Instead of dialogue the stress is on being politically correct. Many subjects are rapidly becoming off-limits.

See the following article from Mark Steyn:

Lights Out on Liberty

Mark Steyn
Author and Columnist

Mark Steyn's column appears in the New York Sun, theWashington Times, Philadelphia's Evening Bulletin, and theOrange County Register. In addition, he writes for The New Criterion, Maclean's in Canada, the Jerusalem Post, The Australian, and Hawke's Bay Today in New Zealand. The author of National Review's Happy Warrior column, he also blogs on National Review Online and appears weekly on the Hugh Hewitt Radio Show. He is the author of several books, most recently America Alone: The End of The World as We Know It. Born in Toronto, Mr. Steyn lives with his family in New Hampshire.

The following is adapted from a lecture delivered at Hillsdale College on March 13, 2008, while Mr. Steyn was in residence as a Eugene C. Pulliam Visiting Fellow in Journalism.

ON AUGUST 3, 1914, on the eve of the First World War, British Foreign Secretary Sir Edward Grey stood at the window of his office in the summer dusk and observed, "The lamps are going out all over Europe." Today, the lights are going out on liberty all over the Western world, but in a more subtle and profound way.

Much of the West is far too comfortable with state regulation of speech and expression, which puts freedom itself at risk. Let me cite some examples: The response of the European Union Commissioner for Justice, Freedom, and Security to the crisis over the Danish cartoons that sparked Muslim violence was to propose that newspapers exercise "prudence" on certain controversial subjects involving religions beginning with the letter "I." At the end of her life, the Italian writer Oriana Fallaci—after writing of the contradiction between Islam and the Western tradition of liberty—was being sued in France, Italy, Switzerland, and most other European jurisdictions by groups who believed her opinions were not merely offensive, but criminal. In France, author Michel Houellebecq was sued by Muslim and other "anti-racist groups" who believed the opinions of a fictional character in one of his novels were likewise criminal.

In Canada, the official complaint about my own so-called "flagrant Islamophobia"—filed by the Canadian Islamic Congress—attributes to me the following "assertions":

America will be an Islamic Republic by 2040. There will be a break for Muslim prayers during the Super Bowl. There will be a religious police enforcing Islamic norms. The USS Ronald Reagan will be renamed after Osama bin Laden. Females will not be allowed to be cheerleaders. Popular American radio and TV hosts will be replaced by Imams.

In fact, I didn't "assert" any of these things. They are plot twists I cited in my review of Robert Ferrigno's novel, Prayers for the Assassin. It's customary in reviewing novels to cite aspects of the plot. For example, a review of Moby Dick will usually mention the whale. These days, apparently, the Canadian Islamic Congress and the government's human rights investigators (who have taken up the case) believe that describing the plot of a novel should be illegal.

You may recall that Margaret Atwood, some years back, wrote a novel about her own dystopian theocratic fantasy, in which America was a Christian tyranny named the Republic of Gilead. What's to stop a Christian group from dragging a doting reviewer of Margaret Atwood's book in front of a Canadian human rights court? As it happens, Christian groups tend not to do that, which is just as well, because otherwise there wouldn't be a lot to write about.

These are small parts of a very big picture. After the London Tube bombings and the French riots a few years back, commentators lined up behind the idea that Western Muslims are insufficiently assimilated. But in their mastery of legalisms and the language of victimology, they're superbly assimilated. Since these are the principal means of discourse in multicultural societies, they've mastered all they need to know. Every day of the week, somewhere in the West, a Muslim lobbying group is engaging in an action similar to what I'm facing in Canada. Meanwhile, in London, masked men marched through the streets with signs reading "Behead the Enemies of Islam" and promising another 9/11 and another Holocaust, all while being protected by a phalanx of London policemen.

Thus we see that today's multicultural societies tolerate the explicitly intolerant and avowedly unicultural, while refusing to tolerate anyone pointing out that intolerance. It's been that way for 20 years now, ever since Valentine's Day 1989, when the Ayatollah Khomeini issued his fatwa against the novelist Salman Rushdie, a British subject, and shortly thereafter large numbers of British Muslims marched through English cities openly calling for Rushdie to be killed. A reader in Bradford wrote to me recalling asking a West Yorkshire policeman on the street that day why the various "Muslim community leaders" weren't being arrested for incitement to murder. The officer said they'd been told to "play it cool." The calls for blood got more raucous. My correspondent asked his question again. The policeman told him to "Push off" (he expressed the sentiment rather more Anglo-Saxonly, but let that pass) "or I'll arrest you." Mr. Rushdie was infuriated when the then Archbishop of Canterbury lapsed into root-cause mode. "I well understand the devout Muslims' reaction, wounded by what they hold most dear and would themselves die for," said His Grace. Rushdie replied tersely: "There is only one person around here who is in any danger of dying."

And that's the way it's gone ever since. For all the talk about rampant "Islamophobia," it's usually only the other party who is "in any danger of dying."

War on the Homefront

I wrote my book America Alone because I wanted to reframe how we thought about the War on Terror—an insufficient and evasive designation that has long since outlasted whatever usefulness it may once have had. It remains true that we are good at military campaigns, such as those in Iraq and Afghanistan. Our tanks and ships are better, and our bombs and soldiers are smarter. But these are not ultimately the most important battlefronts. We do indeed face what the strategists call asymmetric warfare, but it is not in the Sunni triangle or the Hindu Kush. We face it right here in the Western world.

Norman Podhoretz, among others, has argued that we are engaged in a second Cold War. But it might be truer to call it a Cold Civil War, by which I mean a war within the West, a war waged in our major cities. We now have Muslim "honor killings," for instance, not just in tribal Pakistan and Yemen, but in Germany and the Netherlands, in Toronto and Dallas. And even if there were no battles in Iraq and Afghanistan, and if no one was flying planes into tall buildings in New York City or blowing up trains, buses, and nightclubs in Madrid, London, and Bali, we would still be in danger of losing this war without a shot being fired.

The British government recently announced that it would be issuing Sharia-compliant Islamic bonds—that is, bonds compliant with Islamic law and practice as prescribed in the Koran. This is another reason to be in favor of small government: The bigger government gets, the more it must look for funding in some pretty unusual places—in this case wealthy Saudis. As The Mail on Sunday put it, this innovation marks "one of the most significant economic advances of Sharia law in the non-Muslim world."

At about the same time, The Times of London reported that "Knorbert the piglet has been dropped as the mascot of Fortis Bank, after it decided to stop giving piggy banks to children for fear of offending Muslims." Now, I'm no Islamic scholar, but Mohammed expressed no view regarding Knorbert the piglet. There's not a single sura about it. The Koran, an otherwise exhaustive text, is silent on the matter of anthropomorphic porcine representation.

I started keeping a file on pig controversies a couple of years ago, and you would be surprised at how routine they have become. Recently, for instance, a local government council prohibited its workers from having knickknacks on their desks representing Winnie the Pooh's sidekick Piglet. As Pastor Martin Niemoller might have said, "First they came for Piglet and I did not speak out because I was not a Disney character, and if I was, I'd be more of an Eeyore. Then they came for the Three Little Pigs and Babe, and by the time I realized the Western world had turned into a 24/7 Looney Tunes, it was too late, because there was no Porky Pig to stammer, 'Th-th-th-that's all folks!', and bring the nightmare to an end."

What all these stories have in common is excessive deference to—and in fact fear of—Islam. If the story of the Three Little Pigs is forbidden when Muslims still comprise less than ten percent of Europe's population, what else will be on the black list when they comprise 20 percent? In small but telling ways, non-Muslim communities are being persuaded that a kind of uber-Islamic law now applies to all. And if you don't remember the Three Little Pigs, by the way, one builds a house of straw, another of sticks, and both get blown down by the Big Bad Wolf. Western Civilization is a mighty house of bricks, but you don't need a Big Bad Wolf when the pig is so eager to demolish the house himself.

I would argue that these incremental concessions to Islam are ultimately a bigger threat than terrorism. What matters is not what the lads in the Afghan cave—the "extremists"—believe, but what the non-extremists believe, what people who are for the most part law-abiding taxpayers of functioning democracies believe. For example, a recent poll found that 36 percent of Muslims between the ages of 16 and 24 believe that those who convert to another religion should be punished by death. That's not 36 percent of young Muslims in Waziristan or Yemen or Sudan, but 36 percent of young Muslims in the United Kingdom. Forty percent of British Muslims would like to live under Sharia—in Britain. Twenty percent have sympathy for the July 7 Tube bombers. And, given that Islam is the principal source of population growth in every city down the spine of England from Manchester to Sheffield to Birmingham to London, and in every major Western European city, these statistics are not without significance for the future.

Because I discussed these facts in print, my publisher is now being sued before three Canadian human rights commissions. The plaintiff in my case is Dr. Mohamed Elmasry, a man who announced on Canadian TV that he approves of the murder of all Israeli civilians over the age of 18. He is thus an objective supporter of terrorism. I don't begrudge him the right to his opinions, but I wish he felt the same about mine. Far from that, posing as a leader of the "anti-hate" movement in Canada, he is using the squeamishness of a politically correct society to squash freedom.

As the famous saying goes, the price of liberty is eternal vigilance. What the Canadian Islamic Congress and similar groups in the West are trying to do is criminalize vigilance. They want to use the legal system to circumscribe debate on one of the great questions of the age: the relationship between Islam and the West and the increasing Islamization of much of the Western world, in what the United Nations itself calls the fastest population transformation in history.

Slippery Slope

Our democratic governments today preside over multicultural societies that have less and less glue holding them together. They've grown comfortable with the idea of the state as the mediator between interest groups. And confronted by growing and restive Muslim populations, they're increasingly at ease with the idea of regulating freedom in the interests of social harmony.

It's a different situation in America, which has the First Amendment and a social consensus that increasingly does not exist in Europe. Europe's consensus seems to be that Danish cartoonists should be able to draw what they like, but not if it sparks Islamic violence. It is certainly odd that the requirement of self-restraint should only apply to one party.

Last month, in a characteristically clotted speech followed by a rather more careless BBC interview, the Archbishop of Canterbury said that it was dangerous to have one law for everyone and that the introduction of Sharia to the United Kingdom was "inevitable." Within days of His Grace's remarks, the British and Ontario governments both confirmed that thousands of polygamous men in their jurisdictions are receiving welfare payments for each of their wives. Kipling wrote that East is East and West is West, and ne'er the twain shall meet. But when the twain do meet, you often wind up with the worst of both worlds. Say what you like about a polygamist in Waziristan or Somalia, but he has to do it on his own dime. To collect a welfare check for each spouse, he has to move to London or Toronto. Government-subsidized polygamy is an innovation of the Western world.

If you need another reason to be opposed to socialized health care, one reason is because it fosters the insouciant attitude to basic hygiene procedures that has led to the rise of deadly "superbugs." I see British Muslim nurses in public hospitals riddled with C. difficile are refusing to comply with hygiene procedures on the grounds that scrubbing requires them to bare their arms, which is un-Islamic. Which is a thought to ponder just before you go under the anaesthetic. I mentioned to some of Hillsdale's students in class that gay-bashing is on the rise in the most famously "tolerant" cities in Europe. As Der Spiegel reported, "With the number of homophobic attacks rising in the Dutch metropolis, Amsterdam officials are commissioning a study to determine why Moroccan men are targeting the city's gays."

