Thanks to Kerry Hubartt for the ink and the headline.

HEAD:  Pledging Allegiance to Higher Law Disqualifies Me from Practicing Law in Indiana

The utter hypocrisy of America’s left never ceases to amaze me. It was this hypocrisy that drove me to file a federal civil rights claim against the government bureaucrats who ran me through one heck of a gauntlet during my bid to be licensed as an Indiana attorney.

On Groundhog Day my search for justice suffered yet another setback. The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed Judge Theresa Springmann’s decision that I had no federal case to bring. Not because I cannot make a claim under the First Amendment, but because any claim that I can make could be heard only by the Indiana Supreme Court — the very court that I allege to have conspired against me.

Article continued here

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Fort Wayne / South Bend’s Bishop Kevin Rhoades  — and all of the Bishops of the United States – find themselves in a culture war with the Obama administration in 2012.  Sometimes you run to the front, sometimes the front advances upon you. 

Find here a column in the local newspaper reflecting on the recent march for life in the Fort (see picture below) and the test that has now come to the Catholic Church in the United States. 

The column contains quotes from three US Bishops that would have been considered quite radical just a few months ago.  Read ‘em and muster for battle.

Kulturkampf has come to us, with Kathleen Sebelius and Barack Obama driving the tanks in the general’s ranks.  Definition here:  http://www.archangelinstitute.org/americas-political-class-intensifies-the-kulturkampf/

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Oh That Voodoo, That You Do, When You Protect Church Freedoms

Yesterday, I attended the final Joint Summer Study Committee on Child Care Issues in the Indiana House Ways and Means Committee room. I sat next to a friend who mentioned how contentious this committee had been. It didn’t take long for this to play out in this final hearing.

The contention boils down to those who want to give state government more power over church childcare ministries in order to improve some daycare center conditions, versus those who see this as a violation of the true meaning of “a wall of separation” envisioned to keep government out of churches. The hearing took a weird turn when Chairman Tim Wesco moved through the short agenda to end the meeting. Senator Travis Holdman began a rather lengthy talk about his time doing mission work in Haiti many years ago and the difficulties he ran into in trying to help children with medical assistance. As he spoke, I found myself thinking, “please don’t go where I think you’re going with this.” Unfortunately, he did!  Senator Holdman spoke about the power that Voodoo witch doctors have in many of the villages of Haiti and their power to turn people into zombies. He then turned his example into an attack upon Eric Miller of Advance America and I would assume, myself, for our opposition to his bill last year. He compared our efforts to that of the Witch Doctors who give people a zombie drug because people repeated our concerns about his bill on church daycare regulations.

Senate Bill 56 was a bill that, among other thing, would have required church childcare ministry centers to have “nutritionally balanced snacks” and given the state the power to fine or shut down a church ministry without a court order. The bill had some reasonable expectations too, but its supporters revealed their purpose when they repeatedly called it only “a first step.”  What then, is step number two that the government has planned for Indiana churches?

The bill was promoted as a way to protect children, without a doubt, a noble goal. However, it is unclear how new regulations and yearly inspections by a bureaucrat from Indianapolis would be more effective than parents. Moms or dads are at their child care center every morning and afternoon to drop off and pick up their most precious loved one and they care about conditions.  Moreover, if there are centers out there that are unsafe, as Senator Holdman and others claim, why not call the police department or the department of health about those specific centers? This could be an enforcement issue as much as anything else.

I spoke with a pastor after the hearing who told me that what many on that committee do not seem to realize is the great lengths churches with day care centers are going in regard to insurance and lawsuit concerns to ensure good care for children today.

Interestingly, he and Eric Miller both thought that there is a safe way to achieve the stated desire of Sen. Holdman. Churches would probably welcome offers of assistance, information and training from Family and Social Services about child safety and facility conditions. Rep. Wesco attempted to add recommendations for the state to offer such assistance into the minutes of the committee in regard to child safety and child abuse reporting. However, Senator Holdman opposed this effort, claiming that it fell so far short of what he had hoped the committee might do legislatively (regulations), that he could not support it. Rep. Wesco’s recommendation was therefore deleted from the final committee draft.

In spite of being labeled as a practitioner of “Indiana Christian Voodoo” held over “superstitious” pastors, I still want to give Senator Holdman the benefit of the doubt in regard to his intent. However, long before he was a legislator, this battle has raged between those in the child care industry who do not like that our founders set up in principle a different, more favorable view of ministry. The day care industry does not really like competing with churches. Many simply want children only in government run childcare centers. Intentionally or not, Sen. Holdman has aligned himself with those secular, big government forces.

The lines were drawn today for another battle between the “good” intentions of government verses the role of parents and the freedoms of churches. We’ll see how far this effort gets next year. One thing is for sure, this issue is not going away . . . no matter what spell we cast over the matter.

