Francis Schaeffer’s “How should we then live?” Video and outline of episode 10 “Final Choices” (Schaeffer Sundays)

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Francis Schaeffer- How Should We Then Live? -10- Final Choices

Joseph Rozak·

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTOGXeI7YfA

Francis Schaeffer pictured below:

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FINAL CHOICES

I. Authoritarianism the Only Humanistic Social Option

One man or an elite giving authoritative arbitrary absolutes.

A. Society is sole absolute in absence of other absolutes.

B. But society has to be led by an elite: John Kenneth Galbraith, Robert Theobald.

C. Daniel Bell’s prophecy of technocratic elite.

D. Bell’s warning of cultural contradiction: no absolute ethic to accompany absolute power.

II. Nature of the New Authoritarianism

A. Do not think of the model of Hitler and Stalin.

B. Probably a manipulative, authoritarian elite.

III. Possible Forms of Manipulation

A. Review from Episode Six: Koestler—chemical agents; Krantz—birth control in world’s drinking supply; Clark—political leaders should take anti-aggression pills; Lee—psychological tests for public officials; Skinner—reinforcers to modify behavior.

B. Genetic condition: Francis Crick.

1. He advocates:

a) That some group of people is to decide who should be the parents of the next generation and who should be born.

b) That some group of people should determine what kind of people they want in the future and will set out genetically to make them.

2. Once Man is no longer seen as made in God’s image, there is no reason not to “tinker” with Man genetically.

C. The mass media.

1. TV conditions by selective editing. Illustration: simulated riot filmed in San Jose.

2. No collusion needed if views of elite and newsmakers coincide. Media not monolithic, but total control not needed to achieve manipulation.

IV Authoritarianism in Government. Illustration: United States

A. The dilemma of people who speak out for civil liberties but are also committed to the government’s having a responsibility to solve every problem.

B. Christian freedoms without Christian base produce chaos.

C. In the United States an authoritarian, manipulating government could come from the administrative (executive) side, the legislature, or from the courts functioning on variable, sociological law.

V. Threat of Authoritarianism.

A. Leftist or Rightist authoritarianism are only two roads to the same end.

B. With the loss of Christian consensus, no reason for young or old committed to apathy not to give in if promised personal peace and affluence.

C. Roman bridge simile: humanist values collapse under pressure.

D. Some overwhelming pressures which progressively tend to prepare modern people to accept a manipulative, authoritarian government:

1. Economic breakdown.

a) Spiral of inflation leads to economic recession.

b) Fear of economic breakdown swamps concern for liberty.

2. Random violence and political terrorism. Fear can be so great than any compromise is worth security.

3. Threat of War between the West and expansionist Communist Block. Fear of war opens the way for many to accept authoritarianism as lesser evil.

4. World food shortage and change in world distribution of wealth and goods.

a) Threat of lower living standards alters basic attitudes.

b) Authoritarianism more likely to be accepted in a descending spiral of prosperity and a country’s place of power.

E. As in the days of Caesar Augustus (Episode One), authoritarianism is most easily accepted if it is brought in while seeming to keep the outward forms of constitutionality.

VI. Two Alternatives to Chaos:

Either authoritarianism—or society’s affirming once again the original source of freedom, God’s revelation in the Bible, and His revelation through Christ.

A. Reconsidering the second alternative.

1. Nonpragmatic nature of biblical Christianity.

a) Christianity not a superior utilitarianism to mend society; Christianity is truth that gives a unity to all of knowledge and all of life.

b) Stems from the infinite-personal God who exists and who was the Maker of the heavens and the earth.

c) The acceptance of Christ as Savior and Lord, living under the absolutes which the Bible gives.

d) Christians have a responsibility to influence society across its whole spectrum and the entire spectrum of life.

e) Christians can influence consensus without being a majority.

2. The message of Paul to the Greek and Roman world applied.

a) Classical-humanist answers insufficient.

b) World is guilty of suppressing God’s truth and living accordingly. The universe and its form and the mannishness of Man speak the same truth that the Bible gives in greater detail.

c) Biblical Christianity is a message that people can return to God on the basis of Christ’s work alone, but it also gives the base for form and freedom in society.

d) It is this which can give us a hope for the future.

e) It is either this or an imposed order.

B. A reminder about presuppositions.

1. People act out their thoughts, whether they know it or not.

2. All depends on the world view one accepts and lives upon.

Questions

1. The theory of human biological manipulation, granted its premises, is entirely consistent. Outline these premises and the way in which various programs of manipulation are derived from them.

2. In a world moving steadily towards authoritarian regimes, does the relative slowness of Western democracies to lose their freedoms increase or decrease the likelihood of the West’s political survival? Give reasons.

3. Can you think of ways in which you and your church’s attitudes to society betray the utilitarian approach to the world? Does this approach reflect ignorance about the Truth and guilt about our failure to live it? What is the alternative approach and what does it reflect?

Key Events and Persons

Paul’s speech in Athens: c. A.D. 53

Paul’s Epistle to the Romans: c. A.D. 60

J.K. Galbraith: 1908-

Francis Crick: 1916-

Daniel Bell: 1919-

The Coming of the Post-Industrial Society: 1973

Robert Theobald: 1929-

Further Study

As an exercise, you might find it valuable to collect clippings which deal with the subjects discussed and see what attitudes are betrayed by the authors. To pool such clippings in a group for the purpose of joint examination would be very illuminating.

Daniel Boorstin, The Image (1961).

Jacques Ellul, Propaganda (1965).

Francis Crick, Of Molecules and Men (1967).

Francis Crick, Origins of the Genetic Code (1968).

Gordon R. Taylor, The Biological Time-Bomb (1969).

Daniel Bell, The Coming of the Post-Industrial Society (1973).

E.M.B. Green, Evangelism in the Early Church (1970).

Francis A. Schaeffer, Death in the City (1969).

Nevil Shute, On the Beach (1952).

Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Communism: A Legacy of Terror (1975).

Richard M. Weaver, Ideas Have Consequences (1965.)