Gee, whiz. That's a toughie. Wonder what the reason could be. But don't worry, the brain trust at the University of Amsterdam is on top of things: "Half of the crimes were committed by men of Moroccan origin and researchers believe they felt stigmatized by society and responded by attacking people they felt were lower on the social ladder. Another working theory is that the attackers may be struggling with their own sexual identity."

Bingo! Telling young Moroccan men they're closeted homosexuals seems certain to lessen tensions in the city! While you're at it, a lot of those Turks seem a bit light in their loafers, don't you think?

Our Suicidal Urge

So don't worry, nothing's happening. Just a few gay Muslims frustrated at the lack of gay Muslim nightclubs. Sharia in Britain? Taxpayer-subsidized polygamy in Toronto? Yawn. Nothing to see here. True, if you'd suggested such things on September 10, 2001, most Britons and Canadians would have said you were nuts. But a few years on and it doesn't seem such a big deal, nor will the next concession, or the one after that.

The assumption that you can hop on the Sharia Express and just ride a couple of stops is one almighty leap of faith. More to the point, who are you relying on to "hold the line"? Influential figures like the Archbishop of Canterbury? The politically correct bureaucrats at Canada's Human Rights Commissions? The geniuses who run Harvard, and who've just introduced gender-segregated swimming and gym sessions at the behest of Harvard's Islamic Society? (Would they have done that for Amish or Mennonite students?) The Western world is not run by fellows noted for their line-holding: Look at what they're conceding now and then try to figure out what they'll be conceding in five years' time. The idea that the West's multicultural establishment can hold the line would be more plausible if it was clear they had any idea where the line is, or even gave any indication of believing in one.

My book, supposedly Islamaphobic, isn't even really about Islam. The single most important line in it is the profound observation, by historian Arnold Toynbee, that "Civilizations die from suicide, not murder." One manifestation of that suicidal urge is illiberal notions harnessed in the cause of liberalism. In calling for the introduction of Sharia, the Archbishop of Canterbury joins a long list of Western appeasers, including a Dutch cabinet minister who said if the country were to vote to introduce Islamic law that would be fine by him, and the Swedish cabinet minister who said we should be nice to Muslims now so that Muslims will be nice to us when they're in the majority.

Ultimately, our crisis is not about Islam. It's not about fire-breathing Imams or polygamists whooping it up on welfare. It's not about them. It's about us. And by us I mean the culture that shaped the modern world, and established the global networks, legal systems, and trading relationships on which the planet depends.

To reprise Sir Edward Grey, the lamps are going out all over the world, and an awful lot of the map will look an awful lot darker by the time many Americans realize the scale of this struggle.

Shame on the bailers!

2008-09-22T20:00:00.003-05:00

The Super Bailout

The legislature is moving toward a 700 billion dollar bailout of the mortgage business. Part of the fable attached to it is that eventually we will get the money back. I would question this project even if I thought the purest of motives was behind it. But I have a greater concern. It is simple. Every time there is money involved, we also find a host of people who are more than willing to help themselves to it.

For example, benefit concerts were held for those who had lost loved ones in the 9/11 disaster. Much of that money simply disappeared. Very little of it made it to the people who were supposed to be helped. Entrepreneurs quickly saw an opportunity to make a quick buck and did so.

Every week we get calls from veterans organizations that call upon us to help veterans. It is a known fact that these telemarketing programs allow very little of the money they take in to get to the people for whom it is intended.

A young college girl in a skimpy outfit showed up at my door on Saturday wanting to tell me about how she was going to win a trip to Ireland and $5000.00 to go to school on. It all depended on collecting the necessary points. In a sultry voice, she said to me, "Would you like to know how I make points?" I told her I wasn't interested and she looked like I had just broken her heart. But I am familiar with this scam as well. Young people are conned into believing that they will raise big bucks and take great trips based upon the number of magazines they sell. But no one ever wins. Eventually this girl along with many others are going to be broken hearted because they were taken in.

In the September 10, 2008 edition of the San Francisco Chronicle an article discussing the waste by FEMA in New Orleans in the aftermath of Katrina reported:

"A report by the Homeland Security Department's office of inspector general, obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press, is the latest to detail mismanagement in the multibillion-dollar Katrina hurricane recovery effort, which investigators have said wasted at least $1 billion.

The review examined temporary housing contracts awarded without competition to Shaw Group Inc., Bechtel Group Inc., CH2M Hill Companies Ltd. and Fluor Corp. in the days immediately before and after the August 2005 storm that smashed into the U.S. Gulf Coast.

It found that FEMA wasted at least $45.9 million on the four contracts that together were initially worth $400 million. FEMA subsequently raised the total amounts for the four contracts twice, both times without competition, to $2 billion and then $3 billion."

Again, there were people more than willing to steal from the U. S. Government and most likely will go totally unpunished for the theft. These were people who took advantage of a disaster and pocketed the profits while the people who needed help were left low and wet (in contrast to "high and dry").

Now the government wants to come up with $700,000,000,000 to bail out the mortgage companies who foolishly issued mortgages for inflated loans that the recipients had little or no hope of repaying. For a while I was receiving from reputable lenders offers of $250,000-500,000 loans. If I paid my entire salary on such loans I could not keep up with the payments. Why would any business in its right mind (or left one for that matter) make such outrageous offers to people? Now they want the government to bail them out.

Seven hundred billion dollars offers unbelievable sums to those who are willing to steal under any circumstances. My humble prognosis is that if that money is made available at least one-half of it will be lost to corrupt politicians and bankers. Congress will call for hearings. There will be the traditional browbeating, but when the day comes to an end, a lot of people are going to be a great deal richer at the expense of my children and grand children.

This is a project to help the rich and famous, not the poor, the down and out, and the people who are going to lose their homes this year.

9/11 seven years later

2008-09-11T15:10:00.001-05:00

Anniversary of World Trade Center bombing—A Black Swan Event

Nassim Nicholas Talib, author of The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable, provides insight to the significance of this event. It has some powerful lessons, but I am not going to deal with them now.

As part of an exam today I asked students to reflect on what happened on this day seven years ago. Most of them would have been 13 or 14 years old. Out of 20 students few seemed to have any appreciation for what took place. Some were not aware of the number of aircraft involved and none knew that 3000 people died in all the disasters.

Student observations

Several students recognized the new status that "terrorists" received. They also recognized that some people have a tendency to label all Arab peoples as terrorists, which is unfortunate and unfair. It is much like the time when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Immediately the Japanese in the continental United States, many of whom had been here several generations, were persecuted and moved to interment camps where they would spend their existence until the end of the war.

We also have the wars, first in Afghanistan and then in Iraq in the war against terrorism. But terrorism knows no battlefield. Anyplace can be the battlefield. The enemy can attack without warning and is difficult to control when we use conventional warfare tactics.

For a short period of time churches experienced significant growth, but it was not long lasting.

Good observations: "This event changed our nation forever."

"It showed the world what catastrophic damage a few people can cause."

"However, security, travel, and basic American freedoms have been altered."

Talib noted in his book we tend to spend our time analyzing what happened with the intent that we will keep it from happening again. For example, the intensity of airport security. Also the price of oil and petrol at the pumps. And the effect on Wall Street. But that is the nature of a Black Swan event. It comes in an unexpected fashion and thus there is no way to prepare to deal with it. Instead we have to deal with the aftermath.

The student who said, "This event changed our nation forever," saw the real picture. I'm sure studies will come out this week discussing the difference what it was like before 9/11 and what it is like after 9/11. The highest price we have paid is the loss of personal freedoms in the name of security.

The terrorists could not have found a more effective way to wage war than what they did. We are still attempting to bring them under control. They are still popping all over the globe and terrorizing people. If history has anything to say about this, we discover the terrorists usually win. A major change in the style of warfare gave the colonists the edge over the British who were still fighting wars in the old fashioned way. Terrorists exploit the statement, "All is fair in love and war." There are no rules. The one who is successful will be the winner regardless of the tactics.

2008-09-08T18:02:00.001-05:00

Give Glory to God

A famous evangelist from the 19^th century put it well when he said, "Prayer honors God, it dishonors self."

The Pharisees were noted for prayers that were designed to bring glory to themselves. They wanted people to notice that they were at prayer. Even by the way they dressed and acted they were desiring the glory of men. Of course, it is easy to condemn them. They are a convenient target especially since they lived 2000 years ago and are really incapable of defending themselves.

One of the troubling things that we find in our generation is the general disregard for the Bible and its message. I realize that I am definitely out of synch with this society. I am not a pluralist nor do I have a strong desire to be politically correct. For example, you have to be careful about how you use the term "Blackberry" which is actually a high-powered cell phone and pocket computer. Already some members of the African-American society have taken offense at the name. In my history the term "blackberry" referred to a fruit on the vine that made great jam, jelly and ice-cream topping. I did not see any racial connections with it.

We find other teachers, usually claiming to be Christians, who tell us that we can demand things of God. Especially noteworthy is the health and wealth gospelers who are telling people God owes them and all they need to do is ask for it. In other words God can be manipulated to meet my own desires and wants. I come from the old school that says we do not demand anything from God. Everything we have comes from God to begin with, and we are never to demand anything. Even in prayer, we are in the asking mode, regardless of how desperate we might be. James reminds us in 1:5-8 and 4:1-4 about this.

When we see Jesus we realize that in his prayers his concern was for the glory of God. Three things should be evident in our prayers:

Who God is
What God wants
How He can be glorified
"Those who teach otherwise are not preoccupied with the extension of Christ's kingdom or the glory of God's name but with the enlargement of their own empire and the fulfillment of their own selfish desires. Such teaching attacks the heart of Christian truth—the very character of God."

Jonah learned how to pray in the belly of a great fish. Jonah may have thought that he had the right to demand that God deliver him from the disaster he had created for himself. Instead he chose to give glory to God.

1 ¹Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God ^afrom the stomach of the fish,

2 and he said,

"I ^acalled out of my distress to the Lord,

And He answered me.

I cried for help from the ¹depth of ^bSheol;

You heard my voice.

3 "For You had ^acast me into the deep,

Into the heart of the seas,

And the current ¹engulfed me.

All Your ^bbreakers and billows passed over me.

4 "So I said, 'I have been ^aexpelled from ¹Your sight.

Nevertheless I will look again ^btoward Your holy temple.'

5 "^aWater encompassed me to the ¹point of death.

The great ^bdeep ²engulfed me,

Weeds were wrapped around my head.

6 "I ^adescended to the roots of the mountains.

The earth with its ^bbars was around me forever,

But You have ^cbrought up my life from ¹the pit, O Lord my God.

7 "While ¹I was ^afainting away,

I ^bremembered the Lord,

And my ^cprayer came to You,

Into ^dYour holy temple.

8 "Those who ^aregard ¹vain idols

Forsake their faithfulness,

9 But I will ^asacrifice to You

With the voice of thanksgiving.

That which I have vowed I will ^bpay.

^cSalvation is from the Lord."

The story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego.—Daniel chapter 3, see especially vv. 13-18.