Being “Pro-Life” is Not Enough

With less than two weeks until Election Day it is good to remember the importance and the value of your vote. One problem for any kind of political constituency is having its support and votes taken for granted by politicians. As an example, I would argue that 96% of African-Americans voting Democratic year in and year out might not be in the best political interests of black Americans. Yet, such a problem falls at the feet of the voter as much as it does the politician who takes those votes for granted regardless of his political actions, abilities or positions.

Let’s be honest. The same could often be said of socially conservative Christian voters (of any race). Many people assume that if a political candidate is “pro-life” then he must be pro-family and socially conservative. Many Republicans have realized this assumption and therefore act as if all that matters to securing the votes of 40% of the GOP base is abortion. (There are also Democrat politicians who think just being pro-life can secure the votes of socially conservative Democratic voters.) Pro-life and pro-family groups may have also contributed to this single-issue perception over the years.

Take, for example, the two candidates running for mayor of Evansville. The Republican claims to be pro-life, but both candidates are actively helping raise money for a multi-state homosexual demands group. Both are pushing for the indoctrination of children in schools (under the guise of safety) and both are helping to undermine marriage.

Incidentally, I always find it amazing when people are shocked by homosexual publications with ads, pictures and other items that verge on pornographic. Why aren’t more politicians worried, when their pictures, or praise, appear in homosexual publications that most parents would never allow in their home or near their children? You’d like to think those running for the highest offices in a city or state have better discernment in regard to the sensibilities of families who constantly fight a sex-obsessed culture intent on destroying the innocence of children.

This problem goes all the way up the ladder. There are presidential candidates who are doing this as well. In fact, it could be argued that one candidate who recently released a strong pro-life video (the day after missing the most important pro-life vote in a year) is anything but pro-family or socially conservative.

This raises two interesting questions. First, what is your vote worth, what price do you put on it? Second, what criteria does a candidate have to meet to get your vote?

Last week I spoke with a nationally known pro-family leader who just joined a new pro-life group in Ohio. Another member of that group is Dr John Wilke, a legendary grandfather of the pro-life movement who served as the President of National Right to Life for over a decade. The new group will not give any candidate for office their pro-life endorsement unless that candidate can agree with the principles of the Manhattan Declaration. (http://manhattandeclaration.org/the-declaration/read.aspx)

Not every candidate who deserves your support will agree with you on every issue. Some of my closest friends in the legislature do not even vote the same on every issue upon which AFA takes a position. However, since I began at AFA of Indiana, our donor polls consistently reveal that there are three issues out of 20 in our survey that always come up with 80%+ support, and rate 10+ points higher than all the others. Those three are my personal price for support. As best I can, I will not give any candidate my vote unless they will defend the fundamental right to life, protect marriage, the cornerstone of the family, and guard our religious liberties against the agenda of atheists and secularists. Because I believe I am accountable for my vote to God, if a candidate or both candidates are substantially wrong on any of these three, I will not vote for that candidate or I will skip that race altogether if both are wrong on these essential values. (By the way, another principle I hold is that I will not give campaign money to a political party which might work against my values through their support of candidates whom I would not give my vote. Therefore, I only donate to certain candidates who meet my criteria.)

As the 2011 election draws near, this is just my personal opinion. You will have to have your own criteria, but I thought this might be a good time for some food for thought before you head to the polls.

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Just How Bad is It?   Pretty Bad

If you feel like you have been crushed financially, you probably have. A new report finds that the US standard of living has declined longer and more steeply in the last three years than during any time since the government began that measurement fifty years ago. The average American now has $1,315 less in disposable income than at the onset of the Great Recession three years ago.Something Has Happened In America on the Way to Church 

Throughout the 20th Century, America’s churches (of which there are perhaps as many as 400,000 today) were not very socially stratified. Attendance by economic or social status was not all that distinct from group to group. However, a new study looking back over the last fifty years has found that the bottom may now be falling out of church attendance among white middle class Americans.

The scholarly study from sociologists at Johns Hopkins University and the University of Virginia called,No Money, No Honey, No Church, has found that low or moderately educated white middle class Americans are abandoning church. However, attendance rates for those with 2 yrs or more of college education in the studied age group of 25-44 are holding fairly steady.

While the rate of church attendance since the 1970’s has been in decline in America, the rates for moderately educated, working class whites have now declined at twice the rate of more affluent whites (from 38% to 23%). This is significant given that the moderately educated working class make up 60 percent of the adult white population.

The scholars point to two reasons for this, the first being economic decline. While I have some questions why this would keep people from church, the other theory in the report is much more compelling. In short, the white middle class and, therefore, the church have also become victims of the culture war. 

Americans with college degrees are now more likely to have successful marriages and families and they have higher church attendance rates. In contrast, moderately educated whites are now less likely to marry, more likely to divorce and more likely to have adopted worldly views of premarital sex.

The study concludes that, “moderately educated whites are now less likely to be married with children, and to hold familistic views, they may also be less likely to feel comfortable or interested in regularly attending churches that continue to uphold conventional norms, either implicitly or explicitly.”

