Reformed + Missional = Reformissional
Apparently our state Senators have too much time on their hands again. Politicians never sit around doing nothing or go back home to a real job. Instead, they cook up terrible ideas like this one:
California Senate passes Anti-Gmail bill
Isn’t it nice to know they’re watching out for you?
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As the great Russian novelist, Leo Tolstoy, put it, “Everybody wants to change humanity, but nobody wants to change himself.” Christians can become so wrapped up in fighting culture wars and lobbying against “paganism” and “worldliness” that they forget the primary purpose of the faith: the glorification of God through the inner transformation of hearts.
This inner transformation does not occur by simply speaking out against what is wrong in the world. It happens through submission to the leading and guidance of the Spirit, allowing God to set the course and direction of one’s life. Problems creep in when Christians seek to change the world without first allowing God to transform their own hearts.
A genuine inner transformation generates a far greater impact than any political action. Matthew 5:14-16 says, “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” Our goal should not be to make the world look more “Christian,” but for the world to see our actions and the difference in our lives, leading them to praise the God we serve.
To this end, I plan to focus more of my blogging time on issues of the heart and of faith. In my blog, I tend to focus on the political and economic issues of the day because it is easy and quick to write on these topics. I believe this creates a shallow air that doesn’t truly represent my interests and personality. I want to spend more time plumbing the depths of the interaction between politics, economics and faith. The vision statement of this blog is “Faith, Free Markets, Free People.” I intend to spend more time emphasizing the first “F” as it is the only one with any eternal value.
Political action has its place, but this must not be the primary motivation for the Christian.
O Lord, change the world. Begin, I pray thee, with me.
For more on this topic, check out Are We on the Brink of Revival?.
Over at Ensight, Jeremy offers a general synopsis of how free market principles apply to the current surge in oil prices. He also takes a stab at some predictions about what changes we might see as a result.
Oil Prices: Free Market Economics at Work?
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As if you didn’t know that already. Now there’s a new film coming out which will document Moore’s animosity towards the average American.
(HatTip: Joshua Claybourn)
If there is such a thing as heresy for the environmental movement, James Lovelock has become the chief heretic among his peers:
“I am a Green, and I entreat my friends in the movement to drop their wrongheaded objection to nuclear energy.”
Global warming is now advancing so swiftly that only a massive expansion of nuclear power as the world’s main energy source can prevent it overwhelming civilisation, the scientist and celebrated Green guru, James Lovelock, says.
His call will cause huge disquiet for the environmental movement. It has long considered the 84-year-old radical thinker among its greatest heroes, and sees climate change as the most important issue facing the world, but it has always regarded opposition to nuclear power as an article of faith. Last night the leaders of both Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth rejected his call.
If the Greens are serious about diminishing our usage of carbon burning for energy creation, they need to rethink their opposition to Lovelock’s proposal.
Leading Environmentalist Urges Radical Rethink on Climate Change
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Time has become a scarce commodity for me over the past three weeks. You’ve probably noticed a sharp drop off in the amount of entries I post on a given day. This being the case, I’ve got to find new ways to keep you, my dedicated reader, satisfied.
So, I bit the bullet and signed up to host the Carnival of the Vanities on July 28th. Should be a hoot.
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Could blogging be the future of business communication?
Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates often takes the stage to talk about the future of software technology, but on Thursday he also told top corporate executives that Weblogs and the way they are distributed can be used as business communication tools.
Gates touts blogging as business tool
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Always intriguing, if you haven’t visited the Election Projection before, it’s time you did. Scott (the Blogging Caesar) processes information from a vast array of polls and indicators to come up with his predictions for the 2004 election. Be sure to have a look:
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I admit it–I’m an Alias junkie. I’m not a big fan of television and usually watch only a couple of hours a week. Alias is my one and only can’t-miss-show of the week. This being the case, I’m not sure how to take this news:
ABC Primetime Entertainment President Stephen McPherson has been in the job for 29 days. It took him only that long to give the network’s schedule an extreme makeover… “Alias” won’t premiere until January, but will run without repeats for its entire season.
While I’m disappointed to have to wait until January for the series to start up again, it should be interesting to be able to watch all the episodes in sequence with no re-runs. In the mean time, I guess I’ll just have less T.V. to watch.