There is not a hint of demand. These boys were innocent of disobeying God, but they about to die for their faithfulness. Why not demand the protection of God? Note again vv. 16-18.

Daniel in the lions' den. Entrapment involved. But Daniel does not cry out to God to demand that he be delivered.

And with that we are going to begin considering the various parts of the Lord's prayer, because it is a prayer designed to bring glory to God.

Lance Armstrong

2008-09-08T17:58:00.001-05:00

For all you bicycling fans. Lance Armstrong is going race again in 2009. That will shake up the racing world. He ought to be good for two or three more Tour de Frances.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/more/09/08/lance.ap/index.html

A Heart Set on God

2008-09-08T17:52:00.001-05:00

A Heart Set on God

John MacArthur reminds us that because we live in such a free and prosperous society we tend to put our security in ourselves and where we live rather than depending on God's grace. We have accepted the idea that we have the best in our physical blessings and are not really concerned about spiritual blessings. Why should I be concerned about my relationship with God as long as I have good health, enough money, a good home, good car, and for some of us, a good computer, one dog and one cat, a good wife and happy children?

Likewise we look at the church with the same eyes of prosperity. If things are going well we thank ourselves for doing such a good job. If there is growth then we are responsible for it and we confuse human success with divine blessing. The materialism of the world is present likewise in the church. Everything must have a numeric value to it or we are not interested. Many live as though God is not necessary. If we count the amount of time we talk to him, then he is not necessary at all.

Think about your own children. Arletta and I have five children and a foster daughter. We have nine grandchildren. Some of our children we hear from regularly, several times a week. We never hear from our foster daughter. Rarely do we hear from our grandchildren. Some of them have not even taken the time to say "Thanks" for expensive gifts. What does that say about our relationship. If we were pragmatic non-Christians, we might say to the non-communicators, "Someday, when the final will and testament is read, you may find yourself receiving a token dollar. You did not have time for us when we were alive and we have nothing for you in death."

People who choose to ignore God all their lives even though they claim to be Christians may find themselves in a similar boat, except that this boat is crossing the river Styx on its way to Hades.

MacArthur then adds, "Christians can actually behave like practical humanists, living as if God were not necessary. When that happens, passionate longing for God and yearning for His help will be missing—along with His empowerment." So we are called upon by Paul to "pray at all times" (Eph. 6:18) and to "devote yourselves to prayer" (Col. 4:2).

THE FREQUENCY OF PRAYER

How often did Jesus pray?
- Ministry lasted only three and a half years
- Prayer was a daily habit
- Often early in the morning
- Usually alone
- Had special places to pray, such as the Garden of Gethsemane or the Mount of Olives
- "Prayer was the spiritual air that Jesus breathed every day of His life."

"He urged His disciples to do the same. He said, "Keep on the alert at all times, praying in order that you may have strength to escape all these things that are about to take place" (Luke 21:36)."

Frequency of prayer in the early church
- The 120 before the Day of Pentecost gathered in the Upper Room, "with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer" (Acts 1:14).
- The first 3000 converts were noted for being involved in prayer.
- The apostles believed prayer was their most important ministry (Acts 6:4)
- The consistent practice of the Apostle Paul(Rom. 1:9–10; cf. 1 Cor. 1:4; Eph. 5:20; Phil. 1:4; Col. 1:3; 1 Thes. 1:2; 2 Thes. 1:3, 11; Phile. 4)
- Paul: "Pray without ceasing." Also Phil 4:6, Col 4:2; Romans 12:12; Ephesians 6:18

Olivia Jean Paddock, great grandchild #1

2008-09-08T09:42:00.003-05:00

Well we welcomed Olivia into the world Saturday Sept 6, 2008 at 7:17pm. She weighs 6 lbs 14 oz, 20 inches long and eats like no other. She has her dads blue eyes and big ole nose and toes. Her hair is sandy blonde. She looks like a doll you would buy at the store. She loves to be held and just stares at you the whole time. Here is a couple shots of the son and grandma holding her. Nate has changed every diaper since she was born. She is the light of his life and to see his happiness and joy is over whelming. More to come later.

Tad

Harry and Elaine Scates--missionaries par excellent

2008-09-08T08:05:00.002-05:00

The following article was written in honor of Harry and Elaine Scates on their fiftieth wedding anniversary which they celebrated in Brazil. They are an excellent example of tent-making missions and commitment to God.

From: Harry Scates

Date: 9/7/2008 11:31:42 PM

To: HH SCATES

Subject: A Love Story

This was written by Harry and Elaine's daughter Robin and was read at their 50th wedding anniversary celebration. Many of the people mentioned in this narritive were present.

HARRY AND ELAINE – A LOVE STORY

Source: Pes Formosos www.pesformosos.com for English click on the British flag

Married for fifty years and still in love. Fifty years in ministry together, and still active and fruitful. Forty-five years in Brazil and they still have a fire for missions in their hearts. Together, always together... united in dreams and fulfillments.

Today we celebrate a Love Story which we all are part of. Right from the beginning we want to give all glory and honor to Jesus Christ our Lord, who has allowed us to take part in his redeeming plan. Thank God we are here as one family – God’s family!

Let’s go back to our Love Story.

Harry Dawes Scates and Helen Elaine Scates, for us here in Brazil, Ary and Helena, knew each other when they were still quite young. But, they only became good friends and fell in love at the age of 21. Three months after they had renewed their friendship they got married. A primary factor in this decision was their mutual commitment to serve the Lord in other lands. At the age of 26, (they are the same age with a 4 month difference) they came to Brazil by ship and arrived at the harbour in Santos after a 12 day journey. The date was January 04, 1963.

But, how did it all begin?

Well, Harry was born on February 14, 1937 in Palisade, Colorado, the fourth child (of six boys) of Erskine Edward Scates and Faith Marie Scates. His parents were people of faith and his father was the founder of many churches in western Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah and co-founder of Intermountain Bible College in Grand Junction. Harry accepted Jesus’ Lordship while still a boy he heard about Brazil for the very first time, through David Lloyd Sanders, a missionary who was a guest speaker at his church in 1947. Harry’s brother Richard used to say that he wanted to be a missionary. But, in 1950,Richard (Dick) passed away at the age of 16 due to a severe kidney disease and in the midst of the pain of that loss, Harry in tears said to the Lord that if Dick couldn’t be a missionary, he would take his place. Then at a summer church camp it became clear to Harry that the place he would serve the Lord was Brazil. Ever since then all his academic and professional preparation were directed to his calling. After high school he attended Mesa College and Intermountain Bible College.

What about Elaine? This virtuous woman, with firm character, the second of 06 children was born on October 4, 1936 in Arthur, Nebraska to Chalmer and Coral Wade. Like everyone in her family she learned to work hard and at an early age, especially through the influence of her mother, she accepted Christ as her Lord and Savior. She prepared for Christian service by going to Moody Bible Institute in Chicago specializing in children’s education. She was always close to her folks and siblings and her sweetness and faith were captivating.

After their wedding, Harry and Elaine moved to Grand Valley(Parachute),Colorado to pastor the Christian Church there. That’s where they received their practical ministry training. Later, Harry got a master’s degree in history at Kansas State Un. at Hays and after 3 years of marriage their first born, Robin Renee arrived. One year later they left for Brazil leaving behind their relatives and their nation, very much aware that they would never again come back to reside permanantly in the USA. The Lord had given them this conviction, that they were to be sown like seed into this new country that they had decided to love without first seeing it. After studying Portuguese for one year in Campinas, they were invited to help with the newly established church in the new capital, Brasilia. They served the Christian Church there under the pastoral covering of veteran missionaries David Lloyd and Ruth Sanders. In Brasilia, they adopted a beautiful baby boy, and they named him Todd Marcos. In 1965, another daughter was born, Ann Valette, and in 1968 another son, Lance Sergio.

In January of 1969, under God’s guidance, the Scates family moved to Uberlandia, MG. They knew they were to start a new work there. God had given them a vision of a New Testament church with Holy Spirit power and love to win and unite people.

Their conviction was that the Lord had told them to put roots down and learn to live off of the land. In order to do this they opened a private school to teach English as a second language. They named this school Escola Speak English, and initially Harry and missionary colleague Lynn Cleaveland taught. The Cleavelands helped out in several ways until they returned to the USA in 1974. A young Brazilian named Geser was their language lab technicion. When the children got old enough to go to school, Elaine helped out. This school served its financial purpose of providing a living for the family and it opened up contacts in the city during the17 years it was functioning. And with the profits from the school, the couple was able to buy several pieces of land behind the army base at a time when there was nothing but scrub forest there. Later on this property which was named Shalom was donated to the church that was to be birthed.

From 1969 to 1975 many Bible study groups were formed. Harry and Elaine opened the first Christian bookstore in town, prepared a correspondence Bible Course, did radio evangelism, evangelized in the schools by projecting Christian movies and Harry and a team of men preached and taught regularly in the city jail. They were involved in social assistance of the most various kinds, but little fruit was gathered. It was time for much sowing, but still not time for the harvest. Many did not trust these foreigners and many times they were misinterpreted. But, they remained firm. They raised their four children teaching them to love God above all things and to love people regardless of colour, race or economic standing.

They loved Brazil to the point they were willing to abnegate their American citizenship to become Brazilians. The law at that time did not accept dual citizenship. They wanted to vote, be like the people, and in many ways participate in the building of this great nation. Also, the country was under a military dictatorship and Harry was threatened by a local authority because he was hosting a meeting where the only crime was hearing the witness of an ex-drug trafficker they had won in the city jail and who had served his time. At that time, because they were foreigners, the family could be expelled from the country within 48 hours without any legal recourse. They decided to become Brazilians to make that possibility a little harder. (Today, they have both their Brazilian and American passports).

As of 1975 Harry and Elaine together with new missionaries Jim and Carol Sturgeon and Jim and Sandy Bunch began to reap the first fruit that has remained to this very day. Jose Pereira and his wife Ana were baptised in June of 1975 and Marcia Batista in September of that same year.

In 1976 something wonderful began to take place...dozens of young people began to come to Christ, and their lives were profoundly changed. This fire began to spread from some meetings held Saturday afternoons at a school. Robin Scates (16) was one of God’s instruments in lighting this fire. Most of these young people had no family reference and were helped by Harry and Elaine, who opened their home for these youth. They needed to be taught and needed orientation. Above all they needed a father figure...

This revival and love time was remarkable! The church that was then birthed had a face: Love! Harry and Elaine’s care was a consolidating force in this Godly move in the lives of so many. Their home seemed to be a bus station... and many ended up living in this home-bus station. Some had no home and ended up being included in the family as children. The family went from 04 children to 09.

Beginning in 1980, leadership training became the emphasis of Harry and Elaine’s ministry. Leaders and pastors were prepared for the local church and in order to open up new works in other cities in Brazil and in other countries. During those years the coming of pastor Iron Bernardes and his family was really important for the structuring of the church in areas in which Harry felt weak. (Evangelism, and Prophetic gifts). His humility in sharing the ministry with Iron turned the church into a richly blessed community with the flowering of many gifts among so many and it grew a lot.

