Peter Leithart summarizing N.T. Wright’s “God in Public” speech.

Against Anabaptists and revolutionaries, the New Testament does not reject pagan order, but teaches that the church must submit to the rulers that be because order, even pagan and oppressive order, is preferable to chaos. The New Testament holds together the truth that the powers are corrupt with the demand that they be obeyed. This is a sign, Wright said, that the order provided by political authorities is a common good, a good shared by Christians and non-Christians, and a common good that Christians should support and further.

These two things can be held together when we recognize that the cross is the victory over powers that twist their God-given mandate to maintain order into tyranny, but after the cross and resurrection the powers that be are reinstated as agents of order, even agents that Jesus, the heavenly king, uses to advance His purposes. He may use them and then judge them, but they are enclosed within his rule. The Church meanwhile is called to remind rulers of their duty to seek wisdom from the Son, and this witness may result in martyrdom, which, Wright said, is central to any Christian political theology. The church also cultivates forms of common life that anticipate the eschatological kingdom and challenge political authorities to imitation.

In short, because Jesus is Lord, the church can collaborate without compromise and critique without falling into dualism. [Emphasis mine.]

The 12 Days of Homeschooling

On the first day of homeschool my neighbor said to me,
“Can you homeschool legally?”

On the second day of homeschool my neighbor said to me,
“Are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?”

On the third day of homeschool my neighbor said to me,
“Do you give them tests, are they socialized,
can you homeschool legally?”

On the fourth day of homeschool my neighbor said to me,
“What about P.E., do you give them tests, are they socialized,
can you homeschool legally?”

On the fifth day of homeschool my neighbor said to me,
“YOU ARE SO STRANGE! What about P.E., do you give them tests,
are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?”

On the sixth day of homeschool my neighbor said to me,
“How long will you homeschool, YOU ARE S0 STRANGE,
what about P.E. , do you give them tests, are they socialized,
can you homeschool legally?”

On the seventh day of homeschool my neighbor said to me,
“Look at what they’re missing, how long will you homeschool,
YOU ARE SO STRANGE!, what about P.E., do you give them
tests, are they socialized, do you homeschool legally?”

On the eighth day of homeschool my neighbor said to me,
“Why do you do this, look at what they’re missing, how long
will you homeschool, YOU ARE SO STRANGE, what about
P.E. do you give them tests, are they socialized,
do you homeschool legally?”

On the ninth day of homeschool my neighbor said to me,
“They’ll miss the prom, why do you do this, look at what
they’re missing, how long will you homeschool, YOU ARE SO STRANGE!,
what about P.E. do you give them tests, are they socialized,
do you homeschool legally?”

On the tenth day of homeschool my neighbor said to me,
“What about graduation, they’ll miss the prom, why do you
do this, look at what they’re missing, how long will you homeschool,
YOU ARE SO STRANGE!, what about P.E., do you give them tests,
are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?”

On the eleventh day of homeschool my neighbor said to me,
“I could never do that, what about graduation, they’ll miss the
prom, why do you do this, look at what they’re missing, how
long will you homeschool, YOU ARE SO STRANGE, what
about P.E., do you give them tests, are they socialized,
can you homeschool legally?”

On the twelfth day of homeschool my neighbor said to me,
“Can they go to college, I could never do that, what about graduation,
they’ll miss the prom, why do you do this, look at what they’re missing,
how long will you homeschool, YOU ARE SO STRANGE, What about P.E.,
do you give them tests, are they socialized, can you homeschool legally?”

On the thirteenth day of homeschool I thoughtfully replied:
“They Can go to college, yes you can do this, they can have
graduation, we don’t like the prom, we do it cuz its best,
they are missing nothing, we’ll homeschool forever, WE ARE NOT STRANGE!,
We give them P.E., and we give them tests, they are socialized,
AND WE HOMESCHOOL LEGALLY!

On the fourteenth day of homeschool my neighbor said to me,
“How can I get started, why didn’t you tell me, where do I buy
curriculum, when is the next conference, WILL PEOPLE THINK WE’RE STRANGE?
I think we can do this, if you will help us, can we join P.E.
and we’ll homeschool legally.”

“Truth is not a bunch of puppies running around, you can’t just grab the one you like.”

