Common Sense - The Reshaping and Redefining of America

I think the guy's great, but there are 3 things I don't like about Glenn Beck:

1. He's a little apocalyptic. As I said before, it's a non sequitur to state that because America is in an economic recession and we have a liberal president in office, we're on the brink of destruction. Not every crisis has an ugly conclusion. Of course, the 5th century Romans didn't have much to look forward to, but it's dangerous to adopt chronic pessimism when it comes to politics.
   
2. He occasionally makes unrealistic generalizations. I hardly believe that there are nearly as many Americans disillusioned with the system as he surmises. The ironic truth is, humans have a tendency to be apathetic when it comes to big issues. Take abortion for instance: There's only a minority of citizens who are polemical about it. The rest don't give the matter much thought.
   
3. He's prone to president-bashing. Sure, I don't have any plans on joining an Obama fan club any time soon either. But there's a difference between disagreeing with the man's bad policies and dwelling on them. The book of Romans entreats us to live in respect and subjection to our rulers. And who was the audience that it was adressed to? The Christians living under Nero!

All that aside, there are many things I do like about Glenn Beck - his message, humor, etc. He is passionate about bringing America back to the values it was founded upon.

He's right about our government being out of control.

Our leaders repeatedly demonstrate selfishness in their policies. Its more important for them to create an America based on their ideologies than do what's best for the common man. Both Republicans and Democrats do this, and it seems like the middle class often gets the short end of the stick.

I find it ironic that America, being a democracy, is all about making government accessible to the common man. But nowadays we're falling into the same age old trap as many other governments have - you have to be rich if you want to land a seat in the Senate. We're slowly on our way to becoming an oligarchy.

The government is also begining to expand far too much into the personal lives of us Americans. Who cares how your kids are educated, as long as they get a good education! We shouldn't be expected to tone down our religion just because it may be offensive to others. And it isn't the government's job to decide what kind of health insurance everybody gets. I find it insulting that the government treats us citizens like morons who can't make a rational decision for ourselves.

I said that it doesnt follow that America will likely be ruined because of our country's present state of affairs. But if we do merely watch everything happen, without taking a responsible part in our government, we very well could be. We should thank God for giving us a free country, and be wise stewards of His gift.

2 Things.....

.....that stood out to me in the preaching at church today:

1. The simple sections in the Bible explain the harder ones. For example, we would read one of the Gospels to help us understand Who the Suffering Servant is in Isaiah 53, not vice-versa. All too often - especially when it comes to the end times - people do the opposite. They take the passages in Daniel & Revelation (two of the hardest books to understand in the Bible) on eschatology and fit what they say into the rest of what Scripture has to say on the topic. It doesn't make sense.
   
2. The Jewish leaders in the Gospels knew that Christ was from God. (John 3:2) The reason why they hated Him was because He was a threat to their power - many people were interested in His teaching, thus rejecting theirs. I can't imagine how you could justify killing GOD! Christ knew all this, yet He still asked God to forgive them while they were reviling Him as He hung on the cross! What a wondrous Savior we have!

2 Things that annoy me, a cool quote, and conclusive evidence that I'm a nerd

It occurred to me, after writing that title, that it sort of resembles the table-of-contents-titles Puritans gave their books. Cool.

Anyways, sorry for not posting much lately.....you'd think that summer provides a bunch of time to get a gazillion things done, so you make a list of a gazillion and one things to do. I ended up accomplishing....oh, I'll be generous.......maybe.......4.5? [Doesn't it amuse you when researchers proudly report that the average family has 1.5 children? HA!] Oh well. Now that the school year's back, and I have more time to write :-), I'll try to write more boring posts like I did before.

Irritating thing #1: Lately I was thinking about churches that believe that children should remain with their parents at all times so that the fathers can oversee everything the kid learns there; therefore there's no separate Sunday schools, etc. Why on earth would you go to a church if you don't trust the teaching enough to let your kids to be taught by an elder without you being around? Why should you be learning there? The elders of a church are shepherds to the whole flock - both the adults and the children.

Irritating thing #2: I've been reading a book called The Civilization of the Middle Ages. I'm on page 40, and so far the author has taught me this about Christianity (among other things):

1. Our doctrines are borrowed from Platonic and Stoic philosophies. [Hmmmm......I guess he never read Colossians 2:8.....wouldn't it be strange for Paul to warn us against the very philosophies that he "borrowed" our major doctrines from?]
2. The Holy Spirit is the pre-incarnate Christ.
3. Christ didn't consider Himself THE Messiah.
4. Some guy tacked on the ending of Job later on because the story seemed too bleak.

Note to author: Maybe you should read the Bible before you tell people what it teaches.

On a more orthodox note, here's what I read this morning by Henry Scrougal:

The love of the world, and the love of God, are like the scales of a balance, as the one falls, the other rises: when our natural inclinations prosper, and the creature is exalted in our soul, religion is faint, and languishes; but when earthly objects wither away, and lose their beauty, and the soul begins to cool and flag in its prosecution of them, then the seeds of grace take root, and the divine life begins to flourish and prevail. (The Life of God in the Soul of Man, p. 113)

So true!

Later on this week I'll REALLY TRY to get a real post out, since the arduous first week of school is over. Here I come to the sobering evidence that I really am a nerd:

1. I was excited for school to start. Teenagers aren't supposed to be that way.
2. I made a list of medieval great books that I want to read this year, and the result was not the normal 8 or so. It wasn't 12. Nor 18. For crying out loud, IT WAS 24!!!!! I shocked myself! This is the bibliophile's version of the "your eyes are too big for your stomach" syndrome. How on earth am I going to pull this one off? This will take super-human capabilities to accomplish....and the last time I checked, I'm not extremely gifted like that. Yikes.
3. I enjoy reading the aforesaid books. And I used to wonder why I didn't have many friends.......

I need a 12-step program.