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Showing posts from December 28, 2014

Bad Reasons To Oppose Illegal Immigration

1. A belief that there are too many Mexicans here. 2. A too-rigid view of the benefits of citizenship. 3. An irrational fear that the presence of too many Mexicans (or whomever) will make the transmission of distinctly American values and traditions impossible (because America is linked with whiteness). 4. Because it will help the Democrats. The Democrats always (stupidly) think they are on the verge of a permanent majority. It'd be funny, if they weren't so earnest. 5. Because Republicans In Name Only also support it. The sun shines on a dog's behind sometimes. Chuck Hagel is not the definition of "incorrect."

Define Your Terms, Feminist Edition

I'm not a feminist. I'm going to define the term, and then you'll understand why.  Feminism is a political movement, the goal of which is to subjugate men to women. That's what it is. If you want to talk about what most people want it to mean, and all manner of ancillary desires that people have (most of which I share, by the way), we can do that. But numerous problems faced by women which induce them--and a fair number of men--to call themselves "feminists" does not mean it is defined accurately in that case. For most people, feminism means recognizing the dignity and status of women. It means speaking out against sexual violence. It means encouraging girls to learn math and science (and everything else), or even play sports. I'm OK with all this, to a point. And feminists know this about most of us, which is why they like their movement being associated with all these things. But you need to understand: these are just means to an end, for the

The New Puritans (Way Worse Than The Old Ones)

There's a show I love called, "Criminal Minds." It's about a "Behavioral Analysis Unit" of the FBI that profiles serial killers and other violent offenders. We've been touched by violent crime in our family, so we have a great interest and admiration for what law enforcement does in this area. Great show. Anyway, there was a killer on the show who was murdering young women because of unresolved guilt over same-sex attraction, AND his parents sent him for "reparative therapy," where he was forced to watch pornography, and raped by a woman. It's so absurd, no wonder they think we Christians are insane. I could lodge objections against some forms of so-called "nouthetic counseling" all day long, but bottom line, this craziness doesn't fit any "pray away the gay" ideas I know of! In any case, I may just scream if I am subjected to one more consequentialist argument this week. (specifically, that it's OK to be com

Born Is The King Of Israel (Lk 2:22-35)

I could very well be imagining things; I can't say I felt totally contemplative in reading this Gospel. Still, the things which kept sticking out to me were "your people Israel" and, "the consolation of Israel." I can't get away from the joy and the sadness of what it must've been like, to wait, knowing that the transgressions of the covenant left God's People with a very circuitous route to the experience of His mercy. Simeon was faithful Israel, in his own way, carrying around in his body, and in his yearning, the death of Christ. And Mary is faithful Israel par excellence. We don't need to wonder at foolish questions, like whether Mary could die for us; she is not the Savior. We have an impoverished view of our God and Lord, in fact, if the only thing we love Him for is his sinlessness. In any case, if we don't see that we participate in what God is doing for His People Israel, we have no idea how great the New Covenant is. Most of us

5 Amy Grant Thoughts

5. Her pop albums--namely "Heart In Motion" and "House Of Love"--are better than the Christian music that made her famous. 4. I love the title track "House Of Love," but it makes me uncomfortable. Is there a non-judgmental way to say, "Divorce and re-marriage make me uncomfortable, because they're wrong"? 3. I know someone who almost asked out Amy Grant, because he literally had no idea who she was. (Of course, there's a big difference in age, but that proves that she has remained absurdly beautiful for a very long time.) 2. I was going to say, "How come Amy Grant and Kenny Loggins never had a duet?" but they did: "Return To Pooh Corner." 1. I have like 50 songs I think are the Greatest Song Ever, but one of them surely is "I Will Remember You."