Beginning in 1983 and until now (2008) leaders were sent to the cities of Cuiaba, São Miguel, Anapolis, Ribeirao Preto, Maraba, Patos de Minas, Ibia, Coromandel, Capinopolis, Prata... and daughter and link churches from these and other cities and towns (almost 60) were adopted; Araguari, Uberaba, Belem, Brasilia, Ceilandia, São Paulo besides the churches in other nations such as France, England, Ireland, Spain, India.

One can say that one of the main attributes of the couple’s life and ministry is that they are always PRESENT... they are accessible, they are wonderful friends, they are wise and humble. They are an example of a lasting marriage, of good parenting, of family values, of Christian ministry. Their hearts are generous and their acts full of compassion and love. They are always inclusive and hospitable. They are servants...

Tonight we want to honor you! The city of Uberlandia has already honored you. The city’s ministerial council honors you as one of its founders. The local church that you founded composed of 3,500 members honors you. Your co-pastors honor you as father and mother of this ministry. Ministries of other cities and nations honor you.

Your children honor you, they are an extension of your lives and ministry. Your grandchildren honor you for they carry a precious inheritance of faith, love, character and faithfulness. We were all marked by God through your lives. You have always given us your best and we want to give you our love.

Your marriage Harry and Elaine is an example of companionship, mutual care and marriage covenant. Always together... be it walking around the park for exercises, or be it during the great number of trips around Brazil and to other nations. Wherever you pass by, your influence continues on, each person is treated as special. We feel special for being part of your lives, your family, your ministry... Time goes by... but your influence remains... you will never be forgotten... we will be together

Todd Scates

tmscates@yahoo.com.br

Explore the seven wonders of the world Learn more!

Sarah Palin under siege

2008-09-03T15:27:00.003-05:00

As I watched the news this morning on the sacred channel, source of all truth, wisdom, and culture--GMA--I realized that the media has decided that Sarah Palin is a dangerous entity. This bunch of hypocrites who push abortion and euthanasia, homosexuality, and blatant immorality now are complaining because Sarah Palin's daughter is pregnant outside of marriage. Thus the younger Palin is being treated that girls in this condition were treated 50 years ago. Yet many of the media culture are either unmarried or openly approve such relationships. But this is a smokescreen for the real purpose in the attacks.

Why is Sarah Palin dangerous? She represents a real threat to the present status quo. So it is important to do all that can be done to destroy her image and discredit her as a person. Every potential adversary is being interviewed in Alaska to demonstrate that Sarah is not who she claims to be.

Why don't we have some interviews with people who don't like Senators Biden and Obama? Simple. The media wants them to win.

"A Breath of Fresh Air"

2008-08-30T11:54:00.006-05:00

I have come very close to total despair as I watched the machinations and posturings of the various political candidates for President. The amount of money they are spending (more than one-quarter billion dollars) is obscene when you consider the good for which the money could be used. And they want to tell us how to lead this great country. Kansas State University, for example, could use some of that money to simply maintain the structures they presently have.

But yesterday with the arrival of Governor Sarah Palin on the scene I again began to see hope. My daughter in Alaska has met this women on a professional level and has told me about the work Gov. Palin has done to remove corruption from the Alaskan government. She is a highly respected person and an outstanding parent and wife. Her husband is hard-working and belongs to the Teamsters union. Of course the muck-raking Democrats will work to find something to discredit this fine lady. A pox be on their house for doing it!

My prayer would be that there more Sarah Palins appear on the scene and began the massive project of cleaning up the graft, pork-barrel spending, and corruption in our country. Alaska made a lot of money from oil this year and she put that money back in the pockets of the residents of Alaska. In Kansas we pay outrageous taxes while our politicians find new pet projects to spend them on. If I received a check from the state of Kansas I would assume a mistake had been made.

Finally, a breath of fresh air and a candidate I will be comfortable voting for!

Eric Liddell--champion of champions

2008-08-23T16:36:00.003-05:00

Read Ben Witherington's blog for August on Eric Liddell. Pay special attention to the last paragraph in the blog that says, "Though what Michael Phelps accomplished at this Olympics will long redound to his glory, what Eric Liddle did both at the 1924 Olympics and throughout his life will redound to God's glory, and, as those bonny Scots would say, "that's more than a wee bit greater."

http://benwitherington.blogspot.com/

Alone with God—a life of prayer

2008-08-21T19:49:00.001-05:00

Alone with God

I've seen the lightning flashing, I've heard the thunder roll.
I've felt sin's breakers dashing, which almost conquered my soul.
I've heard the voice of my Savior, bidding me still to fight on.
He promised never to leave me, never to leave me alone!

Refrain

No, never alone, no never alone,
He promised never to leave me,
He'll claim me for His own;
No, never alone, no never alone.
He promised never to leave me,
Never to leave me alone.

The world's fierce winds are blowing, temptation sharp and keen.
I have a peace in knowing my Savior stands between—
He stands to shield me from danger when my friends are all gone.
He promised never to leave me, never to leave me alone!

Refrain

When in affliction's valley I tread the road of care,
My Savior helps me carry the cross so heavy to bear;
Though all around me is darkness, earthly joys all flown;
My Savior whispers His promise, never to leave me alone!

Refrain

He died on Calvary's mountain, for me they piercèd His side.
For me He opened that fountain, the crimson, cleansing tide.
For me He waiteth in glory, seated upon His throne.
He promised never to leave me, never to leave me alone!

RefrainWords:
Ludie D. Pickett, 1897. http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/n/e/neveralo.htm

I will confess that there are times in my life when I am alone and there have been times when I have been lonely. Being alone simply means that no one else is around. For a period of time you are in your own little world. Your thoughts are on that world and you can choose to focus on the beauty of a prairie flower or the movement of a dragonfly, the hummingbird who can hover for long periods of time. At such times we can get close to God because no noise, no television, no conversation, no computer beeps and whistles, interferes with our conversation with God.

Being lonely is when you feel that you have been abandoned, left alone, and a sense of no-one-really-cares.

Both being alone and being lonely can occur when there are all sorts of people around. The presence of people does not guarantee we will not feel we are alone.

For Christians it sometimes means that we must stand alone in the vast sea of evil that flows around us.

Prayer is one time when we can be alone with God. If we can be alone with God then there is no time when we will be lonely.

Martyn Lloyd-Jones once wrote: "Prayer is beyond any question the highest activity of the human soul. Man is at his greatest and highest when upon his knees he comes face to face with God"

No spiritual exercise is such a blending of complexity and simplicity. It is the simplest form of speech that infant lips can try, yet the sublimest strains that reach the Majesty on high. It is as appropriate to the aged philosopher as to the little child. It is the ejaculation of a moment and the attitude of a lifetime. It is the expression of the rest of faith and of the fight of faith. It is an agony and an ecstasy. It is submissive and yet importunate. In the one moment it lays hold of God and binds the devil. It can be focused on a single objective and it can roam the world. It can be abject confession and rapt adoration. It invests puny man with a sort of omnipotence (Effective Prayer [Chicago: Moody, 1969], 7).

The essence of prayer

The ability to talk to God as you would to a beloved friend. But this is where many believers have trouble. Some people think you have use a prayer voice, one that sounds much more religious or holy, a Charleton Heston version of Moses. Some think that you have to use prayer language, language that will reach the heart of God better than other language. Some think you have to have the right theology, especially in your prayer requests, or God will not consider your prayers. Some think you have to be in the right position, on your knees, on your face, with your arms in the air. Others think they need to be prayer guardians and make sure everyone's prayers are only the prayers that should be offered.

Modern Jews do not use one biblical name for God—Yahweh. Sometime before the time of Jesus on earth, about 300 BC, the Jewish leaders decided that they could no longer pronounce the name of God. As with any name there was the risk of mispronunciation.

I cannot hear it myself, but when nine times out of ten when I give someone my name, it comes out to them Haddock. I have to carefully walk them through the name like you would a kindergartener. I think the fault is mine, but I have never been able to correct it.

The story is told of a young man who had trouble remembering names. So when he met someone he should know, he would say, "Now, do you spell that with an "I" or an "E"? That worked fine until one when the respondent said in an irritated fashion, "My name is HILL."

Every year I have to acquaint myself with a minimum of 100 new names of students. Ninety percent of the time I get it done correctly, but there will be those whose names I mispronounce and sometimes really butcher.

So the Jewish leaders concluded, "We dare not offend God by mispronouncing his name. "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord in vain." Explanation—you can be in serious trouble if you mispronounce God's name, so the smart thing to do is not pronounce it at all.

Thus, when we place all kinds of requirements on how prayer ought to be done, we are doing the same thing to people the Jewish leaders did to their people. Needless to say all these phantom requirements causes some people to avoid prayer because they are afraid they will make an error and be eternally damned by God.

Meanwhile, back to the ranch. Prayer is our time of conversation with God. When we pray it should be as though we are talking to God like we would to a friend.

Why is prayer so hard for some people? We have to recognize that God has granted us great power through prayer and the enemy would like to disable us if at all possible. So the devil encourages us to:

Sleep

Watch TV

Enjoy personal pursuits

Read

Even read the Bible

Focus on good deeds

Anything that helps us avoid spending time in prayer

We often turn prayer into a task that we hate to do, but feel that it is necessary. Take cleaning house. We have two dogs and two cats, not counting human beings. We know that we can vacuum every day or even twice a day, but there is a sure guarantee that we will have to do it again the next day. We could clean for hours on one day and still need to vacuum again the next day. Why? Because dogs and cats have this wonderful ability to produce hair which they shed which goes everywhere and thus we need to clean every day. How exciting. "Hey, the vacuum cleaner picked up a pound of hair today. That was a little less than yesterday, but the record was set in January at 1 lb. 5 oz. I'm not sure we can beat that record."

I wear one of those pedometer gadgets to keep track of how far I walk. They tell us we need to walk 10,000 steps a day, which is about five miles. I am up to 7000, so I have a ways to go.

Is that our attitude toward prayer then? I have to put in so much time or else I will not be in good standing with God?

Instead look at it like visiting with a good friend. I have known of these conversations lasting for hours, yet we never really kept track of the time. We should be excited about our conversations with God. God is more than a good friend, but he allows us to treat him as a good friend.

I have a good relationship with the new president of MCC. Occasionally we will interact by e-mail and set a date when we will go somewhere, have a cup of coffee, and talk over various matters. He is still the president, my boss, but we are friends. I come to these events without any fear or trepidation. Rather, I know that he is concerned about me as well as my opinions. That is our relationship with God, but we don't have to use e-mail to make an appointment. All we need to do is pause in our driven, fast-paced lives, and say, "Here I am God. I came to talk to you today."

Prayer is not the place where we attempt to manipulate God into what we want. Here we take on the role of children. A child soon learns techniques by which he/she can manipulate parents. I see this in stores all the time. A child finds something he wants. Mother says No. And then the screaming begins, "You don't love me!" "Why can't I have what I want?" The good parent knows what is good for the child and so chooses not to give them what they think they want.

Finally, prayer is a barometer of our spiritual life. When we are alone with God we have to examine the person we really are.