The report warns that this is not a good development because of the positive societal benefits churches create. In describing this church effect, the report observes, “When moderately educated white men and women can attain strong and stable marriages, they can find reinforcement for the lives they lead from their churches. In other words, white married couples attend church with their children partly as a way of displaying to their fellow congregants, who are often their neighbors and friends, their sense of responsibility and their commitment to familism – and also to gain reinforcement for their moral view of the world.”

It is somewhat ironic that whether a church wants to stand up on the front lines for marriage and the values of virtue and family, or if it chooses to not make waves, the fallout from the culture war may already be negatively impacting its attendance numbers. As more people embrace a culture that constantly opposes the Judeo-Christian ethic, both our churches and our people suffer.

Giving Hoosiers A Second Chance

In the August AFAIN newsletter, I wrote a short article showing that the number of prisoners in the US has gone from just 196,429 in 1970 to 2,186,230 in 2005. This is an increase of 800% in just 35 years. Prison overpopulation, recidivism rates, prison costs and construction have all become significant issues for government, as the family and morality declines. (Around 80% of people in prison come from homes in which there was not a married father present.)

Governments can keep building prisons or farm them out to private corporations as a cost savings to taxpayers, but such things are not a real solution to such a pervasive problem.

There are many things that could be proposed. One option is to try to cut down on the recidivism rate for lower level crimes. That is an avenue Representative Eric Turner tried as an author of House Bill 1211 which successfully passed the legislature this year. This “Second Chance” law seeks to address the problem with a series of incentives. The law seeks to help those who have paid their sentences and were a non-violent, non-sex crime, offender. If the individuals are seeking professional or educational goals, the convicted individual can petition a court to keep their arrest record private, including for employment applications. There is an 8-year period in which the individual cannot have committed a crime following their sentence as a requirement of being able to petition for the second chance benefits. The prosecutor in the case can oppose the petition, which may lead to a hearing on the matter.

There are some legislators who want to revisit and make some small changes to the Second Chance Law, but it is a subject that needed consideration. In fact, Rep. Turner recently received an award from a coalition of groups dealing with addiction issues for his passage of HB 1211.

For years many inner city ministers have been complaining about convicted individuals, who have served their time and changed their ways, being completely shut out of the job market, which can force many of them back toward crime. House Enrolled Act 1211 may be a step to help those people re-enter society as productive, good citizens who forever avoid being among the statistics of an exploding prison population.

Government Argues for Dangerous New Intrusions Into US Churches

When a story about a religious freedom case comes across the airwaves or the Internet, if you’re like me, you probably assume that the radical secularists at the ACLU are at it again. This may be why the story of a church lawsuit before the US Supreme Court involving a Lutheran school’s termination of a teacher’s contract is such a surprise.

This time the Obama Administration has pushed a court case all the way up to the top asking the Justices to side with their desire to punish churches and to dictate their employment policies. They are doing this even though in the last ten years all twelve US Federal Circuit Courts have rejected their argument against religious liberty.

The question centers on whether the government can overrule or even weigh in on employment matters at churches or religious institutions. Solicitor General Donald Verrilli argued in his brief that the government should be able to tell churches whom it can or cannot hire or fire, regardless of the church’s teachings, thereby opposing the existing religious exemption.

Currently, the government can typically overrule the exemption only if the employee’s offices or duties can be shown to be phony or entirely secular. The Obama Administration apparently wants to eliminate this exemption entirely, which should send chills down the back of every pastor reading this email. 

It is one thing to have wacky activists trying to force EEOC regulations onto churches and religious institutions as a blatantly obvious political move designed to equate homosexual behaviors with skin color. It is quite another to have the top officials at the US Department of Justice arguing for a pathway for the government to do exactly the same thing.

America: To Occupy or Not to Occupy

Although there is a lot of discussion about the Occupy Wall Street protests occurring in cities across the nation, and a lot of overly favorable coverage that may overlook some of its radical, anarchist and Marxist elements, more Americans do not agree with the participants.

A new USA Today/Gallup Poll finds that more Americans blame Washington, DC than Wall Street for the nation’s economic problems. When asked who is more to blame for the weak state of the economy, 64% of people chose the federal government. Only 30% chose big financial institutions.

Most Americans (54%) still believe that our economic system is fair to them, compared to 44% who said it is not. Some polls have found that most Americans still have not yet made up their mind on how they view the Occupy Wall Street protestors. The survey of 1,026 adults was taken on October 15th and 16th 2011.

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Government Caught Pink Handed Inflating Numbers

As you recall, while campaigning, Senator Barack Obama appeared to be one of the most electrifying, populist, hopeful and promising presidential candidates to seek that office since Ronald Reagan. In reality however, President Obama is the most liberal and ideologically extreme of any person to occupy the White House in our lifetimes. He is seemingly a true believer in this agenda. He appears unwilling to deviate from his worldview in part perhaps because, (even by his own admissions), he spent his whole life surrounded by America-hating radicals seeking to undermine the foundations of our nation and constantly disparaging the values essential to those foundations. It should be no surprise then that the Obama administration has been caught fabricating numbers on behalf of those seeking to tear apart marriage and sexual virtue, the keys to a healthy civilization. The US Census Bureau has been forced to admit that it has been artificially inflating the numbers of same-sex households in America by nearly twice their actual numbers.