December 2, 2012 – 1:53 am Categories: Francis Schaeffer | Post a comment

Lee Edwards on Ronald Wilson Reagan

President Reagan, Nancy Reagan, Tom Selleck, Dudley Moore, Lucille Ball at a Tribute to Bob Hope’s 80th birthday at the Kennedy Center. 5/20/83.

Ronald Reagan_The Presidential Years Part 4 of 4

Lee Edwards of the Heritage Foundation wrote an excellent article on Ronald Reagan and the events that transpired during the Reagan administration,  and I wanted to share it with you. Here is the 15th portion:  

Aside from the decline of the New Right, the 1980s were generally bountiful years for conservatives as all the elements of a successful political movement came together — a consistent philosophy, a national constituency, requisite financing, a solid organizational base, media support, and a charismatic, principled leader.

At the center of the movement was that remarkable political fusionist Ronald Reagan, who brought in Southerners, fundamentalist-evangelical Protestants and ethnic Catholics while holding on to libertarians and Midwesterners. He did so by appealing, as he put it in his final address, to their best hopes, not their worst fears. He did so by reiterating traditional American themes of duty, honor and country. “In his evocation of our national memory and symbols of pride,” said William J. Bennett, “in his summoning us to our national purpose and to national greatness, he performed the crucial task of political leadership.”[lvi]

Reagan was faithful to conservative ideas at a time when Americans, at last, were ready to listen to them and act on them. He framed the debate, as analyst Peter J. Ferrara pointed out, forcing his adversaries to respond to his proposals on taxes and splending. He forced the debate “to take place on his terms and his choices” which were, wherever possible, to lower taxes, cut government programs, eliminate regulations, and reduce government handouts.[lvii]

He did not need focus groups and public polls to chart the path of his administration. He saw it as his duty to get government off the backs and out of the pockets of the people. Always, Ronald Reagan sought to restore power to the people rather than grab it for himself.

December 2, 2012 – 1:26 am Categories: Ronald Reagan | Post a comment

Ronald Wilson Reagan pictured with his good friend Bob Hope

Ronald Reagan – The Presidential Years Part 3 of 4

I got to see Bob Hope do stand-up comedy in the summer of 1982 in Memphis with my grandfather Hatcher. It was very good. Bob Hope and Ronald Reagan were good friends.

https://i0.wp.com/www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/photographs/large/c32382-1.jpg

President Reagan and Bob Hope laughing with George Shultz at the Kennedy Center Honors. Washington, DC 12/8/85.

Lee Edwards of the Heritage Foundation wrote an excellent article on Ronald Reagan and the events that transpired during the Reagan administration,  and I wanted to share it with you. Here is the 14th portion:  

With all his many activities and connections, Paul Weyrich should have been a contented man. He was head of Coalitions for America, which through its three divisions — the Kingston Group, the Library Court Group, and the Stanton Group — served as a central forum for nearly 120 different conservative organizations concerned with domestic policy and economics, pro-family issues (particularly abortion) and national defense and international affairs. A frequent participant and sometimes co-chairman in the weekly meetings of the Kingston Group was Congressman Newt Gingrich, who appreciated its political clout.

Weyrich was acknowledged by experts on the Left and the Right as one of the shrewdest politicians in Washington. An AFL-CIO publication grudgingly credited the New Right and Weyrich’s Committee for the Survival of a Free Congress for “a whole passel of persons sitting in the U.S. House and Senate.”[liii]

But Weyrich was concerned that conservatives were still reacting to the Left and not framing their own agenda. “We need more bills like the Family Protection Act,” he said — the omnibus bill setting forth a pro-family agenda including school vouchers and larger tax exemptions for children.[liv] Weyrich drafted the bill which was first introduced by Senator Paul Laxalt of Nevada, President Reagan’s closest friend in the Senate.

More of a pragmatist than Howard Phillips, Weyrich believed that it was important to keep lines open to Congress and the Reagan White House. He became somewhat alarmed at the anti-Republican, populist rhetoric of his old friend and colleague, Viguerie. Certainly the New Right had demonstrated in the 1978 and 1980 congressional elections that it could defeat liberal democrats, but could it build an effective conservative coalition?

By 1986, Weyrich was promoting what he and co-author William S. Lind called “cultural conservatism,” whose philosophical antecedents could be found in Russell Kirk’s The Conservative Mind and Richard Weaver’s Ideas Have Consequences. But Weyrich saw cultural conservatives as the forgers of a revived conservative movement that embraced “Old Right intellectuals, New Right activists, neoconservative policy analysts, and liberals concerned with civility and serious literature.”[lv]

It was an ambitious concept but fated to fail because it was too ambitious — too many philosophical and cultural questions were left dangling. Its most serious flaw was its neutrality on divine will (which offended Christian conservatives) and on natural law (which bothered many Catholics and other traditional conservatives). And without those important members of the conservative movement, cultural conservatism could have no meaningful political impact. Both Kirk and Weaver, of course, were anything but neutral about the need for a belief in God and an acknowledgement of natural law in politics.

December 1, 2012 – 1:40 am Categories: Ronald Reagan | Post a comment

Ronald Reagan Quotes

 

 

Secret Service agents react after President Reagan is shot as he exits a side doorway of the Washington Hilton on March 30, 1981.

A great moment in modern conservatism. 1980 Republican National Convention speech by Ronald Reagan.

But there are advantages to being elected President. The day after I was elected, I had my high school grades classified Top Secret.
Ronald Reagan

Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same.
Ronald Reagan

Freedom prospers when religion is vibrant and the rule of law under God is acknowledged.
Ronald Reagan

Government always finds a need for whatever money it gets.
Ronald Reagan
Government does not solve problems; it subsidizes them.
Ronald Reagan
Government is like a baby. An alimentary canal with a big appetite at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other.
Ronald Reagan
Government’s view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.
Ronald Reagan

Governments tend not to solve problems, only to rearrange them.
Ronald Reagan
How do you tell a communist? Well, it’s someone who reads Marx and Lenin. And how do you tell an anti-Communist? It’s someone who understands Marx and Lenin.
Ronald Reagan
I have wondered at times what the Ten Commandments would have looked like if Moses had run them through the US Congress.
Ronald Reagan
I’ve never been able to understand why a Republican contributor is a ‘fat cat’ and a Democratic contributor of the same amount of money is a ‘public-spirited philanthropist’.
Ronald Reagan
If the Soviet Union let another political party come into existence, they would still be a one-party state, because everybody would join the other party.
Ronald Reagan

If we ever forget that we are One Nation Under God, then we will be a nation gone under.
Ronald Reagan

Reagan is pushed into his limousine after shots are fired. He would joke with doctors later, but his wound could have been deadly.
 