Prayer is then according to Martyn Lloyd Jones:

It is the highest activity of the human soul, and therefore it is at the same time the ultimate test of a man's true spiritual condition. There is nothing that tells the truth about us as Christian people so much as our prayer life. . . . Ultimately, therefore, a man discovers the real condition of his spiritual life when he examines himself in private, when he is alone with God. . . . And have we not all known what it is to find that, somehow, we have less to say to God when we are alone than when we are in the presence of others? It should not be so; but it often is. So that it is when we have left the realm of activities and outward dealings with other people, and are alone with God, that we really know where we stand in a spiritual sense (Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, 2 vols. [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1979], 2:45).

Thank you, Grandma Mary Clark

2008-08-19T21:35:00.001-05:00

The end of an era

Today, August 19, I received an e-mail from an old family friend in Colorado. He wrote to tell me that Mary Clark, known to us as Grandma Clark, a Navajo, had passed away two weeks ago. This man and his brother collected her body at the funeral home and took Grandma Clark to Red Mesa Arizona where she would be buried. The young men's father had come to the Navajo Reservation in the 1960s and wanted to build a home on the Reservation. It was necessary to have tribal permission for such a move and such decisions often took several months. A long process of consensus had to take place. Everyone in the area would have opportunity to express how he or she felt about the decision. At the end of the process, the matriarch of the area, Mary Clark, announced the decision that the family could come to the Reservation.

In my home today I have pictures taken of Mary Clark back in the sixties. She was old then, but according to the records of the Cavalry, she must have been around 102 years of age when she died. Mary Clark never became a believer nor did any of her extended family even though they had contact with missionaries and Christian workers for fifty years. Mary Clark is one of those people whom God chose to accomplish his will but who never came to a saving relationship with the true and living God. Hundreds of Navajos came to Christ because of Mary Clark's decision.

I remember on one occasion that Mary Clark had been bitten by a dog. A missionary who had been a medic in Viet Nam offered to sew up the cut. He broke his needles on her leather-like skin. She screamed in pain when he tried to push the needles through. Eventually he had to take a pair of pliers to get the needle through. When the process was over Mary Clark thanked the young man.

Growing up Mary Clark experienced a very rigorous life. Her father had lived through the attacks of the U. S. Cavalry. Kit Carson came to the Navajo Reservation and massacred hundreds of Navajos. Thus whenever I hear of the great things Kit Carson did, I want to spit in disgust. Mary and her siblings had to run several miles through the snow, jump in an ice-covered pond and then run back to the Hogan while being soaking wet. Her father believed that the Navajos would only survive if they were tough.

As was done all over the United States the Native Americans were driven off their lands so that we good white folk could have the land and the wealth that it possessed. But the government decided that the desert land on which the Navajos lived was worthless. So the Navajos were allowed to keep their homeland.

Today oil, gas, coal, and uranium have been discovered. The wealth was not given directly to the people. Instead it was put into schools, roads, and scholarships for college. This wise use of the money helped the Navajos to be a prosperous people while other Native American tribes were facing serious crises. I felt a special thrill when I saw a huge LeTourneau earthmover being driven by a Navajo. He was in an air-conditioned cab and was hauling coal out of an open pit to fuel an electric power plant. The earthmover had electric wheels that received their power from a generator driven by a huge diesel engine.

Mary Clark lived to see all these changes. Many of the old ways that were good have probably passed away.

The Russians are at it again

2008-08-19T20:31:00.002-05:00

On the seventeenth of August, 1960, Francis Gary Powers was convicted of espionage when his U-2 plane was shot out of the sky by a Russian missile. Here is the story from Encyclopedia Britannica.

(1960), confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union that began with the shooting down of a U.S. U-2 reconnaissance plane over the Soviet Union and that caused the collapse of a summit conference in Paris between the United States, the Soviet Union, Great Britain, and France.

On May 5 the Soviet premier Nikita S. Khrushchev told the Supreme Soviet of the U.S.S.R. that an American spy plane had been shot down on May 1 over Sverdlovsk (now Yekaterinburg), referring to the flight as an "aggressive act" by the United States.

On May 7 he revealed that the pilot of the plane, Francis Gary Powers, had parachuted to safety, was alive and well in Moscow, and had testified that he had taken off from Peshāwar, in Pakistan, with the mission of flying across the Soviet Union over the Aral Sea and via Sverdlovsk, Kirov, Arkhangelsk, and Murmansk to Bodö military airfield in Norway, collecting intelligence information en route. Powers admitted working for the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency.

On May 7 the United States stated that there had been no authorization for any such flight as Khrushchev had described, although a U-2 probably had flown over Soviet territory. The Soviet Union refused to accept that the U.S. government had had no knowledge of the flights and on May 13 sent protest notes to Turkey, Pakistan, and Norway, which in turn protested to the United States, seeking assurances that no U.S. aircraft would be allowed to use their territories for unauthorized purposes. On May 16 in Paris Khrushchev declared that the Soviet Union could not take part in the summit talks unless the U.S. government immediately stopped flights over Soviet territory, apologized for those already made, and punished the persons responsible. The response of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, promising to suspend all such flights during the remainder of his presidency, did not satisfy the Soviet Union, and the conference was adjourned on May 17.

Francis Gary Powers was tried (August 17–19) and sentenced to 10 years' confinement, but he was exchanged for the Soviet spy Rudolf Abel on Feb. 10, 1962.

Those of us who remember those days recall the tension in the world between the United States and the USSR. Everyone was aware that one mistake could result in a world-wide apocalyptic conflagration that would truly bring the world to an end. Enough atom bombs had been produced to destroy the entire earth 25 times. The story of Powers demonstrates the extent the spy agencies went to in an effort to learn what the other side was doing.

We are facing a new showdown with the Russian bear. The affair in Georgia is just a testing of the waters. Several spoke up for the Georgians, but no one stepped forward to actually stand in defense of the Georgians. There is now a strong likelihood the Russians will invade Poland. WOW! Déjà vu. What will do then? Will we capitulate like Chamberlain did at the beginning of World War 2 and believe that the Russians have good intentions? It is my own belief that the Russians have been preparing for this for years under the radar and now they are ready to make test runs.

We may again wonder why no one listened to a wise military prophet named George Patton who said at the end of World War 2 that we needed to move into Russia and take care of that problem. Fortunately he died before he saw his prophecy come true.

British Proposal to take over America

2008-08-13T06:49:00.002-05:00

This is a tongue-in-cheek sort of thing that only the British can come up with. Take time to go to Ben Witherington's blog and read it. For you theology types, this is a good blog to have on your list.

http://benwitherington.blogspot.com/

Fall is coming

2008-08-08T08:25:00.000-05:00

About this time of year the spiders begin to weave their webs in earnest. This web is connected to a pine tree and then 12 feet away to a bush. How the spider made the trip is unknown. A brief gust of wind? flying? But the web is about 18 inches across. "Fearfully and wonderfully made."

More on Solzhenitsyn

2008-08-05T15:38:00.002-05:00

Solzhenitsyn certainly was a Jeremiah in our own times. The shocking thing is that his predictions are coming true. Although Solzhenitsyn and Francis Schaeffer never met, they were men of kindred minds who saw what was coming. The unfortunate part is that what they saw was not beautiful. Take time to read the following article from Christianity Today.

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2008/august/18.64.html

Jodi Picoult, Change of Heart

2008-08-03T21:02:00.001-05:00

Jodi Picoult, Change of Heart, Atria Books, 2007 (Book 15)

Jodi Picoult is an excellent writer. I have not read all fifteen of her books, but the ones I have read have been excellent. Gripping would be another descriptive phrase for her work. Her quick change of pace keeps the reader on his/her toes to the very end of the book.

Ms. Picoult has a serious interest in people in jail and what they go through. On her webpage she notes how she has visited Death Rows where she interviewed wardens and inmates. As you read her book you can see the first hand information coming through. The latest book is Change of Heart.

The following description is found on the author's webpage for Change of Heart.

"Shay Bourne - New Hampshire's first death row prisoner in 69 years – has only one last request: to donate his heart post-execution to the sister of his victim, who is looking for a transplant. Bourne says it's the only way he can redeem himself…but with lethal injection as his form of execution, this is medically impossible. Enter Father Michael Wright, a young local priest. Called in as Shay's spiritual advisor, he knows redemption has nothing to do with organ donation – and plans to convince Bourne. But then Bourne begins to perform miracles at the prison that are witnessed by officers, fellow inmates, and even Father Michael – and the media begins to call him a messiah. Could an unkempt, bipolar, convicted murderer be a savior? It seems highly unlikely, to the priest. Until he realizes that the things Shay says may not come from the Bible…but are, verbatim, from a gospel that the early Christian church rejected two thousand years ago…and that is still considered heresy."

A none too subtle agenda present in this book is an open attack on the death penalty. Ms. Picoult is among the many who feel that regardless of the crime, no one should be executed. The anti-hero in Change of Heart is a person of questionable mental stability who molested a little girl, killed the girl and her father, a policeman. The crime was considered so heinous that the jury awarded Shay Bourne, the convicted killer the death penalty. As the story progresses he has been on death row for 10 or more years waiting for the judicial process to work through its procedures. But now all avenues of hope are gone and Shay does not want to live any longer. If you want more of the details of the story, read the book. It will be worth your time.

I wish to deal with the hidden agendas found in the book. The first is the failure of organized religion. As usual the target is the Roman Catholic Church. I do not approve of the abuses the Roman Catholics have committed, but I question why they should be the media's whipping boy. We have a media frenzy like a pool full of piranhas attacking the Roman Catholics. Ms. Picoult shows the Church as insensitive and unconcerned about people like Shay Bourne except for one renegade priest. How he became a priest is an interesting part of the warp and woof of the book.

Likewise there is an attack on conservative Judaism where a Jewish rabbi is portrayed as being out of touch with reality because of his religion.

With a little less subtlety Ms. Picoult takes up the banner of Gnosticism using the same arguments as were used by Dan Brown in The Da Vinci Code. At least Ms. Picoult did not make a claim at the beginning of her book that this was undeniable truth.

The church is portrayed as hiding or destroyed many of the gospels and other writings that did not agree with their position. At Nag Hammadi, a number of Gnostic gospels were found that date from AD 145, just 50 years after the Book of Revelation was finished. Of special interest is the Gospel of Thomas, which somehow Shay Bourne has incorporated into his life, but no one knows how. It is assumed that this gospel is just as accurate as the four traditional Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. One of the characters of the book is challenged because Shay Bourne is found expressing ideas out of the Gospel of Thomas. How could that be, since he never read the book? Is he the Messiah returned in the body of a common criminal condemned to die?

Ms. Picoult addresses the Jewish position on the Messiah. First, every age has a potential Messiah. Jesus was the potential Messiah for his age, but he failed to accomplish the task. What is the task? Simple. Elevate Israel to a world empire status whereby they will conquer the whole world in the fashion of David in the Old Testament. Certainly this attitude prevailed when Jesus walked the earth. John the Baptist was looking for this sort of Messiah. Jesus' own disciples were looking for this. Note James and John asking for positions of honor when Jesus came in his kingdom. Note Judas who betrayed him. I believe Judas betrayed Jesus because he believed that when Jesus was backed into a corner, he would strike with his God-power, strike the Jewish hierarchy and Romans alike and then the kingdom of which every one dreamed would come in.