Emerson Cod, “Pushing Daisies“

I like to say that America beating up on Iraq is like the New York Yankees beating up on a Little League baseball team. Recently, I heard an unidentified source say that calling Ron Paul an isolationist is like calling your neighbor a hermit because he doesn’t throw bricks through your windows.

If Ron Paul is just an isolationist and America’s security really was threatened by Iraq, then maybe these questions can now be answered. Seems they were unanswerable in 2002, when Ron Paul asked them. But, surely our on the ground intelligence has provided us with some evidence and answers by now? By the way, Ron Paul asked these questions BEFORE we went into Iraq, when, supposedly, everybody believed the intelligence stating Hussein was a threat. On to the questions:

(HT: Date-Dabitur)

QUESTIONS THAT WON’T BE ASKED ABOUT IRAQ
Ron Paul
September 10, 2002

Soon we hope to have hearings on the pending war with Iraq. I am concerned there are some questions that won�t be asked- and maybe will not even be allowed to be asked. Here are some questions I would like answered by those who are urging us to start this war.

1. Is it not true that the reason we did not bomb the Soviet Union at the height of the Cold War was because we knew they could retaliate?

2. Is it not also true that we are willing to bomb Iraq now because we know it cannot retaliate- which just confirms that there is no real threat?

3. Is it not true that those who argue that even with inspections we cannot be sure that Hussein might be hiding weapons, at the same time imply that we can be more sure that weapons exist in the absence of inspections?

4. Is it not true that the UN�s International Atomic Energy Agency was able to complete its yearly verification mission to Iraq just this year with Iraqi cooperation?

5. Is it not true that the intelligence community has been unable to develop a case tying Iraq to global terrorism at all, much less the attacks on the United States last year? Does anyone remember that 15 of the 19 hijackers came from Saudi Arabia and that none came from Iraq?

6. Was former CIA counter-terrorism chief Vincent Cannistraro wrong when he recently said there is no confirmed evidence of Iraq�s links to terrorism?

7. Is it not true that the CIA has concluded there is no evidence that a Prague meeting between 9/11 hijacker Atta and Iraqi intelligence took place?

8. Is it not true that northern Iraq, where the administration claimed al-Qaeda were hiding out, is in the control of our “allies,” the Kurds?

9. Is it not true that the vast majority of al-Qaeda leaders who escaped appear to have safely made their way to Pakistan, another of our so-called allies?

10. Has anyone noticed that Afghanistan is rapidly sinking into total chaos, with bombings and assassinations becoming daily occurrences; and that according to a recent UN report the al-Qaeda “is, by all accounts, alive and well and poised to strike again, how, when, and where it chooses”?

11. Why are we taking precious military and intelligence resources away from tracking down those who did attack the United States- and who may again attack the United States- and using them to invade countries that have not attacked the United States?

12. Would an attack on Iraq not just confirm the Arab world’s worst suspicions about the US, and isn’t this what bin Laden wanted?

13. How can Hussein be compared to Hitler when he has no navy or air force, and now has an army 1/5 the size of twelve years ago, which even then proved totally inept at defending the country?

14. Is it not true that the constitutional power to declare war is exclusively that of the Congress? Should presidents, contrary to the Constitution, allow Congress to concur only when pressured by public opinion? Are presidents permitted to rely on the UN for permission to go to war?

15. Are you aware of a Pentagon report studying charges that thousands of Kurds in one village were gassed by the Iraqis, which found no conclusive evidence that Iraq was responsible, that Iran occupied the very city involved, and that evidence indicated the type of gas used was more likely controlled by Iran not Iraq?

16. Is it not true that anywhere between 100,000 and 300,000 US soldiers have suffered from Persian Gulf War syndrome from the first Gulf War, and that thousands may have died?

17. Are we prepared for possibly thousands of American casualties in a war against a country that does not have the capacity to attack the United States?

18. Are we willing to bear the economic burden of a 100 billion dollar war against Iraq, with oil prices expected to skyrocket and further rattle an already shaky American economy? How about an estimated 30 years occupation of Iraq that some have deemed necessary to “build democracy” there?

19. Iraq�s alleged violations of UN resolutions are given as reason to initiate an attack, yet is it not true that hundreds of UN Resolutions have been ignored by various countries without penalty?

20. Did former President Bush not cite the UN Resolution of 1990 as the reason he could not march into Baghdad, while supporters of a new attack assert that it is the very reason we can march into Baghdad?