This effort has had some success too. Not long ago, I received a phone call from a reporter wanting to write a story about the growing number of same-sex households in Indiana as revealed by this Census data. The reporter had figured out that those living together are the most likely to marry should our laws ever be redefined. These new numbers might represent some sort of trend or growing number of those experiencing discrimination, even though people can live outside the norm more freely today than ever before in history. (In fact, those who abide by rational traditional mores are becoming the ones society increasingly looks down upon.)

Under the revised Census data, the number of same sex households in the entire US, both married, where allowed, and unmarried, is less than ¾ of a million, or only about 1% of the number of heterosexual married households. (That percent is even smaller as a percent of all heterosexual couple led households when the numbers of unmarried cohabiting heterosexuals are included.)

In Indiana, the revised numbers indicate that there are less than 6,000 same-sex households statewide, rather than 10,200 reported in 2010. By comparison there are 1.25 million married heterosexual households in the state. Social liberals would like to upend Indiana’s schools, textbooks, religious and charitable institutions and various other parts of society to dramatically redefine marriage to order accommodate four-tenths of one percent of households. What lifestyle not practiced by 99.6% of the population might we be forced to embrace next?

Another myth perpetuated by cultural liberals is that homosexuality makes up ten percent of the population. Even at that, the pop culture’s constant obsession with the homosexual agenda has skewed American’s views far worse. A recent poll found that most Americans now believe that nearly 25% of the population engages in homosexuality.

In reality, the percentage of people who exclusively experience homosexuality in regard to three criteria: attraction, behavior and self-identification is incredibly small at only 0.6% of men and 0.2%of women. If you use only the broadest of these criteria, self-identification, just 2.8% of US males and 1.4% of females identify as homosexual or lesbian. Incidentally, this data comes from the US National Health and Life Survey the same study and same number cited in the legal brief signed by thirty-one leading homosexual demands groups filed in the 2003 Lawrence v. Texas Supreme Court case. Yet, this reality has not hindered the over-inflated numbers in news stories, articles, web sites, blogs, editorials, etc. If you “Google” the term “ten percent gay” it will bring up 3 million (2,970,000) hits.

It seems obvious that there are those in this administration who want to advance a particular narrative in regard to homosexuality and marriage. It surprised many that this agenda would be so extensive that it would even include the number crunchers at the Census Bureau.
(One of the criteria courts have established to determine minority and civil rights recognition is the demonstration of political powerlessness among the disaffected group. That is a discussion for another day.)

A Look at Some Other Numbers for Indiana

Today, on twenty-three radio station dials in twenty-two cities across Indiana, our AFA radio news minute will cover the news of the latest abortion numbers from the Indiana State Department of Health. The news story notes the significant increase (16%) in chemical abortions (RU-486) from the previous year.

The most recent data recently released by the ISDH, through the Indiana Induced Termination of Pregnancy Report for 2008 has some other numbers that may interest you. Here is more Indiana abortion data:

• In 2008 there were a total of 10,919 abortions performed in Indiana;

• Of the 10,919 abortions performed, 95.9% (10,469) were performed on Indiana residents;

• Out of 10,919 abortions in Indiana, only 367 occurred in a hospital;

• Of the 1,269 chemical abortions in 2008, only one occurred in a hospital;

• All but two abortions in 2008 occurred in five Indiana counties: Allen (595); Lake (2,140); Marion (6,601); Monroe (855) and St. Joseph (726);

• The largest age group, accounting for 34.4% of abortive women, occurred among women aged 20-24 years old.

• A statistic that I cannot understood finds that an astonishing 62% of Hoosier women having an abortion have had at least one previous live birth. Only 37.2 percent of women terminating their pregnancies have never had a baby.

• Of the 10,919 Indiana abortions in 2008, 6,830 had never had an abortion before.

• For more than 4,089 women obtaining an abortion in Indiana in 2008 it was their second, third or forth one;

• As is the case with so much of the social science literature, marriage is a critical part of a stable society and vitally important in so many ways to the lives of children. In 2008, 83% of the women obtaining an abortion in Indiana were not married.

• Most abortions, 62.6% are performed upon white women in Indiana;

• Although African-Americans accounted for only 10% of the Indiana population in 2008, 29.8% of all abortions were performed on blacks, something many people believe is a statistic still following in paths of the original “negro plan” concocted by Planned Parenthood’s founder Margaret Sanger, a rabid racial eugenicist who described minorities as “human weeds.”

Big Victory for Cultural Standards of Broadcast Decency!

After just three episodes and increasing sponsorship problems, NBC announced Monday that it was canceling its new show, “The Playboy Club.” The announcement comes after 116 national and state groups mostly made up of conservatives like AFA-IN but also some national feminists like Gloria Steinem, supported an effort called “Close the Club.” They contacted sponsors expressing their concerns about the messages the show sent about women, decency and morality.