Alexander Solzhenitsyn—December 11, 1918-August 3, 2008

2008-08-03T20:50:00.001-05:00

Alexander Solzhenitsyn

One of the greatest writers from Russia in modern times is Alexander Solzhenitsyn. Go to the web links below and read about this remarkable man's career. His books are weighty, not easy reading, but he was a man of highest moral integrity and saw the necessity for the world to operate at the same level.

When he came to the United States as an exile from Mother Russia in 1974 he was instantly hailed as a hero. But when he began to speak out against the corruption he saw in America he soon lost his hero status. It was acceptable for him to denounce the Evil Russia, but not saintly America. Unfortunately this man was on target in regard to the corruption of the West. Only a fool will look at history and suggest that we are not preparing for our own self-destruction from within. Solzhenitsyn with keen vision saw where we are going. He spoke out like the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah, who in like fashion were ignored.

I personally thank God for raising up this man whose brave pen earned him the Nobel Peace Prize and exile, but who was willing to sacrifice everything for the truth.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2276650.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7540038.stm

PBS attack on Bible

2008-07-24T07:12:00.003-05:00

The liberal media is at it again. But this time their attack is so old that as we used to say in the Old Country, "It came out of the woods on petrified crutches." Note the following quotation about the program from AFA:

The Public Broadcasting System (PBS), probably the most liberal network in America, will present a program this fall that says the Old Testament is a bunch of made-up stories that never happened. "The Bible's Buried Secrets" says the Bible is not true. It is scheduled to air on November 18.

Producer Paula Apsell said: "...It's (The Bible's Buried Secrets) designed for intelligent people who are willing to change their mind. …it will give intelligent people who want to read the Bible in a modern way a chance. If we insist on reading the Bible literally, in 25 years, nobody will read it any longer."

Among highlights of "The Bible's Buried Secrets":

• The Old Testament was written in the sixth century BC and hundreds of authors contributed.
• Abraham, Sarah and their offspring didn't exist.
• There is no archaeological evidence of the Exodus.
• Monotheism was a process that took hundreds of years.
• The Israelites were actually Canaanites.
• The Israelites believed that God had a wife.

Bible scholars will recognize the antiquity of these arguments which have been successfully defended a long time ago. I will not waste my time or yours dealing with the specifics.

Instead, I would like to suggest that PBS, National Geographic, The New York Times, and the Washington Post do an expose of the Quran or the sacred books of the Hindus. The results would be horrific. Riots would occur around the world. American embassies would burn. Each of these agencies would be forced to apologize for offending Muslims and Hindus.

But it is kosher to attack Judeo-Christianity with all the zeal of an apocalyptic evangelist. Fortunately, our God is not so small that we have to kill, maim, and burn to defend him.

Ace Collins, Stories Behind Women of Extraordinary Faith

2008-07-21T15:34:00.001-05:00

Book review of Ace Collins, Stories Behind Women of Extraordinary Faith, Zondervan, 2008.

Worthy of using as a devotional book.

Worthy of a textbook for a woman's Bible study.

Worthy of a reminder to us as to the value of women in the Kingdom of God.

Worthy of encouraging everyone to make good use of the gifts they have received in the Kingdom of God.

Worthy of recalling the power of God unleashed when people give themselves over to him.

Ace Collins has chosen 19 outstanding women to illustrate his points. It is a refreshing set of vignettes from modern church history in regard to the work of women. Some of these women gave from godly homes filled with prayer and devotion to God. They then lived out their lives at a higher level than they had experienced at home. Others abandoned position and fortune to accomplish what they recognized as a God-given call to ministry. Many like Catherine Booth recognized a serious social need and stepped outside the box to meet that need. One of these women is the founder of the Girl Scouts. Two giants of the faith included by Collins are Catherine Booth and Mother Teresa.

Collins challenges us to think of the value of women in the church in all of history. Many who read this review will relate to mothers, grandmothers, wives, and other godly women who helped mold them into the person they are today.

Great Sports

2008-07-16T21:13:00.003-05:00

We are getting close to the Olympics in Beijing, but at the moment one of the greatest sports' events that takes place every year is happening in France--the Tour de France. We have a sports package on our television that has allowed us to watch the entire race in each stage as it happens. I am amazed at the physical exertion involved by these men. Of course there is a good deal of strategy involved as well. I marvel at the hill climbs that last for miles.

When I lived in Grand Junction, Colorado I used to go out to the Colorado National Monument and ride over the top. By no means did I fly like these guys do. But I do know the thrill of the wide open downhill runs. Several years ago some good friends at Zeandale took me out to Colorado. We biked down the Glenwood Canyon, and then down Shrine Pass (a steep dirt road from the top of Vail Pass to a little town called Red Cliff. I lived on Shrine Pass for a year with my parents and siblings while our father worked in the logging business. My dream from then until the opportunity came was to ride down Shrine Pass from top to bottom.

I remember the pass was a good deal steeper than I remembered. It also was very rough. We spent our time dodging rocks and pot-holes. the shock-absorbers on our bikes were bouncing at a high frequency.

But the Tour de France is far more than a trip down Shrine Pass. I consider these men real sportsmen. They produce the horsepower and by their skill one of them will win race the race in Paris.

The greatest rider in the Tour was Lance Armstrong who won the race seven times. I admire this man because of the fact that his life was almost over due to cancer. But he fought through it and went on to become one of the greatest sportsmen of all time. Like a great quarterback on a winning football team, Lance will not soon be replaced.

The other sporting event that I faithfully watch is the Iditarod in Alaska, a dog-sled race from Anchorage to Nome that covers some rugged territory over snow and ice. Like the Tour, in the Iditarod, man and animal (and some women and animal) use their skill and strength to win the race. For some, the fact they finished means a great deal.

I watch and enjoy other sports, but the Tour de France and the Iditarod are several clicks above anything else I can think of.

The Demise of Miz Squeak

2008-07-09T21:01:00.002-05:00

The Demise of Miz Squeak

I grew up in a home that always had dogs and cats. Even though we lived in the mountains of Colorado our animals all lived outside. There was a woodshed behind the house where they may have slept. I just remember they lived outside.

The dog I remember best from our time in Leadville Colorado was a large black, furry Newfoundland which was appropriately named "Blackie." Blackie was a female and a classic caretaker. I had a brother and sister six years younger than me (they were twins). Blackie believed it was her job to take care of these children. A playground was right across the street from our house. If the twins started across the street and a car was coming, Blackie crowded them off the gravel street and knocked them down in the ditch. They would come home extremely angry complaining about how Blackie had knocked them down again. On several occasions when I would be riding one of them on my bicycle Blackie bulldozed us into the ditch when she saw a car coming. The truth is that the twins lived passed early childhood because of the care Blackie provided.

Blackie had one serious problem. She liked to go into the woods and find porcupines. She would come home with a mouth full of quills. My dad would go to the pharmacy and get a bottle of chloroform, put Blackie to sleep, and pull all the quills. The problem with porcupine quills is that they are barbed. If they are not removed they can work themselves inside the victim and cause serious injury. It also means they were difficult and painful to remove. But Blackie never connected the pain of removal with the porcupines and was involved in a dozen or more episodes.

When my brother and sister reached an age where they no longer needed a protector, Blackie moved down the street on her own and began to take care of a little boy. We never saw her again at our house.

The next dogs I remember at home were dachshunds. My mother had several of them before she died. In fact, the last two she had became part of my younger sisters' family.

After I was married we had all sorts of pets. A selection of dogs and cats, an occasional hamster, gerbil, and guinea pig. The guinea pig came from Idaho where he was given to me while I was on a college tour for Intermountain Bible College. He had one brown eye and one blue eye. Among the dogs we had was a St. Bernard. We had to keep him chained up in the yard because he had no trouble clearing the fence.

One time Bernie got out of the yard. I knew something was up when I heard a high pitched scream. I ran out the door to see a tiny girl on the ground with Bernie standing over her, slobbering like he always did. I knew the family and I was sure that I would shortly get a phone call threatening me for being so careless with this dangerous animal. But the call never came. Days later I saw the little girl's mother. I asked her what her daughter told her. She said, "I thought he was going to eat me up in one gulp." But the dog never harmed except for the slobber.

The dog belonged to our oldest son. One day our son chose to hook Bernie to a sled. As our son got on the sled a cat crossed the street. Bernie set out in hot pursuit and our son hung on for dear life. Trash cans went flying as they went through yards and down alleys. When it was over Bernie was winded but our son unhurt.

When we moved to Cincinnati we didn't have any pets. Along the way in 1991 a family gave Arletta the pick of the litter of their latest batch of Schnauzers. Muffin came to our home at that time and she would be Arletta's special pet until 2005. Along the way Muffin developed cataracts and would spend her last years blind. When it was obvious she was too sick to live we had her put to sleep.

Shortly after Arletta got Muffin she was at the veterinarian for a checkup on the little dog. While there a little girl from England and her mother were there with a tiny newborn kitten. The little girl had seen a man place the kitten near the tire of a care so that when the car moved the kitten would be killed. She was stunned by such behavior. She rushed to the kitten and rescued it. But now they needed to know what they had to do to keep the kitten alive because it had no mother. Now she faced another dilemma. The family lived in married students' housing and pets were not allowed.

The little girl named the kitten Evie and looking up at Arletta asked her if she could take the kitten home. So Arletta came home with Muffin, Evie, and a can of kitten milk that we would feed to the kitten via a hypodermic syringe. Arletta took the kitten to work in a box with a hot water bottle and fed it regularly. She kept Evie hid in a filing cabinet room until the kitten was strong enough to leave home alone all day. Evie became part of our family until 2008. I dubbed her "Miz Squeak" because she never meowed. In Russia the Russians enjoyed my name for her—"Malinki Squeak."

We brought Miz Squeak from Cincinnati to Manhattan where we have lived for the last 13 years. Miz Squeak lived and ruled the house for the duration. But last week she began to slow down and stopped eating and drinking. She lay on the floor softly breathing, not in any pain until she passed away. Miz Squeak was my cat, my buddy, and we were very close although everything had to be done according to what she wanted. The writer of Ecclesiastes said, "A time to be born and a time to die." Miz Squeak has completed her span. She will be missed.

Movie Manor Motel—Monte Vista Colorado

2008-07-09T20:00:00.002-05:00

The Movie Manor Motel—Monte Vista Colorado

When Arletta and I made the decision to go the 50^th wedding anniversary celebration for Jerry and Pat Pearson, I began looking for a place to stay. Needless to say I did not find a wide selection in Monte Vista and Del Norte Colorado. But I did find a motel outside of Monte Vista—the Best Western Movie Manor Motel, about two miles west of Monte Vista. The motel included a nice restaurant where we had breakfast every day, some great Colorado scenery, but the most interesting part—a drive-in movie theater. The rooms in the motel faced the screen of the drive-in and sound was piped into the rooms. That meant you could sit in a comfortable chair and watch the movie of the evening. We watched "Get Smart" and enjoyed the movie and the comfort of watching from inside our room. Here is the story of the Movie Manor Motel:

As a young man George Kelloff was fascinated with the concept of drive-in movie theaters. He has seen one in Brownsville Texas in the early 1950s. George made a promise to himself he would someday own his own. In 1955, George and Edna Mae Kelloff purchased the site of the old airport west of Monte Vista on highway 160 and built the Star Drive In Theater.

