Joe McCarthy was Right (So was Dan Quayle!)

Friends,

I just thought I'd let you know about a piece that was published today and to acquaint those of you who may not be aware of it with the Pearcey Report. Comments still welcome!

Blacklisted by History Jeopardizes Standard Liberal Storyline
Wild-Eyed Myth Encounters the Real Joe McCarthy

By Curt Lovelace

At Friendship Street School in the early 1950s, we were taught that hiding under our school desks would save us from nuclear attack –- which, in the lingua franca of the day, the Satan-loving Commies in the Kremlin were poised to rain down upon us at any moment. These exercises were the famous “duck and cover” drills.

Yet, while we feared Communist-initiated death from the skies, as a nation we tolerated -– even fostered -– Soviet activity within our own government. While trying to find a place to hide from nuclear destruction, we somehow felt safe enough to vilify Joseph McCarthy, a U.S. senator from America’s heartland who tried to root out the Reds from service in our federal apparatus. So successful were efforts against the senator that the term McCarthyism has become synonymous with wild-eyed fanaticism.

To read the rest of this article, at the Pearcey Report, click here.

While We're on the Topic...

Puritans, that is. Let me inform you about a wonderful resource for those who would rather listen that read. iTunes now has a section called iTunesU. If you have an MP3 player you can download lectures from many colleges and universities (You will need to download iTunes. You can do that by clicking here.) One of the schools is Reformed Theological Seminary. You can access and listen to lots of good lectures, including Theology and Church History - even chapel sermons.

Back to the Puritans... One of the series available for download is a series on the Puritans given by Dr. J. I. Packer.(Did I mention that these are all FREE?!)

In more than 11 hours of lectures, Packer covers …

1. The Puritan Identity – pt. 1 (45:14)
2. The Puritan Identity – pt. 2 (33:10)
3. Puritan Theological Concerns – pt. 1 (45:54)
4. Puritan Theological Concerns – pt. 2 (45:03)
5. The Bible in Puritan Theology – pt. 1 (46:53)
6. The Bible in Puritan Theology – pt. 2 (46:01)
7. Salvation by Grace – pt. 1 (46:41)
8. Salvation by Grace – pt. 2 (46:37)
9. Faith and Assurance – pt. 1 (46:32)
10. Faith and Assurance – pt. 2 (46:16)
11. The Good Fight – pt. 1 (46:22)
12. The Good Fight – pt. 2 (31:45)
13. Conscience (44:06)
14. Reformed Monasticism (43:01)
15. The Christian Minister (44:22)
16. Worship, Fellowship, and Discipline in the Church (27:40)

I have listened to several of these lectures and they are great. Don't miss out on this great opportunity.

Read the Puritans???? Me?

In 21st century America - and probably in most places - the word Puritan has negative connotations. It symbolized the sexually repressed and the laughless. Neither of these characterizations is true, but perceptions are reality to most people. Well, here's a challenge for those of you who would like some good (though not easy) reading in 2008.
Join the Puritan Reading Challenge.

This challenge, started by a fellow named Timmy Brister, whom I have never met, involves a list of 12 books. Actually, hundreds (literally) of people have already signed up and committed to read one of these books per month during this year. Before you panic, let me point out that most of these books are paperbacks under 200 pages long. The first , The Bruised Reed by Richard Sibbe, is only 128 pages long.

Now, why would you want to get involved in such an endeavor, especially with books that are all more than 300 years old?

I'm glad you asked. These are books which have impacted countless lives. They are not the kind of fluff and warm fuzzies we are accustomed to reading today. They contain theological truth - and application. They are even written in complete sentences! I have already read some of these and parts of others, but I am signing on and will make every effort to read through this list this year. In fact, I just ordered the whole set. Let me tell you about that.

Reformation Heritage Books has bundled the set and made the whole list available for the incredible price of $65. I know I don't need to say this for most of you, but, I am not in any way affiliated with Reformation Heritage Books or any subsidiary. I gain nothing from their books sales. In fact, I just laid out my $65 for this set!

I want to encourage each of you (both of you?) who read this blog to join the challenge. It's worthwhile reading, even if you can only do it when the kids are down and you're already exhausted or you just finished working a double shift. You can only read these books in short snippets at any one sitting anyway!