December 1, 2012 – 1:25 am Categories: Ronald Reagan | Post a comment

Videos by Cato Institute on failed stimulus plans

In this post I have gathered several videos from the Cato Institute concerning the subject of failed stimulus plans.

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Government Spending Doesn’t Create Jobs

Uploaded by on Sep 7, 2011

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In the debate of job creation and how best to pursue it as a policy goal, one point is forgotten: Government doesn’t create jobs. Government only diverts resources from one use to another, which doesn’t create new employment.

Video produced by Caleb Brown and Austin Bragg.

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Keynesian Catastrophe: Big Money, Big Government & Big Lies

Uploaded by on Jan 19, 2012

The Cato Institute’s Dan Mitchell explains why Obama’s stimulus was a flop! With Glenn Reynolds.

See more at http://www.pjtv.com and http://www.cato.org

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Keynesian Economics Is Wrong: Bigger Gov’t Is Not Stimulus

Uploaded by on Dec 15, 2008

Based on a theory known as Keynesianism, politicians are resuscitating the notion that more government spending can stimulate an economy. This mini-documentary produced by the Center for Freedom and Prosperity Foundation examines both theory and evidence and finds that allowing politicians to spend more money is not a recipe for better economic performance.

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Obama’s So-Called Stimulus: Good For Government, Bad For the Economy

Uploaded by on Jan 26, 2009

President Obama wants Congress to dramatically expand the burden of government spending. This CF&P Foundation mini-documentary explains why such a policy, based on the discredited Keynesian theory of economics, will not be successful. Indeed, the video demonstrates that Obama is proposing – for all intents and purposes – to repeat Bush’s mistakes. Government will be bigger, even though global evidence shows that nations with small governments are more prosperous.

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Big Government Is Not Stimulus: Why Keynes Was Wrong (The Condensed Version)

Uploaded by on Jan 13, 2009

The CF&P Foundation has released a condensed version of our successful mini-documentary explaining why so-called stimulus schemes do not work. Based on a theory known as Keynesianism, politicians are resuscitating the notion that more government spending can stimulate an economy. This mini-documentary produced by the Center for Freedom and Prosperity Foundation examines both theory and evidence and finds that allowing politicians to spend more money is not a recipe for better economic performance.

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Eight Reasons Why Big Government Hurts Economic Growth

Uploaded by on Aug 17, 2009

This Center for Freedom and Prosperity Foundation video analyzes how excessive government spending undermines economic performance. While acknowledging that a very modest level of government spending on things such as “public goods” can facilitate growth, the video outlines eight different ways that that big government hinders prosperity. This video focuses on theory and will be augmented by a second video looking at the empirical evidence favoring smaller government.

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Keynesian Economics Is Wrong: Economic Growth Causes Consumer Spending, Not the Other Way

Uploaded by on Nov 29, 2010

Politicians and journalists who fixate on consumer spending are putting the cart before the horse. Consumer spending generally is a consequence of growth, not the cause of growth. This Center for Freedom and Prosperity video helps explain how to achieve more prosperity by looking at the differences between gross domestic product and gross domestic income. www.freedomandprosperity.org

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Deficits, Debts and Unfunded Liabilities: The Consequences of Excessive Government Spending

Uploaded by on May 10, 2010

Huge budget deficits and record levels of national debt are getting a lot of attention, but this video explains that unfunded liabilities for entitlement programs are Americas real red-ink challenge. More important, this CF&P mini-documentary reveals that deficits and debt are symptoms of the real problem of an excessive burden of government spending. www.freedomandprosperity.org

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Now that I have been critical of the Democrat President, I wanted to show that I am not concerned about taking up for Republicans but looking at the facts. President Clinton did increase government spending at a slower rate than many other presidents. Here are two  videos that praise both Reagan and Clinton for both accomplished this feat.

Spending Restraint, Part I: Lessons from Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton

Uploaded by on Feb 14, 2011

Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton both reduced the relative burden of government, largely because they were able to restrain the growth of domestic spending. The mini-documentary from the Center for Freedom and Prosperity uses data from the Historical Tables of the Budget to show how Reagan and Clinton succeeded and compares their record to the fiscal profligacy of the Bush-Obama years.

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Spending Restraint, Part II: Lessons from Canada, Ireland, Slovakia, and New Zealand

Uploaded by on Feb 22, 2011

Nations can make remarkable fiscal progress if policy makers simply limit the growth of government spending. This video, which is Part II of a series, uses examples from recent history in Canada, Ireland, Slovakia, and New Zealand to demonstrate how it is possible to achieve rapid improvements in fiscal policy by restraining the burden of government spending. Part I of the series examined how Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton were successful in controlling government outlays — particularly the burden of domestic spending programs. www.freedomandprosperity.org

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It seems that liberals will never wake up. On 3-8-12 a Arkansas Times blogger pointed out that Obama’s stimulus in 2009 was not made up of just increased but also tax cuts. That is true but the real truth is that there have been about 1/2 dozen stimulus efforts by President Obama and all of them have failed.  Over and over they have tried stimulus plans but they don’t work. Take a look at this excellent article from the Cato Institute:

Keynesian Policies Have Failed

by Chris Edwards

Chris Edwards is the director of tax policy studies at the Cato Institute and the editor of Downsizing Government.org.

Added to cato.org on December 2, 2011

This article appeared on U.S. News & World Report Online on December 2, 2011

Lawmakers are considering extending temporary payroll tax cuts. But the policy is based on faulty Keynesian theories and misplaced confidence in the government’s ability to micromanage short-run growth.