For several years the Star Drive In continued to grow with the Kelloff family providing a very personal level of management. As the Kelloff children grew George recognized that he needed a more secure, a year-round financial base. In the evening while working in the box office of the theater, he formulated a plan for a motel that would wrap around the theater and allow guests to view movies from the comfort of their rooms. In 1964 his dreams were realized when construction was completed on the first 14 units of the Movie Manor. Most units were equipped large picture windows facing the movie screen complete with piped-in sound. The concept was a success and expansion was soon needed.

Over the past 30 years the Movie Manor has grown to its current size.

In 2003 a second screen was added to the drive-in. Although the new screen is not visible from the rooms, guests are welcome to park their cars in the drive-in and get the real drive-in experience. They can even visit the snack bar and get their favorite snacks. From the information found in the room

My response—it is a great place to stay in Colorado. If you are going to the San Luis Valley, consider the Movie Manor Motel at Monte Vista.

Nihilism and Modern Media

2008-07-09T16:10:00.003-05:00

The philosophical term Nihilism means "nothingness." The dictionary tells us that the word came from the German Nihilismus that is derived from the Latin Nihil nothing. One of the doctrines of Judeo-Christianity is ex nihilo, which means that God created everything "out of nothing." The dictionary continues on with the following definition of Nihilism:

1 "1 a: a viewpoint that traditional values and beliefs are unfounded and that existence is senseless and useless

b: a doctrine that denies any objective ground of truth and especially of moral truths

2 a (1): a doctrine or belief that conditions in the social organization are so bad as to make destruction desirable for its own sake independent of any constructive program or possibility

(2)capitalized: the program of a 19th century Russian party advocating revolutionary reform and using terrorism and assassination."

Nihilism is the negation of all being or value. Most Nihilists will not reject all values, but they universally reject absolute values. "The only value that exists is what we create. There is no objective value to be discovered." Oddly enough Nihilists value their freedom to be nihilists while denying that anything has absolute value.

Nihilism is the idea that life has no meaning and no significant value. If one were to be a true nihilist his/her only real option would be suicide as there would be nothing to live for, no purpose for life. Of course this is the end result of atheism, naturalism, and any other system of thought that denies the reality of a creator God and a God who has left absolute values for people to live by. What is created is an emptiness of life that focuses on the hopelessness of the situation.

One of the best places to see the influence of nihilism is in the television media of today. Think about the popular sit-coms, Seinfeld and Friends. Did the people involved in these stories ever experience any real happiness? No matter what was happening, the story wound up ridiculing someone regardless of the position they held. Another area where this is prevalent is the daytime "Soapies." I confess that I occasionally watch a soapie while eating lunch with my wife. In every Soapie there will be a brief moment of happiness, a declaration of love forever, and then the other shoe drops. One person is bored with his or her partner, one has been unfaithful at least once, and all sorts of sad situations prevail. There is no such thing as a happy ending in a Soapie. Nighttime dramas are much the same. My wife and I have been faithful fans of ER. But there is little happiness on ER. Everything ultimately is presented as hopelessness and without purpose. The saving of lives and good medical practice is overshadowed by the recurring disasters that take place.

Millions of people are watching these nihilistic presentations. What does that do to their self-esteem and any hope they might have for the future?

The bottom line is simple. We cannot operate without absolute values. The only source of these absolute values is the Bible delivered to human beings by the creator God. Life does have purpose and there is light at the end of the tunnel. Recently we observed the 60^th wedding anniversary of a couple in our church. This couple had been the struggles of life, but they never lost sight of the ultimate values. Their personal faithfulness to God now reaches to the third and fourth generation of their family. Christians are not perfect people, but they do have a handle on how to live effective lives.

Christian living is now more crucial than ever. We have to be "salt" and "light" in a world that is engulfed by the darkness of nihilism.

Jerry and Pat Pearson—50th Wedding Anniversary

2008-07-08T20:45:00.003-05:00

Arletta and I abandoned our usual Fourth of July activity of going to the parade at Wamego Kansas, having supper with the Slagles, and watching the fireworks there. Earlier in the year we received word that Jerry and Pat Pearson were going to observe their 50^th wedding anniversary at Creede, Colorado on July 5. Since the festivities started at 1:30 pm on the 5^th I knew that even the Chrysler 300 could not get us there in time if we waited until the 5^th to go.

So Arletta and I chose to take a weekend off from church and left town on the morning of the 4^th of July. One thing about it—there wasn't much traffic in western Kansas. We drove for miles without seeing but an occasional pickup. One thing that did surprise us along the way was the obvious lack of any activities relating to the 4^th of July. No family barbecues or picknicks, no parades or special events. We did learn later that over 13,000 people jammed the little burg of Creede for the big parade held there. The next day they had a traditional miners' competition, even though the mines around Creede have been closed for years. We enjoyed our journey through Western Kansas and relaxed a bit on our way to Colorado.

At La Junta we began the trek on highway 10 across Eastern Colorado to Walsenburg. The scenery was definitely different. Now we saw a car only about every 30 minutes. The road was straight and you could see for miles from one hilltop to the next. Not long after we left La Junta we saw the majestic Colorado Rockies and began to speculate on what peaks we were seeing. I am guessing that we were way off on our identifications. But it didn't matter. It was home and it was beautiful.

Leaving Walsenburg we took Highway 160 to Alamosa. A fabulous drive that we could not remember having been on before. In a while we were in the famous San Luis Valley. This valley has been famous for generations for melons and potatoes. When I was a small boy in Leadville, trucks would come to Leadville from the San Luis Valley selling potatoes. We could buy 100 lbs for $10.00. But you had to be careful. Sometimes the bottom of the bag was full of dirt. If we did get dirt my mother used it for her plants.

The history of this area is fascinating. I learned about the Baca Grant while studying Colorado History in high school. On the east side of the San Luis Valley is the Sangre de Cristo Range of the Rocky Mountains. The name means "Blood of Christ." The mountains were dubbed that when the early explorers saw them in the alpine glow of sunrise and sunset. In the southern end of the valley is the Great Sand Dunes National Monument. The valley is watered by artesian springs. When I was a boy and we traveled this way, one could see geysers shooting 50 feet into the air of the water coming up from the tremendous pressure of the water underground. I did not see any geysers this time. I would guess that the water used to irrigate and raise those fabulous potatoes is being pumped.

Much of Mt. Blanca (over 14,000 feet tall) and the area south of the dunes belong to either the Sangre de Cristo Grant or the Luis Maria Baca Land Grant #4. The history of this land begins in the 1530s when Cabeza de Vaca walked across the Southwest and claimed much of it for Spain. The Baca Grant was given to the heirs of Cabeza in 1821. After 1821 people began to settle on the grant without permission. In an effort to protect the settlers the U. S. government offered the Bacas land equivalent elsewhere. The Bacas chose two parcels in New Mexico, two in Arizona and one in Colorado, which became known as Baca Grant #4.

We stayed overnight near Monte Vista at the Movie Manor Hotel. In a separate blog I'll tell about the place.

On Saturday morning after eating breakfast we started for Creede, Colorado. Traffic was heavier because of all the people heading for the mountains for the day. We saw one family from Garden City, Kansas that brought 12 ATVs to ride. In that area there a myriad of roads designed for four-wheelers. We had not been to Creede before. The scenery was spectacular even according to Colorado standards. At one point we saw mountain sheep scaling a cliff going up out of the canyon. It was a sight to behold to see how effortlessly these animals clung to the side of the mountain and just kept going up. We saw the old rail lines that supplied equipment and supplies to the mines at Creede and hauled the ore out. An occasional railroad relic could be seen along the way.

Because we had two extra hours we decided to go on to Lake City, set deep in the mountains of southern Colorado. We had to climb two passes to get their. The second one—Slumgullion Pass—was steep both directions. We fell in behind a tourist from the flatlands that was obviously scared to death and driving along at 15-20 mph. Then it started to rain and these people simply panicked and pulled off the road. Again, spectacular scenery that stirred our hearts.

Around 1:15 we arrived back in Creede and the festivities were already going. Jerry and Pat were excited to see us. It turned out that I was the only relative on Jerry's side of the family that came. All of his children and grandchildren were there and several friends. I was the only family. We received the royal treatment as a result.

Jerry was one of my young boy heroes. He lost his own parents when he was a teenager. An old family friend, Gus Peterson, took him under his wing and helped him through high school. Jerry was drafted to go to Korea almost as soon as he graduated from high school. But before he left, he got a job at the Leadville Fish Hatchery. When he returned from the war he got his job back. Jerry would work for the Fish Hatchery system at Leadville, Creede, and finally Hotchkiss, Colorado. He retired at Hotchkiss where he and Pat now live. After my family left Leadville in 1952 I didn't see much of Jerry. I knew he got married. I knew his wife before he did and we have pictures to prove it. She was and still is a very sweet lady.

On the way home on Sunday, we stopped at Alamosa to go to church. We knew that we would surprise a special couple there—John and Gerri Del Tondo. We knew this couple from Grand Junction days. They were always active in the church and have been so while in Alamosa. They were stunned to see us. I have no idea how many years have passed since we last saw each other. They hadn't changed a bit.

Finally, after lunch, we began the trek back to Manhattan. The plan to wash the car was set aside when we saw the black rain clouds everywhere. Our plan was to stop in Ordway and see my aunt who lives there. But when we got to Ordway her name was not in the phone book. I did have the number on my cell phone and tried to call. The immediate response was, "this number is no longer in use. It has been disconnected." So sadly we started north to Limon where we would catch I-70 and go home. To the west the sky grew very dark and we knew we in for a storm.

There were times when we could barely see the road due to the heavy rain. Fortunately no hail was falling, but rain by the bucketful. We came to one bridge where the water was almost up to the road. I chose to go on, but I am guessing that it was not long until that bridge was gone. We stopped at Limon for food and petrol and then started east. Soon we hit another classic gully washer. Several times I slowed to 25 mph to be able to see ahead. It is not wise to stop or pull off the road because somebody may be following only your taillights and when you stop they plow into you. We did not get out of the rain until after Colby Kansas. At a rest stop near Colby Arletta took over the driving. We stopped next at Hayes for more fuel. I assumed the car would be a filthy mess. Instead it looked like it had been through a car wash, sparkling and clean from stem to stern.

We arrived safely in Manhattan at 1:30 am Monday morning. The zoo was glad to see us and we were glad to see our bed.

Supreme Court decision on guns

2008-06-27T21:28:00.002-05:00

The media was up in arms over the Supreme Court's decision to allow people in Washington, DC to have personal weapons legally. DC had gone for 32 years with a "no-guns" allowed law and continued to be plagued with some of the worst crime rates in the country. I have a friend who has a "conceal to carry" license, but it is not something I particularly desire.

I grew up in Colorado where every household had its collection of hunting rifles. My father had a 300 Savage semi-automatic which was too heavy to carry very long while out hunting. He also had a modified 9mm Mauser which had a 30.06 barrel on it. That gun was his pride and joy. There were several winters when the only meat we had was the game my father killed with those guns. The only gun I could use was a lowly .22. When I was old enough to have my own hunting rifle, my dad bought me a 32 special Winchester, one of the finest rifles of its kind. I still have the rifle but I haven't fired it in years and keep no ammunition in the house for it. I have no desire to go hunting, but I have friends that get a great deal of enjoyment from the practice.