21. Is it not true that, contrary to current claims, the no-fly zones were set up by Britain and the United States without specific approval from the United Nations?

22. If we claim membership in the international community and conform to its rules only when it pleases us, does this not serve to undermine our position, directing animosity toward us by both friend and foe?

23. How can our declared goal of bringing democracy to Iraq be believable when we prop up dictators throughout the Middle East and support military tyrants like Musharaf in Pakistan, who overthrew a democratically-elected president?

24. Are you familiar with the 1994 Senate Hearings that revealed the U.S. knowingly supplied chemical and biological materials to Iraq during the Iran-Iraq war and as late as 1992- including after the alleged Iraqi gas attack on a Kurdish village?

25. Did we not assist Saddam Hussein�s rise to power by supporting and encouraging his invasion of Iran? Is it honest to criticize Saddam now for his invasion of Iran, which at the time we actively supported?

26. Is it not true that preventive war is synonymous with an act of aggression, and has never been considered a moral or legitimate US policy?

27. Why do the oil company executives strongly support this war if oil is not the real reason we plan to take over Iraq?

28. Why is it that those who never wore a uniform and are confident that they won�t have to personally fight this war are more anxious for this war than our generals?

29. What is the moral argument for attacking a nation that has not initiated aggression against us, and could not if it wanted?

30. Where does the Constitution grant us permission to wage war for any reason other than self-defense?

31. Is it not true that a war against Iraq rejects the sentiments of the time-honored Treaty of Westphalia, nearly 400 years ago, that countries should never go into another for the purpose of regime change?

32. Is it not true that the more civilized a society is, the less likely disagreements will be settled by war?

33. Is it not true that since World War II Congress has not declared war and- not coincidentally- we have not since then had a clear-cut victory?

34. Is it not true that Pakistan, especially through its intelligence services, was an active supporter and key organizer of the Taliban?

35. Why don’t those who want war bring a formal declaration of war resolution to the floor of Congress?

May the Lord hear the cries of the faithful, may He forgive the sins of this nation and the Church.

May the Lord turn towards us, make His face to shine upon us.

Lord, hear our prayers, and bless this nation and Your people.

Have a Happy and Blessed Thanksgiving!

“If people let the government decide what foods they eat and what medicines they take, their bodies will soon be in as sorry a state as the souls who live under tyranny.”  Benjamin Franklin

So what would Ben Franklin think about those New Yorkers who have a “nanny state” government telling them what types of fat they can eat?

Take your body back.

And elect a man who will support your doing it.

Because of campaign financing rules, we can determine which employers’ employees are donating to which candidates.  So, who is donating to your favorite candidate?  The full article and research on this can be found here, but here is a quick look at the numbers:

What amazes me is the number of government employees supporting small-government Ron!  The Army, Navy, Air Force, Postal Service, and Department of Defense are all in the top 14 employers with employees contributing to Ron!  Notice their absence on the other candidates’ lists.  Who cares for the troops more than the man who wants to bring them home to their families alive!?!?!

…On Behalf of Ron Paul
by Laurence M. Vance

Member of Congress and Republican Presidential candidate Ron Paul is the premier advocate for political and religious liberty in politics today. He is the most pro-life, pro-family, pro-property, pro-Constitution politician in history. If it is possible to be more Jeffersonian than Jefferson, then Ron Paul is the man.

On issues that are dear to the vast majority of Protestant Christians, Ron Paul stands head and shoulders above the other candidates. Consider just a few.

The Issues

Abortion: Ron Paul is a physician who has delivered more than 4,000 babies. He not only opposes federal funding of embryonic stem cell research and partial-birth abortion, he is against abortion itself. As he himself has said:

In 40 years of medical practice, I never once considered performing an abortion, nor did I ever find abortion necessary to save the life of a pregnant woman. In Congress, I have authored legislation that seeks to define life as beginning at conception, H.R. 1094. I am also the prime sponsor of H.R. 300, which would negate the effect of Roe v Wade by removing the ability of federal courts to interfere with state legislation to protect life. This is a practical, direct approach to ending federal court tyranny which threatens our constitutional republic and has caused the deaths of 45 million of the unborn. I have also authored H.R. 1095, which prevents federal funds to be used for so-called “population control.” Many talk about being pro-life. I have taken and will continue to advocate direct action to restore protection for the unborn.

Read the rest at LewRockwell.com

Ron Paul:  Hope for America

Be a part of it.