In textbook Keynesian terms, federal deficits stimulate growth by goosing “aggregate demand,” or consumer spending. Since the recession began, we’ve had a lot of goosing — deficits were $459 billion in 2008, $1.4 trillion in 2009, $1.3 trillion in 2010, and $1.3 trillion in 2011. Despite that huge supposed stimulus, unemployment remains remarkably high and the recovery has been the slowest since World War II.

Policymakers should ignore the Keynesians and their faulty models, and instead focus on reforms to aid long-run growth…

Yet supporters of extending payroll tax cuts think that adding another $265 billion to the deficit next year will somehow spur growth. That “stimulus” would be on top of the $1 trillion in deficit spending that is already expected in 2012. Far from helping the economy, all this deficit spending is destabilizing financial markets, scaring businesses away from investing, and imposing crushing debt burdens on young people.

For three years, policymakers have tried to manipulate short-run economic growth, and they have failed. They have put too much trust in macroeconomists, who are frankly lousy at modeling the complex workings of the short-run economy. In early 2008, the Congressional Budget Office projected that economic growth would strengthen in subsequent years, and thus completely missed the deep recession that had already begun. And then there was the infamously bad projection by Obama’s macroeconomists that unemployment would peak at 8 percent and then fall steadily if the 2009 stimulus plan was passed.

Chris Edwards is the director of tax policy studies at the Cato Institute and the editor of Downsizing Government.org.

 

More by Chris Edwards

Some of the same Keynesian macroeconomists who got it wrong on the recession and stimulus are now claiming that a temporary payroll tax break would boost growth. But as Stanford University economist John Taylor has argued, the supposed benefits of government stimulus have been “built in” or predetermined by the underlying assumptions of the Keynesian models.

Policymakers should ignore the Keynesians and their faulty models, and instead focus on reforms to aid long-run growth, which economists know a lot more about. Cutting the corporate tax rate, for example, is an overdue reform with bipartisan support that would enhance America’s long-run productivity and competitiveness.

If Congress is intent on cutting payroll taxes, it should do so within the context of long-run fiscal reforms. One idea is to allow workers to steer a portion of their payroll taxes into personal retirement accounts, as Chile and other nations have done. That reform would feel like a tax cut to workers because they would retain ownership of the funds, and it would begin solving the long-term budget crisis that looms over the economy.

Related posts:

Stimulus plans do not work (part 2)

Dan Mitchell discusses the effectiveness of the stimulus Uploaded by catoinstitutevideo on Nov 3, 2009 11-2-09 When I think of all our hard earned money that has been wasted on stimulus programs it makes me sad. It has never worked and will not in the future too. Take a look at a few thoughts from […]

Stimulus plans do not work (Part 1)

Government Spending Doesn’t Create Jobs Uploaded by catoinstitutevideo on Sep 7, 2011 Share this on Facebook: http://on.fb.me/qnjkn9 Tweet it: http://tiny.cc/o9v9t In the debate of job creation and how best to pursue it as a policy goal, one point is forgotten: Government doesn’t create jobs. Government only diverts resources from one use to another, which doesn’t […]

Dumas thinks we don’t need Balanced Budget Amendment but should balance it on our own

In his recent article Ernie Dumas sticks to his guns that we should balance the budget without being forced to with a “Balanced Budget Amendment,” but I wonder how well that has worked so far? I have made this a key issue for this blog in the past as you can tell below: Dear Senator […]

Maybe the “Occupy Wall Street” crowd should be angry at Obama

(Picture from Arkansas Times Blog) When I think about all the anger and hate coming from the Occupy Wall Street crowd, I wonder if they have read this story below? Solyndra: Crooked Politics or Just Bad Economics? Posted by David Boaz Amy Harder has a good take on the Solyndra issue in National Journal Daily […]

Dear Senator Pryor, why not pass the Balanced Budget Amendment? (Part 13 Thirsty Thursday, Open letter to Senator Pryor)

Dear Senator Pryor, why not pass the Balanced Budget Amendment? (Part 13 Thirsty Thursday, Open letter to Senator Pryor) Office of the Majority Whip | Balanced Budget Amendment Video In 1995, Congress nearly passed a constitutional amendment mandating a balanced budget. The Balanced Budget Amendment would have forced the federal government to live within its […]

Mark Pryor not for President’s job bill even though he voted for it

Andrew Demillo pointed this out  and also Jason Tolbert noted: PRYOR OPPOSES THE OBAMA JOBS BILL THAT HE VOTED TO ADVANCE  Sen. Mark Pryor has been traveling around the state touting a six-part jobs plan that he says “includes a number of bipartisan initiatives, is aimed at creating jobs by setting the table for growth, encouraging new […]

Is a lack of money the problem for our public schools?

Is a lack of money the problem for our public schools? Everything You Need to Know About Public School Spending in Less Than 2½ Minutes Posted by Adam Schaeffer Neal McCluskey gutted the President’s new “Save the Teachers” American Jobs Act sales pitch a good while back, as did Andrew Coulson here. Thankfully, it seems […]

December 1, 2012 – 12:55 am Categories: Cato Institute, President Obama, spending out of control, Taxes | Post a comment

We got to get some backbone Republicans!!!!

 

We got get some backbone Republicans!!!!

Talking Fiscal Cliff and GOP Fecklessness with the Instapundit

November 29, 2012 by Dan Mitchell

Unless the law is changed, big tax increases will be imposed on all taxpayers next year. This is the so-called fiscal cliff, and President Obama is using this unpalatable situation as an excuse to push for his class-warfare tax policy.

I talk about the political and economic ramification of this fight with Glenn Reynolds, author of the famous Instapundit blog….

As is my habit, there are a couple of points that deserve some elaboration.

