Norv or Rich?
November 30, 2008
I haven’t written about sports in ages, but I’ve got to ask any NFL-fan readers: I’ve long considered Rich Kotite to be the most inept head coach of my lifetime, but I’ve got to tell you, the job Norv Turner is doing in San Diego has really put him in the running. To recap, the Chargers went 14-2 just two years ago, but because the general manager couldn’t stand Coach Marty Schottenheimer, he fired him…to hire Norv, who’d already proven himself a failure in two head coaching jobs. That was the genius move of all time, in my opinion, and I said so. Now the Chargers, having entered this season as favorites to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl, are four games worse than the Atlanta Falcons, who just spanked ‘em in a game that wasn’t nearly as close as the final score. The Chargers are now 4-8, one of the league’s worst teams. Yes, I know that they lost their season opener on a bad call, and yes, I know that they lost Shawne Merriman early in the season. Still…4-8? Sorry, but Norv Turner may have surpassed Rich Kotite as the worst NFL coach of my lifetime.
Lincoln’s Thanksgiving Proclamation
November 27, 2008
Justin Taylor reproduces it here. It’s worth the read on this Thanksgiving, and the first thought I had was that there is more theological content in this short presidential proclamation than there is in the average American pulpit every Sunday.
Is it Time to Draw Some Lines in the Sand?
November 26, 2008
First, as I mentioned a couple days ago in Free for Coming, the courts in New Jersey ruled that eHarmony, founded by a Christian, Neil Clark Warren, had to offer a system whereby homosexuals could also be matched on “29 dimensions of personality”.
Now, of course, President-Elect Obama has promised that the Freedom of Choice Act would be at the top of his priority list; this godless legislation would effectively strike down all restrictions on abortion, and compel all hospitals with obstetrics programs to perform abortions. Never mind that a significant percentage of the nation’s hospitals are run by religious groups, notably Catholics, who are determined not to allow abortions to take place in their hospitals. And thus the question is raised:
Will the Catholic Bishops Shut Down the Hospitals?
In my humble opinion, the time has come to draw a line in the sand. Neil Clark Warren? Shut down eHarmony; your dream entailed helping couples find compatible marriage partners, not contribute to the moral decline of our nation. Catholic bishops? If FOCA is passed, and it comes down to it, shut down the Catholic hospitals. Will Baptist Hospital in Winston-Salem close? Will others? There are principles at stake, and if people of faith do not defend the First Amendment against the encroachment of a government intoxicated with its own power, who will?
Shutting the Mouth of Christian Naysayers…
November 24, 2008
Can’t win an argument with a Christian friend on Biblical grounds? Boy, do you need these cards in your hands! They are a guaranteed win!
Free for Coming
November 24, 2008
Remember the federal shakedown of Big Tobacco a few years ago, the feds vs. the tobacco companies? Yeah, I remember it well: on the one hand, you had an entity that harms people’s health, takes advantage of people, grabs people’s money by deceptive means, and leaves the air with a foul smell.
On the other hand, you had Big Tobacco.
Well, my hometown Roanoke Times now reports–hold onto your seats!–that the lion’s share of the shakedown settlement, earmarked for serving the public health, specifically anti-smoking campaigns, is–you’re just not going to believe this, because we all know that the government wouldn’t misappropriate funds, so there’s a shocker ahead, I’ma warning ya!!!–not being used for what it was supposed to be used for!
Activists Saying Tobacco Settlement Being Misused
Turning to other examples of governmental nonsense, what to do about the Big Three automakers?
Here’s a different slant on media malpractice in the 2008 elections:
Few Voters Knew Obama’s Potential Negatives
Though I never did the piece I thought I might on “reflections on the elections”, I’m convinced that the loss of all remaining credibility on the part of the mainstream media is one of the biggest takeaways for me. I’m not sure I’ll ever see the need to watch NBC News again, not to mention MSNBC.
Michelle Malkin writes on The eHarmony Shakedown. I probably should make this a separate post, and may yet, because my opinion is that Neil Clark Warren, founder of eHarmony and a Christian man, ought to shut the whole thing down rather than do what amounts to violating his conscience. Would such a move provoke a level of public outrage at the freedom-destroying homosexual lobby that engages in such shakedowns? I don’t know; Americans are becoming so brain-dead desensitized to both moral concerns and to the rapid-fire erosion of our fundamental freedoms that they might just keep on playing Guitar Hero and not give a rip. Seems to me that this is the appropriate response.
Lee Grady writes in Preparing for a Charismatic Meltdown that as large segments of the charismatic movement have jettisoned the Bible for a dog’s breakfast of ecclesiastical horsehockey and theological silliness, the chickens have begun coming home to roost. Lee Grady is an insider in the movement; I commend his ongoing honesty and willingness to confront these cancers.
Jared Wilson has a nice piece on Numerolatry and the Church, the widespread idolatry of seeking “church growth” at any cost.
Finally, Internet Monk mentions some Evangelical Unmentionables, commenting upon Christine Wicker’s book entitled The Fall of the Evangelical Nation. There are ten theses that iMonk lists, echoing Wicker, and I think they’re pretty much all dead-on.
And scary.
This phrase comes from the 1978 "Jonestown massacre" in which most members of the Peoples Temple cult, blindly following their leader Jim Jones, committed suicide by drinking cyanide-laced Kool-Aid.
Osborne: A Contrarian's Guide to Knowing God
Schlossberg: Idols For Destruction