While things are hardly perfect in Iraq, there are signs of progress that the DNC and the mainstream media aren’t talking about. Apparently it’s more important to them that President Bush “fails” than that the Iraqis succeed in developing a democratic society. While there is still much to be done, we need a balanced perspective that isn’t solely focused on beheadings and prisoner abuse atrocities.
Iraqis have identified some successful areas in post-Saddam Iraq, the pollsters found.
“One of the things that comes up again and again as a success in the transition so far is education,” Sahm said. He also mentioned increasing trust in the Iraqi police and the new Iraqi army.
“When we see the images of war and terror on the TV screen,” Sahm said, “it’s hard to believe that behind all of this, many Iraqis are leading normal lives and going about their business.”
A couple of weeks ago, I pointed out that the movie The Day After Tomorrow would be as big for liberal environmentalists as The Passion of the Christ was for Christians (The Liberal’s ‘Passion’). Here’s more evidence of this fact:
Gore is headlining a campaign put on by a group of environmental and liberal orgs that are trying to use “The Day After Tomorrow,” which 20th Century Fox will release May 28, to rally public support for combating global warming.
Gore Promoting Day After Tomorrow Movie
Global Warming Ignites Tempers, Even in a Movie
Don’t forget to read my ‘critically acclaimed’ blog entry: Why Liberals Don’t Get The Passion
I’m sure you’re thinking “fat chance!” Bear Flagger BoiFromTroy discusses some polling information that points to the startling possibility (however remote) of a Bush victory in the Golden State.
Bush’s stronger than expected showing in California is a trend many pollsters have noticed.
If you hadn’t noticed, I didn’t keep up with my blogging last week. I’ve had a million things to do at work and there just aren’t enough hours in the day to keep up. I plan to post a new Carnival of the Consumers by Thursday, but other than that, expect light blogging throughout this week.
As if he couldn’t go any lower, Ted Rall has hit rock bottom with his recent garbage strip:
MSNBC Political Humor: Ted Rall (May 3, 2004)
Shame on MSNBC for publishing this trash. Whether you think Tillman is a hero or not, to trample his grave in this manner is disgusting.
UPDATE: MSNBC pulls the comic (good for them!) so the link above no longer takes you to the original garbage strip. You can still see Rall’s junk at Yahoo! News - Ted Rall.
Why we pulled Monday’s Ted Rall cartoon
Item did not meet MSNBC standards of fairness and tasteMSNBC.com pulled a cartoon by syndicated political cartoonist Ted Rall on Monday.
Rall’s cartoon, distributed widely by Universal Press Syndicate to scores of newspapers and Web sites, concerned the late Pat Tillman, the NFL player who quit football to join the Army. Tillman was killed last month in Afghanistan.
The cartoon, like others on MSNBC.com, is published daily on the site via an automated syndication feed. Such feeds are rarely reviewed. However, MSNBC.com Editor in chief Dean Wright concluded Monday’s Rall item did not meet MSNBC.com standards of fairness and taste.
MSNBC: Why we pulled Monday’s Ted Rall cartoon
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America relies on a perception that our troops are the most benvolent in all of history. We pride ourselves on the fact that while we will use overwhelming, lethal force when necessary, we take no joy in the slaughter of our enemies. One of the hallmarks of the noble American soldier is an utmost respect for human life–even when the life belongs to an opposing combatant.
Whether this perception is generally true or false is not what I wish to emphasize here. My primary concern regards the catastrophic damage that a handful of people have had on our national pride, dignity and conscience. Some will always hate America no matter what. Now, though, reason has been given to more moderate thinkers to turn against us. Who is to say that the sort of disgusting behavior that is now coming to light is not common? These actions created a sense of vindication for those who hate the U.S. that we are willing to stoop to such a level.
I do not know how we will clean up this mess. This situation is beyond “damage control.” However, in the future we must make clear to our soldiers that the consequences will be grave if they treat another in this fashion. If it is proven that some solders were complicit in these actions, they must be dishonorably discharged. They must be held accountable in criminal court for their treatment of those they were instructed to guard and interrogate. If found guilty, the example made of them must be swift and public so that the world can see that we will not tolerate this behavior from our soldiers. We must reclaim the American icon of the Noble Soldier.