  • Budget deals don’t work – I wrote about this issue back in 2010, but I think the most persuasive piece of evidence came from the New York Times, which inadvertently admitted that the only successful budget deal was the 1997 pact that cut taxes rather than raising them.
  • We should only raise taxes on those who say they want higher taxes – Since the Hollywood left (with some noble exceptions such as Jon Lovitz and Rob Schneider) is in favor of bigger government and higher tax rates, Glenn has suggested a restoration of the federal tax on movie receipts. That hasn’t worked very well in Spain, but I like the idea. In the same spirit, I’ve proposed a tax on CEO salaries since the big business community is trying to curry favor with the political class by endorsing tax hikes.
  • Republicans won this fight in 2010 when they had less power – The same fiscal cliff fight took place two years ago, before the Republicans controlled the House and when they had fewer seats in the House. Yet GOPers prevailed because Senate Republicans stuck together. It would be a sign on remarkable incompetence if they lost this year’s fight since they now have much more power.
  • Long-term incumbents get too comfortable with big government – I joked about politicians who come to Washington thinking it’s a cesspool, but eventually think it’s a hot tub, but that’s actually a very serious point. As I explain in this post, too many GOPers get corrupted by big government.
  • It’s simple to balance the budget with modest spending restraint – According to Congressional Budget Office data, we can make the Bush tax cuts permanent and balance the budget in just 10 years if lawmakers simply exercise some modest fiscal restraint and limit spending so it grows by an average of 2.5 percent yearly.
  • Most important, I sneak in an endorsement of my beloved Bulldawgs at the end of the interview – I’ve been very restrained and have not used this blog as a platform to celebrate Georgia being two wins away from the national title. Actually, the SEC Championship Game this weekend is the de facto national title game, though whichever team that prevails will have to take the pro forma step of mopping the floor with Notre Dame in January. This cartoon shows the state of play.

P.S. I appreciated Glenn’s reference to Lucy, Charlie Brown, and the football. To see my re-creation of that Peanuts classic, look at the cartoon in this post.

November 30, 2012 – 4:06 pm Categories: Cato Institute | Post a comment

Remembering Francis Schaeffer at 100 (Part 4)

schaeffer

This

THE FRANCIS SCHAEFFER CENTENNIAL – INVOCATION – PASTOR TONY FELICH

Uploaded by on Feb 3, 2012

Pastor Tony Felich of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Overland Park, KS gives the invocation to the mini conference event in honor of Francis Schaeffer’s 100th Birthday.

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This year Francis Schaeffer would have turned 100 on Jan 30, 2012. I remember like yesterday when I first was introduced to his books. I was even more amazed when I first saw his films. I was so influenced by them that I bought every one of his 30 something books and his two film series. Here is a tribute that I got off the internet from Chuck Colson’s website www.breakpoint.org :

A Jeremiah Summer
By Diane Singer|Published Date: August 29, 2011

sun

“And I will declare my judgments against them, for all their evil in forsaking me. They have made offerings to other gods and worshiped the works of their own hands.” Jeremiah 1:16

Prophetic timing
The summer of 2011 has been a memorable one, but for all the wrong reasons. Much of the country has been gripped by an unrelenting heat wave, the nation is reeling from ever-worsening economic news, violence has broken out in a number of cities here and abroad, and the battle for traditional marriage and moral decency lost another round with New York state’s endorsement of same-sex marriage.

During this time, I’ve been teaching Jeremiah in my Sunday morning Explore the Bible class. It wasn’t my idea to teach this particular book at this particular time: it’s part of a nine year through-the-Bible curriculum established by Lifeway publishers. However, the timing does seem, well, prophetic. The similarities between the stiff-necked rebellious people of Judah living six centuries before Christ and the stiff-necked rebellious people of America living today are terrifying — terrifying because of the strong possibility that Judah’s fate foreshadows America’s not-too-distant future.

I realize that many people will say, “America is not Judah. God does not have the same relationship with America as He did with Israel and Judah; therefore, it’s impossible to draw parallels.” They’re wrong. While I concede that no two nations are alike, let alone two nations separated by more than 2500 years of history, we must recognize that God establishes and rules over all nations from the beginning of history to its end. Time does not erase what He requires, both for those who rule and for those who are ruled. Think about it:

  • God is still the same.
  • His holiness hasn’t diminished.
  • His standards for what constitute a good and just society haven’t altered.
  • Our responsibility to hear and obey His Word hasn’t been negated.
  • The “law of cause and effect” (sowing and reaping) is still in effect.

Furthermore, to ignore the warning signs of a nation on the verge of destruction – signs we see in Jeremiah – is to make a liar of the apostle Paul, who wrote that all of the Old Testament is written for our instruction (Romans 15:4; 1 Corinthians 10:11). It also makes a liar out of God, who speaking through the prophet, asserts that “If any nation will not listen, then I will utterly pluck it up and destroy it” (Jeremiah 12:17).

The indictment against Judah
Jeremiah had a great deal to say about why the people of Judah were headed for destruction:

  • They “went after worthlessness and became worthless” (2:5).
  • They “turned degenerate” (2:21) and wore themselves out sinning (9:5).
  • They were so wicked that they even taught “wicked women” things they didn’t know (2:33).
  • They “polluted the land with [their] vile whoredom” (3:2).
  • They were callous and unjust toward the poor (2:34).
  • They repeatedly claimed that they had not sinned (2:35).
  • They were greedy, conniving, unashamed, and self-deluded regarding their true status (6:13-15).
  • They treated the Word as an object of scorn (6:10).
  • They were incapable of speaking the Truth (7:28).
  • They followed their own hearts and went after false gods even more diligently than their forefathers had (9:14).
  • They broke their covenant with the Lord (11:1-13).
  • They were not correctable: they would not listen to God’s prophet (2:30; 5:3), and they would not obey His Word.
  • They assured themselves that God would not judge them, that disaster would not fall (5:12).

They were wrong, as history demonstrated in 586 BC when Judah was crushed by the Babylonians.

The indictment against America
It doesn’t take much effort to read through the list of Judah’s sins and see America’s. Even a casual perusal of the television shows being offered today provides plenty of examples of “worthlessness” and of an exuberant, even gleeful, promotion of every kind of immorality and perversion. The poor, and even the middle class, are being destroyed by the government’s irresponsible fiscal policies and by a welfare policy that keeps them dependant and living in poverty. Movies, television shows, and many so-called news programs are boldly promoting their anti-Christian agenda – one designed to keep Bible-believing Christians intimidated and cowed into silence when it comes to the public square. (If you don’t believe this, consider how people who support the Bible’s view of marriage are now labeled homophobic haters in the media.) And public figures who speak up about what the Bible has to say about the state of the nation are ridiculed as backward, desperate, and dangerously out of touch with reality. Even our president has characterized Bible-believing Christians in disparaging terms.

