HALT:HaltingArkansasLiberalswithTruth.com
Francis Schaeffer points out how Communism is based on materialism which leads to repression while countries with a reformation base truly have a solid basis for law and the people enjoy freedom.
Max Brantley (Arkansas Times Blog, Dec 14) observes:
Is the U.S. “Special in the world, divinely blessed, better than the rest,” as Brummett defined the term? A reflexive yes ignores the reality of the specifics, however great a beacon of hope and freedom we have been, are and hope to be. Demonstrably — take education and health care — all the specific comparisons can’t be answered in the affirmative. After arrogance, this is the biggest problem with the exceptionalism argument. If you’re already perfect, what need is there to seek to improve or learn from others who might have a better idea?
My quick answer to the statement about the USA woeful education performance would be that our public schools have been a victim of a lack of free enterprise competition and an infiltration of humanism.
Second, inner city kids suffer the most when there is no school choice.
Third, the problem in the USA has not been the lack of funding. Caroline Hoxby, Ph.D., the Scott and Donya Bommer Professor of Economics at Stanford University has correctly noted:“The United States spends more money per pupil on public K-12 schooling than any other country in the world. Some of the school districts that are the most embarrassing for Americans like Newark, NJ or Washington D.C. are some of the most expensive in the world. So it is hard to make the case that the problem America has is just that it is not spending enough money… We have raised per pupil spending (in real inflation adjusted terms) every single year for the last 40 years… (Not having enough money) is not the source of the problem for American education.”
There are actually two reasons our public education in the USA has suffered. The first was because the free enterprise system has not been allowed to work its magic as shown above. The second was because of the humanistic elements that have been allowed into our schools. This goes back to the two principles that I talked about in the first installment of this series on “American Exceptionalism.
First, our country was founded on a reformation base.
Second, our country allowed free enterprise to flourish without excessive government controls.
Since I have already discussed this second point at length in regard to the schools, I will concentrate on this first point.
Notice in the video above is from the episode “The Revolutionary Age” from the film series “How Should We Then Live?” by Francis Schaeffer that a system like communism is based on a materialistic base, and must use internal repression to keep in power. Communism always comes in with promises, but what you end up with is a loss of freedom of the press and freedom of religion too. This can be seen even today in the 5 communist countries which exist.
However, when you contrast these communist countries to those countries that have a reformation base you find a large difference in protection of human rights. Francis Schaeffer has pointed out that in these countries (with the reformation base ) the biblical basis did give absolutes upon which to combat injustice. In contrast, the humanist has no way to say that certain things are right and certain things are wrong. This is because for the humanist the final thing that exists is the impersonal universe and that is silent and neutral about right and wrong and about cruelty and noncruelty.
Earlier I said that the schools in the USA are suffering because of a lack of competition, but they are also being hurt by the teaching of humanism in the area of moral choices. They are being taught that we all are a product of chance and there are no absolutes.
The Bible tells us, “{God} has also set eternity in the hearts of men…” (Ecclesiastes 3:11 NIV). The secularist calls this an illusion, but the Bible tells us that the idea that we will survive the grave was planted in everyone’s heart by God Himself. Romans 1:19-21 tells us that God has instilled a conscience in everyone that points each of them to Him and tells them what is right and wrong (also Romans 2:14 -15).
It’s no wonder, then, that a humanist would comment, “Certain moral truths — such as do not kill, do not steal, and do not lie — do have a special status of being not just ‘mere opinion’ but bulwarks of humanitarian action. I have no intention of saying, ‘I think Hitler was wrong.’ Hitler WAS wrong.” (Gloria Leitner, “A Perspective on Belief,” THE HUMANIST, May/June 1997, pp. 38-39)
Here Leitner is reasoning from her God-given conscience and not from humanist philosophy. However, I know how moral relativism works, and I expected that Mrs. Leitner would soon be challenged by her fellow humanists. It wasn’t long before she received criticism. Humanist Abigail Ann Martin responded, “Neither am I an advocate of Hitler; however, by whose criteria is he evil?” (THE HUMANIST, September/October 1997, p. 2)
Do you see where our moral relativism has taken us in the USA?
I had a chance back in 1991 to visit with a gentleman by the name of Robert Lester Mondale while he was retired in Missouri. He was born on May 28, 1904 and he died on August 19, 2003. He was an Unitarian minister and a humanist. In fact, he was the only person to sign all three of the Humanist Manifestos of 1933, 1973 and 2003. In my conversation with him he mentioned that he had the opportunity to correspond with John Dewey who was one of Mondale’s fellow signers of the 1933 Humanist Manifesto I.
I really believe that the influence of John Dewey’s humanistic philosophy has won the battle of the textbooks in the USA today (with evolution teaching being a key component). As a result, we have people like humanist Abigail Ann Martin who wrote, “Neither am I an advocate of Hitler; however, by whose criteria is he evil?”