The Supreme Court made the right decision. Our founding fathers understood the importance of having your own weapons for food supply and self-protection. Criminals always have the ability to find weapons regardless of the law. The law-abiding person should not be denied his rights just because some nut runs into the post office and shoots the place up.

Years ago after President Richard M. Nixon left office and his Vice-President Spiro Agnew also was removed from office, the office of the president fell to Gerald Ford. Gerald Ford was a zero as a president. He didn't do anything significant nor did he do anything bad. He had the misfortune of two attempts on his life. Which brings us to gun control.

Gerald Ford along with other Republicans came to Grand Junction Colorado to provide support for the Republican candidates that year. Before he arrived the Secret Service came to town to scope out the situation. The Secret Service was not in town long before they sent word back to Washington that they needed to beef up security in Grand Junction, a sleepy little college town of around 80,000 people in Western Colorado. Why were they concerned? "This is an armed camp over here! Every pickup has two to three high powered weapons hanging in the back window." What they failed to realize was that it was hunting season. It was also a status symbol to show off your arsenal in the back of your pickup. If it had been necessary to protect the president these men and women would have been first with their high-powered guns to defend the president and the constitution. He was not in danger, but in one of safest places on earth for an American president.

Many extra Secret Service were brought in. Sharp shooters were posted on the tallest buildings along the route the president would follow. But there were no incidents. Grand Junction was not made up of thieves, killers, and assassins, but just good old common folk that enjoyed their guns.

As a footnote, not one candidate that Ford campaigned for in Colorado was elected. Gerald Ford would maintain a home at Vail, Colorado for years. He probably never knew the "danger" he faced in Grand Junction.

Death with Dignity

2008-06-18T07:44:00.006-05:00

The Seattle Post noted that Washington state is moving toward a Death With Dignity bill similar to the one passed in Oregon in 1994. Essentially the bill allows to act as Dr. Kevorkian, who spent time in prison for assisting terminally ill patients to die. As you read the article you are moved by the pain and desire to die that people have. All this bill would do is make it legal for the doctor to help them commit suicide.

Undoubtedly this will be a law in all 50 states based on false images of helping people.

First, you need to realize that the population over 80 is growing rapidly. Many of these people are in nursing homes that cost either the person or the government $3000.00 a month. The average person in a nursing home could be viewed as only a burden and the concept of the sanctity of life gently floats out the window on the wings of a dove. Why not just put them to sleep permanently and save all that money?

Like Amos of old, I am not a prophet nor the son of a prophet. But I will assure you that once the Death with Dignity laws are passed it is only a matter of time when euthanasia will be conducted at the whim of the medical profession or the government to eliminate "unwanteds." I would encourage you to recall or read about the early efforts of Adolf Hitler to purify Germany. With abortion wiping out life before it is born by the millions and abortionists being protected by state and federal officials even when they are covering up the crime of incest, and now this bill, Death With Dignity, we are driving another nail in the coffin of our great nation.

One of the greatest theologians of the 20th century, Francis Schaeffer, predicted all this. Thankfully he is not around to see the fulfillment of his predictions.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/6420ap_wst_assisted_suicide.html

Tornadoes in Kansas

2008-06-12T18:40:00.010-05:00

The Manhattan Mercury reported that it has been 40 years almost to the day since a tornado struck Manhattan. The Tornado started on the west side of town and destroyed 100 homes, most of them stripped to their foundations. It proceeded to hit Little Apple Toyota wrecking their building and scattering their cars. At the same site True Value Hardware disappeared from the scene and parts of it are scattered several miles to the east. I was out in Northeast Park this afternoon walking the dogs and saw debris that had come from the tornado. Midas Brake and Tire was also badly damaged.

Next the tornado went up the hill smashing trees but doing little damage to homes. Finally it struck Kansas State University doing $20,000,000 worth of damage. President Wefald promised the school would be back in operation by August 15.

The town of Chapman lost 80% of its housing along with two school. In Iowa a Boy Scout camp was hit. Four boys died and many more were injured.

See pictures:

Wabaunsee tour with George and June Crenshaw

2008-06-11T11:24:00.001-05:00

On Tuesday, June 10, 2008, Arletta and I went on a day long tour with George and June Crenshaw. June did the driving and George played the role of tour guide as we explored the history of this county. The Crenshaws live at the end of Tabor Valley Road in Wabaunsee County. They have been in the cattle business for many years. George is well known among cattlemen for his Black Angus cattle that were prize-winners at cattle shows. George and June are also well known as good neighbors in the community where they live.

The first picture is of the camels that reside at the Crenshaw Ranch. They belong to their son Roy who lives in a barn loft apartment next to the house.

The next picture is of the Beecher Bible and Rifle Church in Wabaunsee. The church was organize June 27-28, 1857 and built 1859-62. The original structure is of native stone. Several years ago repairs were made to the outside to fill cracks that had developed.
The church still has services every Sunday with 10 to 30 people in attendance. The brochure for the church tells the story:

Until 1854, when Kansas was opened for settlement, the spot on which this old landmark church stands was just part of a vast ocean of tall prairie grass, under the ever-changing skies. To the north lay the Kaw River, crowding the bluffs beyond. A few miles to the east stood hills of spectacular beauty, and the prairie rolled gently away toward the south and the west. The silence was broken only by the winds or by the song of a meadow-lark, and at night the music of the prairie wolves. The land belonged to the Indians, the roving herds of buffalo and antelope, and the great flocks of migratory birds.

The Kansas-Nebraska bill, passed in May1854, changed all that forever. It provided that Kansas could become a free state or a slave state, depending on how the people of Kansas voted. The race was on to stake out claims and to vote Kansas "free" or "slave."

Two years later in 1856, there were already about 60 people living within a few miles of the place called Wabaunsee, which meant in Indian, "Dawn of Day." It was here on the south bank of the Kaw River that a settler built a tiny store. In New England, "Kansas Fever" ran high. The people of New Haven, Connecticut raised money to send a group of colonists to Kansas, sixty men led by one of New Haven's most respects citizens, Charles B. Lines. These were well educated men, many with professional training. They left behind good job and homes to move to Kansas. They were not just adventurers, with little to lose by going west; they were men who were making a sacrifice for their ideals.

Before the Connecticut-Kansas Company left for Kansas, a meeting was held in North Church in New Haven. Professor Silliman of Yale pledged $25.00 for Sharps rifle for the company. At the time the Sharps rifle was one of the best available. Henry Ward Beecher, for whom the church would be named, was a noted minister in Brooklyn, NY. Beecher himself never did come to Wabaunsee. He pledged that his congregation would give the money for 25 rifles if the audience would provide money for 25 more. Mr. Beecher sent Mr. Lines $625.00 for the rifles. With the money came 25 Bibles, the gift of a parishioner. The rifles were not smuggled into Kansas in a box marked "Bibles."

The Company left New Haven at midnight on March 31 after a torchlight parade across town to the steamboat to New York. The next day they were on a train to St. Louis, a very uncomfortable trip of three days. From St. Louis they sailed up the Missouri River on the steamboat Clara, as far as Kansas City. There they bought thirty wagons and sixty oxen along with farm implements, tents, and provisions for thirty days. They started west on the Oregon Trail (which closely parallels Highway 24) and stopped for a few days in the free town of Lawrence, Kansas. They continued then to Uniontown, near present day Williard. Here they crossed the Kaw River and continued west on the south side of the river. Soon they reached the place their scouts had selected--Wabaunsee, "The New Haven of the West."

By late April of 1856 Wabaunsee suddenly became a tent city. Streets were laid out and city lots and tracts of land were divided up among the men of the company. Some of them joined in worship that was held on Sundays, first in tents, later in cabins, or dugouts. The new settlers found life very difficult. Some became ill or discouraged and chose to return home. Those who remained until August were called to go to the defense of Lawrence. Organized as "The Prairie Guard," under their captain, William Mitchell, they spent six weeks fighting the border ruffians.

The winter of 1856-57 was one of great suffering in Wabausee. Things appeared more hopeful in the spring when wives and children came to join their husbands. Now that a permanent settlement seemed assured, there was also the desire for a permanent church location. In late June of 1857 fifteen of the members of the Colony and thirteen other settlers met to organize the "The First Church of Christ in Wabaunsee." The Rev. Harvey Jones was the first pastor. Of this group of 28 charter members, nine were women.

After two years of fund raising for a church building, primarily in New Haven, they started construction of the sturdy stone church that still stands in Wabaunsee. The stones were hauled from quarries on sledges drawn by oxen. The mortar was mixed by hand. The long shingles, called "shakes" were made with crude hand tools. The rows of straight backed pews were divided down the center of the church by a low wooden partition that separated the men from the women. From the balcony across the rear of the church a latter led to the belfry. The church yard was edged with hitching posts, and there were newly planted trees and lilacs in appropriate spots.

The new church was dedicated in May of 1862. By then many of the members had gone to fight in the Civil War. Soon there were only a few men and boys to carry on the work in Wabaunsee. After the war was over the town began to grow again. It never became the great city the people from New Haven envisioned, but the area grew into a thriving farm community. The church became the largest and most influential Congregational churches in Kansas. Only a few of the Connecticut families remained to raise their children in Kansas, but the few that remained became very influential in the community and the state.

The pioneers of Wabaunsee sent their children to Washburn College in Topeka or to Kansas State Agricultural College to become teachers, ministers, or missionaries. These young people went to faraway places to work, but never forgot Wabaunsee. When the church needed repairs they always gave generously to assist the Willing Workers Society. This group of church ladies who were forever busy with ice-cream socials or oyster suppers raising support for the minister or mortgage payments on the parsonage.

In 1907 old friends of the church came from far away to help celebrate the 50th anniversary of the First Church of Christ (Congregational) in Wabaunsee. Only two of the original company lived in Wabaunsee at the time, but they both played a large part in the Jubilee celebration.

In 1913 a renewal of interest developed in the church due to a new minister who came to start an experiment in rural development. The Rev. Anton Boisen organized people to build sidewalks, improve the church yar and the cemetery as well as to better their economic and social lives.

The population continued to dwindle. By the time the First World War ended they were no longer able to afford a resident minister. Now occasionally there would be guest ministers and occasional joint services with the Methodist church. An effort was made to merge the two churches but the project failed. Soon the little stone church was empty. The last entry in the record book was made in 1927.

The descendents of the "Beecher Colony" organized the "Old Settlers Association" in 1932. The last Sunday of August was designated "Old Settlers' Day." Throughout the years the "Old Settlers" gathered on this day and Decoration Day to reminisce and to honor men and women who had made the church a symbol of freedom around the world. Homecoming continues to be celebrated on the last Sunday in August.

The church and homes in the area were part of the Underground Railway to help slaves escape to the north. A home not far from the church had two hiding areas which would hold two people each for this very purpose.
This picture shows one of the many stone buildings that were built in this area. Much of the stone for this barn was gathered from the nearby fields.

In the late 1800s the government said it would pay 40 cents a rod for stone fences to be built. A rod is 16.5 feet in length. A hard working man might put up one or two rods a day.