At the 2011 Resolved Conference, pastor John MacArthur made a claim, based on a passage in Isaiah 5, that particularly offended the anti-Christian crowd: “Materialism, drunkard pleasure seeking, arrogant conceit, defiant sinfulness, moral perversion, and corrupt leadership…Do you not see [them] in America?,” MacArthur asked. He then explained that just as these sins resulted in the destruction of Israel in 721 BC, these sins have brought the USA under divine judgment today.

The Christian response
MacArthur’s pronouncement comes as no surprise to anyone who has read Francis Schaeffer’s 1969 book Death in the City. Schaeffer not only claimed that both Europe and America were even then under “the wrath of God,” he also addressed the question of the contemporary relevance of Jeremiah:

“We do not have to guess what God would say about this because there was a period of history, biblical history, which greatly parallels our day. That is the day of Jeremiah. The Book of Jeremiah and the Book of Lamentations show how God looks at a culture which knew Him and deliberately turned away.

But this is not just the character of Jeremiah’s day of apostasy. It’s my day. It’s our day. And if we are going to help our own generation, our perspective must be that of Jeremiah, that weeping prophet Rembrandt so magnificently pictured weeping over Jerusalem, yet in the midst of his tears speaking without mitigating his message of judgment to a people who had had so much yet turned away.” (emphasis mine)

Our response to the evil of our day – to the millions of people who “knew Him and deliberately turned away” – therefore, must mirror Jeremiah’s sorrowful but unflinching response:
November 30, 2012 – 2:02 pm Categories: Current Events, Francis Schaeffer, Prolife | Post a comment

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Senator Boozman’s response to my letter on fiscal cliff and possible debt ceiling increase

It is obvious to me that if President Obama gets his hands on more money then he will continue to spend away our children’s future. He has already taken the national debt from 11 trillion to 16 trillion in just 4 years. Over, and over, and over, and over, and over and over I have written Speaker Boehner and the Congressmen (Griffin, Womack, Crawford) in Arkansas concerning this. I am hoping they will stand up against this reckless spending that our federal government has done and will continue to do if given the chance.

I have written and emailed Senator Pryor over, and over again with spending cut suggestions but he has ignored all of these good ideas in favor of keeping the printing presses going as we plunge our future generations further in debt. I am convinced if he does not change his liberal voting record that he will no longer be our senator in 2014.

I have always given credit to public officials who take the time to respond back to the people they represent. President Obama has done an excellent job in this regard and Senator John Boozman has too.

I asked Senator Boozman not to raise the debt ceiling unless we got a Balanced Budget Amendment passed first. We have enough votes in the Senate to block passage of the debt ceiling increase and President Obama knows that. However, I don’t think Republicans have the guts to stop the spending.

The problem in Washington is not lack of revenue but our lack of spending restraint. We almost had a balanced budget in 2007 and if we had frozen spending at 2007 levels then we would be close to a balanced budget now. Instead of controlling spending our spending has gone from 2.7 trillion to 3.8 trillion in just 5 short years!!!

Several of Senator Boozman’s Republican Senate friends  voted to cut the Food Stamp Program and I was very happy that they were brave enough to do that even though they lost the vote. We got to start making the tough spending cut decisions!!!!

At least Senator Boozman is a strong proponent of the Balanced Budget Amendment while our other Senator (Mark Pryor) has always opposed it. Below is the email I got from Senator Boozman followed by some links on this same issue.

Dear Mr. Hatcher, 

Thank you for contacting me to express your thoughts regarding the federal debt ceiling. It is good to hear from you. 

I believe that our nation is facing a fiscal crisis. We are on a path of unbridled spending that simply cannot be sustained. To date, the federal debt is $16 trillion dollars, and the U.S. Treasury estimates that our current debt limit will be reached by the end of this year. The federal government’s rising debt is reckless, irresponsible and dangerous, and there must be a mechanism that will prevent overspending in the future. 

Throughout my time in office, I have fought for a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution. You will be pleased to know I am a cosponsor of  S.J.Res . 3 and S.J. Res. 10, balanced budget resolutions introduced by Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) as well as S.J. Res. 4, a balanced budget resolution introduced by Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL). All of these measures would propose a Constitutional amendment that stipulates that the United States cannot spend more than its total revenue for any given fiscal year. Additionally, Senator Hatch’s resolutions would require two-thirds majority vote in both chambers of Congress in order to impose a new tax.  S.J.Res . 3,  S.J.Res . 4 are currently being considered by the Senate Judiciary Committee and  S.J.Res . 10 failed to pass during a vote on December 14, 2011. 

I believe there are multiple ways to curb federal spending, from the elimination of wasteful and duplicative programs to a sizeable reduction in the size and scope of the federal budget. As the father of three daughters, I believe it is very important that our future generations are not saddled with exorbitant taxes and record deficits. Please be assured that I will remain steadfast in supporting legislation that encourages fiscal restraint, aggressively tackles our runaway deficits, and begins to pay down our nation’s crushing debt. 

Again, thank you for contacting me on this very important issue. Please be sure to visit our website at  www.boozman.senate.gov . I look forward to your continued correspondence.

Sincerely,

John Boozman
U.S. Senator

_________

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November 30, 2012 – 7:04 am Categories: Current Events | Post a comment

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Open letter to Speaker of the House John Boehner (Part 49)

Open letter to Speaker of the House John Boehner (Part 49)

John Boehner, Speaker of the House

H-232, The Capital, Washington, DC 20515

Dear Mr. Speaker,

I know that you will have to meet with newly re-elected President Obama soon and he will probably be anxious for you to raise taxes and  federal spending, but he will want you to leave runaway entitlement programs alone. When that happens then you have one thing you can hold over his head and that is the debt ceiling.

