The Bosque Boys

Some Chinese Christians trying to hold their government responsible for mistreatment. Here. Link from Institute on Religion and Democracy.

The Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, Katharine Jefferts Schori, asserts that "I don't believe that there is any will in this church to move backward," and that the election of a practicing homosexual bishop was "a great blessing". Article here. The bishop compares the struggle for gay rights with those of women and the anti-slavery movement. Some context for the current Episcopal situation, in respect of the world-wide Anglican Communion here.

I think the comparisons are false. Regarding slavery: nowhere in Scripture is slavery enjoined, instead it is regulated; and, although slavery is nowhere condemned in the Bible, the implications of the creation stories in Genesis 1 & 2, and the implications of the gospels count against slavery.

Evangelicals come down on both sides of the women's rights question. Regarding women's rights: clearly the Old Testament especially is patriarchal, though women are to be treated justly and there are several examples of women who were heroines; in the gospels Jesus treated women with respect, though he chose only male apostles; and, although the New Testament prohibt women from teaching in the churches, or having authority in the churches over men, in the epistles we see women in various areas of service, including as deacons. Most importantly, the instructions for family relationships enjoin mutual submission that means treating women with respect.

Regarding same-sex practice, the Scripture is unanimously against it, with explicit prohibitions. And, same-sex practice contradicts the statements and the implications of the creation stories in Genesis 1 & 2.

Funeral coverage for a serviceman's funeral in Missouri. From Gateway Pundit. Here.

We are approaching an election of great import. We are a nation at war, and we face grave external threats. We are buffeted by serious challenges at home that include healthcare, education, our increasing inability to live within our means and the coarsening of our culture. We will expect the next President to address all these problems as well as determine the course of American freedom through significant appointments to the federal judiciary and within the Executive. Much is at stake.

At the same time, we have never conducted a presidential canvass like this before, with so many candidates, with so much money and media attention on this scale so early in the election cycle. Therefore, there are no historical parallels. There are no compelling models (at least not during the primary season).

What should we expect? My mantra: Nobody knows anything.

Having said that, I am optimistic. I am confident that the American people are up to the duty of selecting the next chief executive. Moreover, I am convinced that the next president (whom ever he or she may prove to be) will be up to the difficult task.

Regardless of who wins the coming election, approximately half the nation, in varying degrees of vehemence, will greet the next president with disdain. However, that person will undoubtedly be a dedicated public servant who wants America to prosper and succeed. The burdensome office will test, torment and age the 44th President of the United States, but the sacred obligation will also summon the total of that individual’s inner strength and the best elements of his or her personality to meet the awesome challenges of the post.

More importantly, our nation has the innate capacity to overcome the limitations of our individual leaders. Writing in the 1830s, Alexis de Tocqueville observed: "the great advantage of the Americans consists in their [ability] to commit faults which they may afterwards repair." As a corollary, he wrote: "American democracy frequently errs in the choice of the individuals to whom it entrusts the power of the administration; but...the state prospers under their rule."

Why does American democracy prosper in spite of inferior leadership? Tocqueville offered three reasons: 1) the people are vigilant and jealous of their rights; 2) leaders are in power for relatively short periods of time; and, most importantly, 3) the interest of the leaders are more likely to be subsumed in the interest of the people.

While aristocratic (or elite) "magistrates" might offer more sterling talents and virtues individually, there is "a secret tendency in democratic institutions that [works toward the good] of the community in spite of their vices and mistakes." Ironically, Tocqueville argues, "in aristocratic governments public men may frequently do harm without intending it; and in democratic states they bring about good results of which they have never thought."

In truth, political passions tend to blind us to the good in American public servants. Looking back over American history, we do not see a pattern of good versus evil. While the battles between Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson were cast in those Manichean partisan terms during their own day, we now see that both Hamilton and Jefferson were earnest and self-sacrificing in their love of country; more importantly, they both proved essential to our corporate success.

The same can be said for Andrew Jackson and Henry Clay or William McKinley and William Jennings Bryan. This is a recurring theme in our national narrative.

My prediction for 2008 (with one caveat): As long as we the people do our job, the system will work and democracy will prevail.

More congregations leaving the (formerly) Mainline denominations.

Presbyterian. Episcopal.

Australia recently cracked down on the spread of radical Islam in its SuperMax prison. Story here. We need to take a proactive approach here.

The Vatican has decided to drop the doctrine of limbo--the teaching that unbaptized infants upon death spend eternity neither in heaven nor hell. Prior to elevation to the papacy Cardinal Ratzinger expressed doubts about the existence of limbo. For the present, the Roman Church is taking no official position on the fate of unbaptized babies, expressing hope that God will bring them to salvation. Story here.

An astounding collection of prehistoric stone carvings depicting ancestral beings has been discovered deep in an inhospitable area. Story here. Human beings are simply naturally religious.

Another reason not to buy Made in China. The contamination in the pet food appears to have begun as intentional chemical introductions to protein concentrates from China. The chemical introduced enhances the readings on protein content tests. Story here. Hat tip Photognome.

Buy American.

Tocquevill points out that three workers at a Bible publisher in Turkey recently were bound and had their throats slit. Here. This is an outrage.

Also an outrage is the way the MSM covered the incident. Note that the attackers are labeled "nationalists." Wrong. Turkish nationalism is secular. Those who slit the throats of Bible publishers are not motivated by nationalism. The Religion Whose Name Must Not Be Spoken was at it again.