(I wanted to recommend an article “Making a monkey out of Darwin” by Adrian Rogers. This article shows the damage that the belief in evolution has done.)
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I have been profiling State Lawmakers and today is Saline County’s Kim Hammer.
It is not a statement of rhetoric, but a statement of fact, that America is heading in the wrong direction. We are moving away from what our founding forefathers established this nation to be in principle, practice, and proper pride–all under the open practice of seeking God’s divine leadership. Without shame or apology, I openly state that I believe we as a nation have also drifted away from giving God His proper place in the decision-making process of the establishment of the laws that govern us. And we are reaping the consequences of our actions.
We who believe that “powers that be are ordained of God” (Romans 13:1) have a civic duty to come forward and help perpetuate what the founding fathers of America paid an ultimate price to birth.
We are at a crossroads in America’s history where those who believe in heart, not in lip service, that we are still “One Nation Under God” must rise to the occasion and not idly stand by and let America be dismantled one decision at a time. It is not so much a matter of party or person as it is a matter of principle and purpose. People and party affiliations have a tendency to be bartered away, but principles of value will withstand the test in the moment of decision and the end result will reflect that philosophy.
As citizens of Arkansas we must elect people into positions who are willing to stand by their convictions. Those convictions must rest in a belief that if we want to claim to be “One Nation Under God,” then we must allow God to be introduced into convictions that guide our decisions or else we have become a state and a nation where everyone does that which is right in his own eyes.
This is why I am asking you to vote for me to represent you in the Arkansas House of Representatives, District 28. I may not vote every way you want me to, but it’s not about you and me. It’s bigger than that. It’s about taking one issue at a time, weighing it out against how a decision will affect Arkansas and America emotionally, spiritually, and physically-one vote at a time.
I believe that there is still power in the vote and that this nation, one state at a time, one elected official at a time, can redirect America back onto the course that reflects we are “One Nation Under God”.
Respectfully,
Kim D. Hammer
Friday, 27 August 2010
Kim Hammer of Benton has worked his whole life helping people with their physical and spiritual needs. Now Hammer wants to help more people in the area by being a voice for District 28 in the state House of Repre-sentatives. He will face state Rep. Barbara Nix, D-Benton.
Hammer ran for the position in 2006 but did not make it, he said. Being that close to attaining the position has motivated him to run again, along with other incentives.
“I felt that for my life and where I am in my life and my convictions about the direction our country is going in, I felt like this was the right time to (run again),” he said.
Hammer spent the early years of his life working as an emergency medical technician and eventually earned the rank of being a nationally Registered EMT Intermediate — and he began only as a volunteer.
“I started because I wanted to give to the community. From there I had a conviction to keep doing it and I worked full time at MEMS in between churches. I let my license go in 1995, though.”
He now works full time as the chaplain at Saline Memorial Hospice House in Bryant. He is a graduate of Trinity College in Indiana and has served several churches throughout the state.
His Christian beliefs are something that he will not be afraid to bring into House discussions, he said.
“I think that there needs to be a conviction of appreciation for a place of God in government. I’m not an extermist, but I’m not going to apologize for what I believe in. I’m not going to apologize for thinking that God has been pushed out of the decision-making process,” Hammer said.
He added, “I have Christian convictions that I do not believe need to be imposed on anyone, but I do not believe it is right to back up from them. I believe there are Christian convictions that are represented in the decision-making process when it comes to the law, but that doesn’t mean I want to cram anything down anyone’s throat — but I’m tired of backing up.”
If elected, Hammer said he will take these beliefs to the House to help people in District 28, especially people with a palliative time of life and children in need. Hammer once worked for a school-based mental health firm and, as he said, “has a real conviction for helping children.”
If he wins the House seat, Hammer doesn’t have a firm agenda of things to get done, but he says he does have some ideals he will stand by firmly.
“I believe in strong, family values, beginning with protecting the definition of the union of marriage. I’m also strong on state sovereignty and believe that the state has to stand up against federal government that is going to impose hardships on us. We have to present a strong front as a state,” Hammer said.
One of his main objectives, he said, is to go through the checkbooks of the state government and see where money is not being spent wisely.
“There are a lot of good things that can be done with money that might be wasted. I want to scrutinize the budget and try to get funding for things such as non-profit and faith-based initiatives. I want to see where wasteful spending is happening and put it in the hands of those who need it,” he said.
Hammer plans to attend several local events, including the Salt Bowl Tailgate, the Saline County Fair and Old-Fashioned Day and would enjoy meeting any residents or answering questions. To find out more about Hammer, visit http://www.hammer4house.com.
The Daily Hatch 