You must stand up to him and tell him that you can not raise it. In December of 2012 or January of 2013 at the latest we will be shutting down the government if we don’t increase the debt limit according to the LA Times. You got to listen to the Tea Party heroes like Rep. Todd Rokita, Ben Quayle (R-AZ), Jeff Landry (R, LA-03), Raúl R. Labrador , Tim Huelskamp,  Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI),  , Brooks, Mo (AL – 5), Buerkle, Ann Marie (NY – 25),Chabot, Steven (OH – 1),Duncan, Jeff (SC – 3), Fleischmann, Chuck (TN – 3) ,Gowdy, Trey (SC – 4) ,Griffith, H. Morgan (VA – 9) , Harris, Andy (MD – 1) ,Huizenga, Bill (MI – 2) , Mulvaney, Mick (SC – 5) , Pompeo, Mike (KS – 4) , Ribble, Reid (WI – 8), Rigell, E. Scott (VA – 2) , Ross, Dennis (FL – 12) ,Schweikert, David (AZ – 5), Scott, Austin (GA – 8) , Scott, Tim (SC – 1) , Southerland, Steve (FL – 2) , Stutzman, Marlin (IN – 3) , Walberg, Timothy (MI – 7) , Walsh, Joe (IL – 8),and Woodall, Rob (GA – 7) .

__________

Here is another Tea Party hero you need to listen to:

August 1, 2011.   This act increases the debt limit by between $2.1 and $2.4 trillion, the biggest explosion of debt in American history.  It allows the government to avoid spending reductions for the next two years while squandering our last best hope of averting a sovereign debt crisis. 
I am opposed to this measure for the following reasons:

1. The purported cuts, even if realized, are far below the $4 trillion deficit reduction that credit rating agencies have warned is necessary to preserve the Triple-A credit rating of the United States Government.

2. It blows the lid off the House budget passed in April by more than a half-trillion dollars over ten years.

3. It makes no significant spending reductions for at least the next two years, essentially freezing spending at an unsustainable level.  While the debt increase occurs this year, deficit reductions are to be spread over many years and could be reversed by future acts of Congress.

4. The spending caps are easily circumvented by declaring appropriations to be an emergency, a response to a “major disaster,” or necessary for the “Global War on Terror.”

5. The balanced budget amendment provisions are illusory because the amendment is completely undefined.

Click for Extended Vote Note.

The House of Representatives voted on S. 365 – “Budget Control Act of 2011″  on August 1, 2011.  Congressman Tom Mcclintock voted NO. 

Sincerely,

Everette Hatcher, 13900 Cottontail Lane, Alexander, AR 72002, lowcostsqueegees@yahoo.com, www.thedailyhatch.org, ph 501-920-5733

___________

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Some Tea Party heroes (Part 6)

I feel so strongly about the evil practice of running up our national debt. I was so proud of Rep. Todd Rokita who voted against the Budget Control Act of 2011 on August 11, 2011. He made this comment:   For decades now, we have spent too much money on ourselves and have intentionally allowed our […]

Some Tea Party heroes (Part 5)

Rep. Quayle on Fox News with Neil Cavuto __________________ We have to get people realize that the most important issue is the debt!!! Recently I read a comment by Congressman Ben Quayle (R-AZ) made  after voting against the amended Budget Control Act on August 1, 2011. He said it was important to compel “Congressional Democrats and […]

Some Tea Party heroes (Part 4)

What future does our country have if we never even attempt to balance our budget. I read some wise words by Congressman Jeff Landry (R, LA-03) regarding the  debt ceiling deal that was passed on August 1, 2011:”Throughout this debate, the American people have demanded a real cure to America’s spending addiction – a Balanced Budget […]

Some Tea Party heroes (Part 3)

I read some wise comments by Idaho First District Congressman Raúl R. Labrador concerning the passage of the Budget Control Act on August 1, 2011 and I wanted to point them out: “The legislation  lacks a rock solid commitment to passage of a balanced budget amendment, which I believe is necessary to saving our nation.” I just […]

Some Tea Party heroes (Part 2)

Congressmen Tim Huelskamp on the debt ceiling I just don’t understand why people think we can go on and act like everything is okay when we have a trillion dollar deficit. Sometimes you run across some very wise words like I did the other day. Kansas Congressman Tim Huelskamp made the following comment on the […]

November 30, 2012 – 6:36 am Categories: President Obama, spending out of control, Taxes | Post a comment

Open letter to Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin concerning their choice to raise their kids in the Jewish Faith (part 10)

Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin (CP)

The Arab Israeli Conflict – part 3

I have posted before about the religious views of Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin. Now it appears they have rejected their agnostic statements of the past and have decided to raise their children in the Jewish faith.

Here is a post from the Huffington Post:

After appearing on the television program, “Who Do You Think You Are,” Gwyneth Paltrow has decided to raise children Apple, 7, and Moses, 5, as Jewish.

According to The Daily Mail, the NBC ancestry show sparked the discovery that the actress descended from a notable line of Eastern European rabbis. Though she’s long practiced Kabbalah, Gwyneth had previously stayed neutral about a formal religion upbringing in her household, which includes crooner husband Chris Martin, who is of Christian background.

“I don’t believe in religion. I believe in spirituality. Religion is the cause of all the problems in the world,” the actress once told The Daily Mail.

_______________

Below is a letter I mailed to Chris and Gwyneth recently:

To Chris Martin and Gwyneth Paltrow, c/o Go Go Pictures, 12 Cleveland Row, London, SW1A 1DH, United Kingdom, , From Everette Hatcher, 13900 Cottontail Lane, Alexander, AR 72002, USA:

I have been a huge fan of both of you and have posted many times on my blog about your religious views which have seemed to have changed over the years. I know that Chris was brought up as an evangelical Christian, but has long ago left the faith behind although he did revisit many biblical themes in his 2008 and 2011 cds.

In fact, on June 3, 2011 on my blog (www.thedailyhatch.org) I wrote:

I have shown what thought processes Solomon went through in Ecclesiastes and then compared them to the evident changes that are occurring with Coldplay. By the way, the final chapter of Ecclesiastes finishes with Solomon emphasizing that serving God is the only proper response of man. My prediction: I am hoping that Coldplay’s next album will also come to that same conclusion that Solomon came to in Ecclesiastes 12:13-14:
13 Now all has been heard;
here is the conclusion of the matter:
Fear God and keep his commandments,
for this is the whole duty of man.