These groups have a reason to question why our culture should promote the Playboy Club in an already porn drenched and sex obsessed society. In just the last three years 36 porn stars have died from suicide, drugs or murder. Another 100 have died of AIDS. The number of “stars” whom our society would claim have it all, fame, beauty, fortune and massive sexual freedom and access, who have died at young ages, with no hope or happiness left, through their efforts is astonishing.

Former porn star Shelley Lubben, (who found redemption through faith in Jesus Christ and is now witnessing to those in the industry) has chronicled scores of those deaths, and other problems such as drug abuse and disease that are rampant in the industry. No one who idolizes this with what they see on television can imagine what groups like the Pink Cross Foundation and anti-porn have found.  (I am not totally comfortable linking to or recommending those kind of ex-star sites. They serve a purpose, but they understandably feel called to warn about the degradation of the industry that Hollywood and society totally ignores. There is good information there, but it is not pretty, overly modest, or for the squeamish.)

By the way, at the 2003 meeting of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, attendees stated that 58% of their divorces were now a result of a spouse looking at excessive amounts of pornography online. The last thing America needs is another gateway TV path leading people into this destructive and addictive problem.

Fatherhood Movie Has Excellent Opening Weekend

The important new fatherhood movie, Courageous, had a great opening weekend. Courageous debuted on just 1,161 theater screens, one-third of the number of most of its competitors, yet it was still # 5 at the box office and # 1 in terms of earnings, selling $8.8 million worth of tickets. This should equate to an even larger audience and its appearance in more theaters across the US.

Persuasive Internet Movie Also Has A Huge Opening Week

Courageous is not the only highly talked about movie this week. Half a million people in its first week have viewed the powerful apologetics documentary “180.” This is the new “man on the street” interview, (though it is obviously a California street,) with Ray Comfort and mostly young adults. It has a lot of people talking as they see people re-evaluating their views, particularly on life and moral relativism. You can watch as people see their logic crumble causing them to confront the weakness of their worldview here: http://www.180movie.com/

Save the 9/11 Memorial Cross

American Atheists have now singled out an item from the rubble of the September 11th attack on the US. They want a cross censored from the new 9/11 memorial museum at the World Trade Center site.

The 17 ft tall metal cross was discovered intact during search and recovery efforts. It consists of two metal beams from the center that became a recognized symbol of hope and patriotism in the weeks and months following the attack on America. Yet, these secularists have filed a lawsuit against its inclusion in the museum. They claim that it promotes Christianity and somehow diminishes the civil rights of non-Christians. There are other religious items from the rubble such as a Star of David and a Bible included in the museum, but the cross really seems to bother the secularists.

You can sign a petition to keep the cross at the museum here:

http://www.grimmforcongress.com/save911cross/index.html

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A little more than one year ago, Chuck Colson (the Evangelical founder of Prison Fellowship who, long before that, was an ill-advised advisor to Richard Nixon in the heat of the Watergate debacle) released, alongside Roman Catholic academic heavy hitter Robert George, a manifesto that might be considered the defensive foxholes of the Culture Wars. 

The document, dubbed the Manhattan Declaration, was lauded by many on the Right upon its release.  It has since been signed by tens of thousands.  A link to the document and its cyberhome follows this post.

One of the most direct paragraphs of this forthright 6000-plus word manifesto reads as follows:

Because the sanctity of human life, the dignity of marriage as a union of husband and wife, and the freedom of conscience and religion are foundational principles of justice and the common good, we are compelled by our Christian faith to speak and act in their defense. In this declaration we affirm: 1) the profound, inherent, and equal dignity of every human being as a creature fashioned in the very image of God, possessing inherent rights of equal dignity and life; 2) marriage as a conjugal union of man and woman, ordained by God from the creation, and historically understood by believers and non-believers alike, to be the most basic institution in society and; 3) religious liberty, which is grounded in the character of God, the example of Christ, and the inherent freedom and dignity of human beings created in the divine image.

Secularists may all yawn at this point, noting new here – ”just move along ma’am, nothing new to see hear, c’mon keeping it movin’”

But this Declaration is no mere recitation of a common creed for the politically and religiously minded of the Right.  It is also a declaring of an intent to dig in and really resist the secular world order on the erosion of these three dogmas.

After a brief and cogent overview of 2000 years of the church’s social teachings, a pledge is made to stop the hemorrhaging of Christendom via passive resistance.  This is the line drawn in the sands of relativism in the Manhattan Declaration.  The pledge to hold the line reads like this:

Because we honor justice and the common good, we will not comply with any edict that purports to compel our institutions to participate in abortions, embryo-destructive research, assisted suicide and euthanasia, or any other anti-life act; nor will we bend to any rule purporting to force us to bless immoral sexual partnerships, treat them as marriages or the equivalent, or refrain from proclaiming the truth, as we know it, about morality and immorality and marriage and the family. We will fully and ungrudgingly render to Caesar what is Caesar’s. But under no circumstances will we render to Caesar what is God’s.