When you sign, let Timmy Brister know. He's keeping an informal count and will be involving people in discussions if they wish to join in. Let's do this together.

And let me know if you join in, too.

You Are Somebody

We’ve been in a presidential campaign cycle for a long time. Now we are finally getting to the home stretch. Yet, we hardly know anything about most of the candidates. They all say that they want to let us know who they are so that we can make our electoral decisions. None of them is letting too much info slip, however. Their real identities are still a mystery to me. I would like to be able to vote for Fred Thompson. He seems to be conservative – and several commentators have told me that he is. But, Fred Thompson has told us next to nothing about who he is and what he believes.

This is not a political blog entry! I only use that introduction on identity to get to my real topic; my “thought for the day.”

Identity truly is the great quest of mankind. From the philosophers asking “who am I”, to the passion since the 1960s for going off somewhere to “find ourselves,” and even including our everyday questions about what life is all about; we all want to know who we are – and whose we are. In our social climate, which includes a massive divorce rate; domestic partnership; same sex pseudo-marriages; blended families; dysfunctional families; drug and alcohol ravaged families; knowing who we are and where we fit in is difficult; especially for the children in these situations. This makes individual identity even more important. Please read these two brief portions of Scripture (God’s Word, the Bible).

I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. (John 14:18-20)

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. (1 John 3:1)

If you are a follower of Christ, sister; if you believe that He is your Lord, brother; then you are not only a member of the family – you’re an important partner in the family. You have identity in Christ. You’re somebody. At the end of the day, you can count on still being in Christ and in Christ’s family. Take that to work with you today; or to the grocery store; or to court; or wherever you have to be. If you are a Christian you don’t have to search for identity. You are somebody.

Iranians Should Need to Worry; Probably Don’t

Once again, US ships have been threatened by those of a foreign nation. My readers need only look down a few inches to the entry of December 22, 2007, to be reminded of another such incident which didn’t turn out so well. Here’s a snippet from the report from FoxNews:

WASHINGTON — The United States issued a stern warning to Iran Monday following an incident near the Strait of Hormuz in which Iranian speedboats veered dangerously close to three U.S. Navy ships and intercepted radio signals said U.S. "ships would explode."

U.S. ships blew whistles, issued radio warnings and took evasive maneuvers to avoid striking the Iranian boats, which motored as close as 200 yards from the American ships by one account. The naval ships armed their weapons, and the five unmarked Iranian boats — believed to belong to the Iran Revolutionary Guard — sped away.

My question: what good is it being the world’s only remaining superpower if punk non-super powers can push us around like this? They got a stern warning. President Bush did say that this was a “provocative act.” Iranians should have to worry about us. They should not have the national temerity to tweak us. But this is what happens when “girly-men” (and sometimes not-so-girly women) run our government; train our would-be “intellectuals”; inhabit our halls of justice and our pulpits.

Jeremiah 29:7 says this: Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper." Neither peace nor prosperity will result from a weak, insipid response to bullies. Not only will this weakness negatively affect the United States of America, but it will harm all nations and peoples who seek peace.

America: get a spine.

Art Historians To Save Us From Global Warming

You may have seen mention of this in The Limbaugh Letter. I found it hard to accept, even from the pen of El Rushbo, so I went and looked it up. The gist of the article is that from artwork of the 19th century, artist/scientists can tell us how badly we have wrecked our environment. Among other things, the AP report, states:

A group of scientists has studied the colors in more than 500 paintings of sunsets, including many of Turner's 19th-century watercolors and oils, in hopes of gaining insights into the cooling effects caused by major volcanic eruptions.

By better understanding past changes in climate, they hope to improve computer models for future climate change.

Obviously, these graduates of Art History 100, are also cross-credentialed as Environmental Scientists. Funny (ha, ha) that when some (real) scientists question man-made global warming, they are scoffed at as unqualified if they are mere climatologists or earth scientists. Al Gore has no credentials in any scientific filed – he’s not even an art history scholar – yet his word is gospel. Gee, I wonder why.

I'm Still Wondering

Why, when oil prices hit $100 we are still not drilling in ANWR.