14 For God will bring every deed into judgment,
including every hidden thing,
whether it is good or evil.

I have also written before about Gwyneth’s famous Jewish relatives which includes a famous Rabbi and I have wondered if she would decide to return to those roots. Actually that is what has happened. I salute you for rejecting your earlier statements against organized religion and for making the decision to teach your children the Bible and to have faith in God. 

I know that you will spending lots of time in the scriptures and I wanted to share with you some key scriptures that talk about the Messiah.

Uniqueness of Jesus

Who Is Jesus Christ?

By Bill Bright

What if you could predict that a major world event would take place five minutes from now? What if you could accurately describe what would happen? Would knowing the future give you unusual power? Would anyone believe you? Possibly some would, but how many would not?

Many people do not believe the Bible, yet it miraculously foretells hundreds of events, sometimes in minute detail, and usually hundreds – sometimes thousands – of years ahead. Some prophecies concern cities and countries, such as Tyre, Jericho, Samaria, Jerusalem, Palestine, Moab, and Babylon. Others relate to specific individuals. Many have already been fulfilled, but some are still in the future.

Jesus Christ is the subject of more than 300 Old Testament prophecies. His birth nearly 2,000 years ago, and events of His life had been foretold by many prophets during a period of 1,500 years. History confirms that even the smallest detail happened just as predicted. It confirms beyond a doubt that Jesus is the true Messiah, the Son of God and Savior of the world.

The following chart lists some of the amazing predictions concerning Jesus Christ, together with the record of their fulfillment:

His Birth
Old Testament Prophecy: Isaiah 7:14
Fullfillment in Jesus: Matthew 1:18,22,23

His Birthplace
Old Testament Prophecy: Micah 5:2
Fullfillment in Jesus: Luke 2:4,6,7

His Childhood in Egypt
Old Testament Prophecy: Hosea 11:1
Fullfillment in Jesus: Matthew 2:14-15

The Purpose for His Death
Old Testament Prophecy: Isaiah 53:4-6
Fullfillment in Jesus: 1 Corinthians 15:21; 1 Peter 2:24

His Betrayal
Old Testament Prophecy: Zechariah 11:12-13; 13:6
Fullfillment in Jesus: Matthew 26:14-16; 27:3-10

His Crucifixion
Old Testament Prophecy: Psalm 22
Fullfillment in Jesus: Matthew 27

His Resurrection
Old Testament Prophecy: Psalm 16:9-10
Fullfillment in Jesus: Acts 2:31

The printed version of this study contains 29 pages of preparatory notes not included in the online version of this study. Click here to order the printed study guide, The Uniqueness of Jesus.

Isaiah 53-54

English Standard Version (ESV)

53 (A)Who has believed what he has heard from us?[a]
    And to whom has (B)the arm of the Lord been revealed?
2 For he grew up before him like a young plant,
    (C)and like a root out of dry ground;
(D)he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
    and no beauty that we should desire him.
3 (E)He was despised and rejected[b] by men;
    a man of sorrows,[c] and acquainted with[d] grief;[e]
and as one from whom men hide their faces[f]
    he was despised, and (F)we esteemed him not.

4 (G)Surely he has borne our griefs
    and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
    (H)smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 (I)But he was pierced for our transgressions;
    he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
    (J)and with his wounds we are healed.
6 (K)All we like sheep have gone astray;
    we have turned—every one—to his own way;
(L)and the Lord has laid on him
    the iniquity of us all.

7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
    (M)yet he opened not his mouth;
(N)like a (O)lamb that is led to the slaughter,
    and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
    so he opened not his mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away;
    and as for his generation, (P)who considered
that he was cut off out of the land of the living,
    stricken for the transgression of my people?
9 And they made his grave with the wicked
    (Q)and with a rich man in his death,
although (R)he had done no violence,
    and there was no deceit in his mouth.

10 Yet (S)it was the will of the Lord to crush him;
    he has put him to grief;[g]
(T)when his soul makes[h] an offering for guilt,
    he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;
(U)the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see[i] and be satisfied;
by his knowledge shall (V)the righteous one, my servant,
    (W)make many to be accounted righteous,
    (X)and he shall bear their iniquities.
12 (Y)Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many,[j]
    (Z)and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,[k]
because he poured out his soul to death
    and was numbered with the transgressors;
(AA)yet he bore the sin of many,
    and makes intercession for the transgressors.

The Eternal Covenant of Peace

54 (AB)“Sing, O barren one, who did not bear;
    break forth into singing and cry aloud,
    you who have not been in labor!
For the children of (AC)the desolate one (AD)will be more
    than the children of her who is married,” says the Lord.
2 (AE)“Enlarge the place of your tent,
    and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out;
do not hold back; lengthen your cords
    and strengthen your stakes.
3 (AF)For you will spread abroad to the right and to the left,
    and your offspring will possess the nations
    and will people the desolate cities.

4 “Fear not, (AG)for you will not be ashamed;
    be not confounded, for you will not be disgraced;
for you will forget the shame of your youth,
    and the reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more.
5 (AH)For your Maker is your husband,
    the Lord of hosts is his name;
(AI)and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer,
    (AJ)the God of the whole earth he is called.
6 (AK)For the Lord has called you
    like a wife deserted and grieved in spirit,
like a wife of youth when she is cast off,
    says your God.
7 (AL)For a brief moment I deserted you,
    but with great compassion I will gather you.
8 (AM)In overflowing anger for a moment
    I hid my face from you,
(AN)but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you,”
    says the Lord, your Redeemer.

9 “This is like (AO)the days of Noah[l] to me:
    as I swore that the waters of Noah
    should no more go over the earth,
so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you,
    and will not rebuke you.
10 For the mountains may depart
    and the hills be removed,
but my steadfast love shall not depart from you,
    and (AP)my covenant of peace shall not be removed,”
    says the Lord, who has compassion on you.

11 (AQ)“O afflicted one, storm-tossed and not comforted,
    behold, (AR)I will set your stones in antimony,
    (AS)and lay your foundations with sapphires.[m]
12 I will make your pinnacles of agate,[n]
    your gates of carbuncles,[o]
    and all your wall of precious stones

November 30, 2012 – 6:35 am Categories: Current Events | Post a comment