The above paragraph can test presupostions.

Some read in it the spirit of Gandalf shouting out his intentions against the Balrog of Moria on the Bridge of Khazad-dum: “YOU SHALL NOT PASS!”

Others instead hear the threats of those whose rich lives were built on the slave plantation system — they hear a cry similar to that which arose from the slave holders decrying the postbellum age of civil rights and mechanized agriculture.

Is the relativistic age that is yet attempting to be born in our midst – an age that presents human life as a commodity, marriage as a merely secular contract and political correctness as the contours of acceptable expression — is this age a boon or a bust for America? 

Relativism is well defined and well revealed by Ken Wilber, in A Theory of Everything:

“[Relativism] claimed that all truth is culturally situated (except its own truth, which is for all cultures); it claimed there are no transcendental truths (except its own pronouncements, which transcend specific contexts); it claimed that all hierarchies or value rankings are oppressive and marginalizing (except its own value ranking, which is superior to the alternatives); it claimed that there are no universal truths (except its own pluralism, which is universally true for all peoples).”

Those signing the Manhattan Declaration see this age of relativism, this present Balrog bearing down upon us, as a total bust for America, and wish to warn their fellow Americans that the complete and total secularization of our ethics will lead us to the graveyard of nations. 

WANT TO HEAR MORE ABOUT THIS? 

Then join the community discussion live at the Allen County Public Library, 3pm, on Saturday, January 29.  A panel consisting of Franciscan priest Father David Mary Engo, diocesan priest Father Glenn Kohrman and University of St. Francis theologian Dr. John Bequette will be joined on stage by others — tea party and pro-life activists (among others) to present and discuss the controversial Manhattan Declaration.  It will be “open mic” season in the audience, and you are invited to attend — whether you consider the Manhattan Declaration a spirited warning to a destructive Balrog or rather the dying screams of an unjust Christian order.

More details at www.archangelinstitute.org

Here is the path to the Manhattan Declaration:  http://www.manhattandeclaration.org/home.aspx

No related posts.

Here in Topeka  the Phelps “God Hates Fags” campaign and Westboro Baptist Church are well known.  Their fenced “compound” takes up  about half a city block near midtown.

I wanted to let them know how the good people of the Fort view their funeral protests.

Here I am with my banner standing just outside their  church.

I stood along the street for a few minutes collecting honks.  Many honked with zeal, but most averted their eyes.  Controversy just does not sell that well with the great freshly scrubbed masses.

Realizing that most in the Fort would want the Phelps to know our collective thoughts on their repeated visits I rolled up my banner and left it on their gate with this message:  “Phelps family, please allow us to bury our honored war dead in peace.   A son of the Fort.”

I then left the compound behind and drove downtown, where I found one of Fred Phelp’s daughters protesting with many children.  I was then privileged to let them know, face to face, that Fort Wayne did not welcome their presence at military funerals.

I spent more than a few moments with them in pleasant conversation, walking them to their cars as they loaded the signs and left for lunch.  As unpleasant as their signs are, they are not unpleasant people.   My final question went unanswered:  “Micah Clark of AFA Indiana wants to know your theological paradigm.  Am I correct that your are hard core Calvinists?”   My question was met with an incredulous stare.  Fred’s daughter seemed unwilling to discuss their theological paradigm with an assumed reprobate.  I am of the conclusion that they are not Baptists as most understand that term.  They are probably better labeled  as a quite unique breed – let’s call them Phelpsbyterians.

So  …. in the final analysis …

Tolls from Kansas City to Topeka                                                                                                                                      $2.50

Five foot banner from FedEx – Kinko’s                                                                                                                            $8.50

Getting to personally delivery a “you’re unwanted” message from the Fort PRICELESS

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I had to drive around our state yesterday, on business and family matters, and didn’t have any significant plans to commemorate the ugly anniversary. In fact, I made it a point to NOT watch the towers fall again on TV, nor listen to the speeches that countless others were making.

Other than in hopes the day would go less painful for those who lost loved ones, I didn’t really wish to be involved.

And then, as I was driving the second leg of my long trip, near Chicago, I saw something I noticed early in the morning on the other side of the state. I had brushed it off to the morning blur. And then I saw it again, and again, and again over the next 12 hours in all kinds of weather in every county.

Men were holding flags on overpass bridges on the highways.

I saw firemen, policemen, military men, and individuals who stood at the center post, holding solitary flags.

I saw lines and small groups of people, spaced in prominence..at a solemn stance with the flag in their arms.

No speeches, no music, no promises, just a stance with a symbol that reminded me how lucky I was to be able to choose my path.

So, the day AFTER September 11, my mind is emblazoned with the images from individuals who made a choice to silently remind us of why we can go on with our day and do our business and be with those we love.

The day AFTER September 11, I prayed.

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Muslims Give Obama Highest Job Approval; Mormons, Lowest
Jews and those with no religious affiliation also give Obama above-average ratings

Somehow, this is not surprising.

Complete story here.

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In case you missed it, last Thursday was National Polygamy Day, and the 10th annual celebration, too! This event is organized by a group, which has the slogan, “Polygamy the Next Civil Rights Battle.” They celebrate the gains made each year, mostly by homosexual demands groups, in the unraveling of marriage in the United States in hope of legalizing polygamy in the US.
On the fourth anniversary of the Lawrence v. Texas ruling, which legalized sodomy, Polygamy Day, Inc. filed for a federal trademark for their celebration day, which began not in Utah or Arizona, but in Old Orchard Beach, Maine.

This year’s event included the group’s gathering to celebrate a Massachusetts Judge’s ruling against the Defense of Marriage Act, the overturning of the California Proposition 8 referendum, and the dismissal of charges against polygamist leader and likely statutory rapist Warren Jeffs.

Ideas still have consequences, even if many do not want to acknowledge those consequences. As my friend, radio talk show host Peter Heck, recently told me, “The battle over same-sex marriage is not really about the redefining of marriage. It is actually the un-defining of marriage. If the homosexual activists win, marriage will become meaningless because it swings the door wide open to anything and everything.” That’s exactly why American polygamists are eagerly waiting in the wings today. The scary question is who else is waiting in the shadows also cheering on the homosexual demands groups’ systematic dismantling of marriage?

A Question of Presidential Faith

Before President Obama weighed in on the wrong side of the victory mosque on the site of the 9/11 massacre, Americans were polled about the faith of the President. This poll from the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life has generated a lot of discussion and alleged angst inside the White House because an increasing number of Americans (1-in-5) believe that our President is a Muslim.

I actually think that this number is even higher than 24% in reality, but many people do not want to say so out of fear of being criticized. In fact, the poll found that this is not simply a measure of Obama’s critics. A significant number of the Presidents supporters even think that he is a Muslim.

What we do know as fact is that Barrack Obama was a Muslim according to Islamic tradition because his father and stepfather were Muslims. This is why the President spent part of his childhood raised in Islamic schools and why he seems to still have deep knowledge of Islamic teachings. His paternal father later became an Atheist and his stepfather apparently followed what the President described in his book as “a unique brand of Islam.” The President has described his mother as “a Christian-turned-secular.”

It is understandable why the White House or the President’s political consultants are concerned about these poll numbers in a post-9/11 world. While there are some elitists who immediately blamed Americans for their ignorance, there are no doubt others behind closed doors who have told the President that a lot of these poll numbers are his own making which he should work to undo through a series of religious steps. (The President has attended church only once since entering the Oval Office. That may now change and news stories will probably accompany the President’s acts of Christian faith.)

What I find far more interesting is not that we have a President whom some Americans see as a Muslim, but one whose profession of Christianity is losing credibility as quickly as his economic policies. Last year, roughly half of all Americans (48%) identified the President as a Christian. This year only34% say this. This sharp decline is accompanied by an increase in the number of Americans (43%) who now say that they have no idea what the President’s faith is. Again, this decline is seen among both his critics and his likely supporters.

Here again, however, these polling numbers are largely the fault of the President. Within days of his inauguration, he had implemented sweeping expansions of public funding for abortion and cancelled annual White House ceremonies for the National Day of Prayer. He also quickly showed hostility toward Israel that he seems unable to keep behind closed doors. That’s just the start of a very long list of questionable faith-connected missteps.

I guess such widespread confusion may have been a foregone conclusion after the nation elected a candidate who had told audiences in Ohio that the Sermon on the Mount justified his support for homosexual marriage. Nevertheless, it is a sad reflection upon our President surrounding an issue of such major importance to millions of Americans.

There is a very interesting article on this subject from an author who has written books on the faith of Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush and Hillary Clinton. He discusses this matter in a very fair and insightful manner at this link: http://www.onenewsnow.com/Perspectives/Default.aspx?id=1134060

Big News on Hold . . . Watch This Congressional District

AFA of Indiana has some big and encouraging pro-family news occurring in September.  I can’t wait until I can finally announce it to you with all the details through this weekly e-mail and an official news release.

Until then, I mentioned that I might recap a few political races that I am often asked about when traveling around the state. One race that is getting very little attention is in Indiana’s 7th Congressional District, which essentially encompasses most of Marion County and the City of Indianapolis. The district leans significantly toward the Democrat party. It contains all of Center Township, but the outer lines of the district do not include many of the Republican parts of Indianapolis, most notably the far north side near Hamilton County, which is drawn into Congressman Dan Burton’s district.

Democrat Andre Carson represents the 7th Congressional District. Rep. Carson was elected in a special election on March 11, 2008 with 53% of the vote, after his grandmother, Congresswoman Julia Carson, passed away. Prior to this, Rep. Carson had served on the Indianapolis City-County Council since 2007. He also won that office in a special election held by party caucus members after a council vacancy. Rep. Carson served as an investigator for the excise police for nine years. Interestingly, Rep. Carson attended Catholic schools for a time as a child and was raised as a Baptist. However, as a teenager, Andre converted to Islam. This is notable because he is one of only two Muslims currently serving in the US Congress. The other is Rep. Keith Ellison of Minnesota’s 5th district first elected in 2006. (This is not a smear. It is simply a unique fact about the Hoosier Congressman.)

Butler University Sociology Professor, Marvin Scott, is challenging Andre Carson for Congress, hoping to finally win this seat which Marvin narrowly lost to Andy Jacobs in 1994.

Conventional wisdom says that this district often hinges upon the African-American voter turnout, which represents 30% of the district’s population. In 2008 the district went for President Obama with71% of the vote. Even though both congressional candidates are black, this Obama number is largely why the state and county GOP have seemingly written off this district following a primary in which Dr. Scott defeated the party’s slated candidate.

However, the Scott campaign is making the argument that this is in no way a 60 or 70 percent Democrat district, particularly in this off year. They see this as only a 53% or 54% Democrat voting district based upon similar congressional elections involving even the formidable political machine of Julia Carson. They claim that this year is different.  They are sensing that they can win with their well-known candidate.

There may be some reason for optimism in the Scott campaign IF they can get a large number of volunteers and enough funding to run an effective get out the vote effort and final media push to Election Day.  Rep. Carson has irritated TEA Party groups with his accusation of racist remarks from these groups shouted at him during the health care vote. (Those charges have been disproven by several independent reviews of videotapes of the rallies at the US capitol that Rep. Carson walked through in March.) Will those groups now work to defeat one of their most vocal critics whom they believe smeared them with charges of racism? Can Dr. Scott raise money to compete with a freshman Congressman who may be more vulnerable in this unique year than in others to come? Will national issues and high unemployment produce a desire to change leadership in this urban district as may be happening in other areas? On the other hand, does Andre Carson have his grandmother’s coat strings and her remarkable ability to turn out the vote that we saw even when her numbers did not look good at the start of an election night?

No one seems to know the answers to these questions. There are also local races that play into voter turnout, too, for this countywide congressional district. These local races don’t come into play as much in other Congressional districts that may cover eight, ten or twelve counties. These races could cut both for and against Carson and Scott depending upon the strength or weakness of the candidates.   However, if on election night we start to see solid margins rolling in for Jackie Walorskiand Todd Young of more than 5% in those two Democrat leaning districts early in the night, Marvin Scott’s numbers could be part of a wave that results in a very bad night for Democrats all across the nation. The Scott people hope that such a wave is in the works for them and that they can create a victory that few people expect at this time. Unlike Representatives Donnelly and Hill, the Carson campaign does not seem too worried about a national wave at this time . . . but should they be?

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South Bend’s city bus system, TRANSPO, has bowed down and agreed to permit ads on buses by the Indiana Atheist Bus Campaign that say, “You can be good without God.”

From their website.

Our ads were supposed to go up last Monday, in time for President Barack Obama’s speech at Notre Dame, but the ads were delayed when TRANSPO decided to review the matter. The Indiana Atheist Bus Campaign had a contract with Burkhart stating the ads would be placed last Monday, May 11, or within a 5 day leeway period. As of today, because the ads are not yet up, that contract has been violated by Burkhart.

Hey, freedom of speech and all that. Hopefully some Christian groups will counter with other ads. Bloomington’s city bus service killed their attempts at similar ads and of course, they filed a lawsuit.

Me, I’m better with God.

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Atheist Group Files Lawsuit Against Prayer at Presidential Inauguration

The head of an atheist group told FOX News Radio on Tuesday that by allowing a prayer at President-elect Obama’s inauguration, the government is subjecting atheists and agonostics to someone else’s religious beliefs.

How is this subjecting anyone to anyone else’s beliefs. If you don’t like it, don’t go or turn off the damn television.

The head of an atheist group that has filed a lawsuit against prayer at Barack Obama’s presidential inauguration says the government is picking a winner between “believers” and “those who don’t believe” and subjecting atheists and agnostics to someone else’s religious beliefs.

Dan Barker, co-president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation, has joined with Michael Newdow, who fought to have the words “under God” removed from the Pledge of Allegiance, in a federal lawsuit seeking to enjoin the Presidential Inaugural Committee from sponsoring prayers at the official inauguration. More here.

God damn America? Seems to be a common practice these days.

Under God – AWB

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Seven-year-old Alvin Mitchell worked intently yesterday on what looked to be a blue balloon wrapped around a tennis ball. It was a fake version of a cluster bomb, and the real thing, he pronounced, can “blow you up and kill you.”

The fake bombs Alvin and a dozen other children were making at a peace workshop will be put to use Monday in Lafayette Square. As hundreds attend the White House Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn, a smaller group will gather at the park on the north side for what is being billed as a “family-friendly Easter cluster-bomb hunt.”

Raising yet another generation of cowards and whiners…

Sheesh

Posted By Tim Zank

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This plate is now available! It is hard to decide between “In God We Trust” or “Support Or Troops” but both make quite a statement.

Read this article.

Posted by Lucy.

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