Surveys: U.S. Religious Activists Have ‘Widely Divergent’ Views

As much as I like some of the content on ChristianPost.com, today we have another article (see this post for another) which is too vague to be useful, other than to draw gross conclusions that can only be divisive, rather than edifying. I really hate it when news organizations (the mainstream/conservative/liberal/everyone press) don’t reference the actual questions. The phrasing of the questions is crucial!

For example, “Nearly half of conservatives (48 percent) believe scripture to be the literal word of God”. What was the question? Did they use “inerrant” or “literal” or some other word in the question? Did they ask the polled individual what they meant by that word?

In my denomination, The Church of the Nazarene, inerrancy is only applied to salvation¹. So, if I answered, “the bible is inerrant in regards to salvation alone,” would that be a yes or no? Then it would be up to the poller to decide.

In regards to abortion, what are “most cases”? What kind of cases are people thinking about when they hear the question? I almost wrote that I was one of the 54%, because I read “some”. Imagine if “some” had heard “some” rather than “most”.

I guess I’m not a “conservative”. I think there needs be a lot of separation between state and church. I do not believe that because my faith helps me make decisions, that I should be banned from stating such. Nor do I think most people, if they truly thought about it, would want to squelch such (yes, there are a bunch of loud, obnoxious ones who would disagree with me).

I will say that this article notes the imbalance within the Christian community. Yes, helping your fellow man is a vital part of the Christian ethos and scripture. However, coercion by one’s government is not part of the deal. The Roman Catholic tradition has a great balance between what has become two sides, but Roman Catholics as a practical matter are having just the same issues.

The tradition, even in the Protestant Church (such as John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, and the “grandparent” of my denomination), is there. It is the rhetoric, and the American desire for a “simple”, “black-and-white” answer that is creating this insanity, along with the quick response medium of the internet (to which, of course, I’m contributing).

It is also the church, as a whole, that is at fault in the responses to this poll. What is the church teaching? Is it teaching? Is it helping its people wrestle with the faith? It IS okay to wrestle with the faith! That’s what the church fathers did!

This also does bring back to mind this article at the (evil) FoxNews: Has Christian America Come to an End?

hattip: Douglas Karr

For a number of reasons, I have a real problem with what this post (and the quoted article/news story) say.  Not because it isn’t true, but because it is.  I don’t think that nursing homes are an ideal situation, that’s for sure, but am I capable of taking care of my parents (all four of them) as they get older?  I doubt it.

There is something to be said about the “good ol’ days,” where aged relatives would live in the same home as at least one of their children.  I certainly think it would be healthier for society if we weren’t so segregated in our lives according to age bracket (one of the things many churches are also dealing with).  However, in cases such as in my family, where one person has Alzheimer’s, it can be a full time job.

I also think that the changing perception of life changes in regards to age have a significant impact on the situation.  Take, for example, the fact that 100 years ago, most education ended with the 8th grade, and, frankly, there are questions on those final exams that I couldn’t answer.  That person was to become a productive member of society.  Now, the expectation is that they will become productive 4 years later, assuming they don’t go to college.

Much of the same can be attached to “retirement”.  In that same era, there was no retirement.  The modern “golden age of retirement” really means, you’ve saved the money you wasted your life earning, now go spend it, or least that is what far too many retirement salespeople and financial “guides” are trying to sell.  Well, if a person is burning their life away to go play at the end of the working era, why would they want to take care of ageing parents.  In many ways, it sounds like some kids, “my parents just cramp my style.”

Back to the really hard part, the church not doing what it is called to do.  The church has fallen prey to the same mentality as the populace, the government will take care of it!  Then there is the whole lawyer thing, and the lawsuits that seem to come with them.  What church is willing to take on that kind of litigative burden?  What church can afford it?  It reminds me of a post I read today, “A law degree only allows you to add friction to the economy…”

Litigation, cramping the style, whatever the reason…this is just not good.

That led her to join a nine-month process known in the Catholic Church as RCIA, or Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults.

In the Nazarene Church, we go through a membership class which lasts a few weeks. In the Lutheran Church, the same. However, these classes do not truly teach the faith. Of course, a nine month course like the Roman Catholic Church might scare more than a few people off, which might not be a bad thing. I once heard that the early Christian church, there was a three year “apprenticeship” for new converts before they became baptized. That’s a whole lot different than today, which may explain why so much of the populace call themselves Christian, but have no true understanding of the faith.

Oddly enough, it might also might explain why churches, as a whole, are losing members, not a conflict with the world (although, that doesn’t help), but if the church cares so little about teaching people deeply about the faith, encouraging them to invest in their faith (note: I am not talking about a church building or congregation), perhaps they might not be so quick to leave it.

In the Lutheran church, I heard nightmare stories about confirmation. While they sounded horrible, I suspect that they were inflicted upon the children not as punishment, but for the very reason I mentioned. They became invested in the faith.

Now, that does not mean that through trials, tribulations, doubts, depression, or questions, that a person will not leave the faith. There is nothing that can guarantee it. The end goal is to have a Christian who has more than a cursory understanding of their faith, so that they can truly live it.

These punks are a direct result of a bunch of people who didn’t respect history or authority teaching them. Why are they surprised? The generation that is entering and leaving colleges now is filled with higher percentage of “entitlement” mentality people than probably has ever existed before at one time. They have the mentality of the old aristocracy, and all too often lack of responsibility.

I wish I could say that I’m surprised that those like Dan Barry are surprised, but I’m not. Nor am I, obviously, surprised at the behavior of these punks. People such as myself, Bible-believing Christians, are often ridiculed, even by our friends, for our concerns about trying (although we often—even usually—fail) to align with a Biblically based life. If people were honest, how could a Biblically (read: New Testament, and not forced conversion) be worse than this?

However, in 800 Dollar Gold in Plain English ( archived copy ), Jerry Bowyer adds a little more to the discussion. His primary point is that the theories being pushed in support of returning to a gold (or silver or whatever) are not nearly as robust as they seem, especially in light of recent history. Some of his comments echo mine in Me and Ron Paul, but mine were more gut feel than anything else.

Of course, the problem with Jerry Bowyer’s commentary is that begs the question, what to do? Who knows? However, I think the major point is that we cannot blindly assume that what seems to have worked in the past actually did, and that it will work for the future.

That all being said, the U.S. trade deficit is definitely an issue. We can’t keep sending money out (whether to China for our manufactured goods, or Mexico, Venezuela, or the Middle East for our oil). A lot of countries have been putting money back into the U.S., because we have historically had a stable currency. That is not the case now.

On the other hand, maybe this is a good thing for domestic manufacturing, especially with all the toy recalls recently. Perhaps companies will finally look at the U.S. as a valid source. The U.S. must continue to excel in changing things for the better. As long as we do, it will all work out in the end.

Mr. Breton’s point that banks would have to have tangible (read gold or whatever standard) assets to exchange for paper currency, means that banks would be less likely to loan money to any one (including me). Of course, such a path, would send the tax and spend politicians (please note that this is regardless of party affiliation) into a tizzy. Also, companies such as MasterCard, Visa, Sears, BancAmerica, and so on would no longer be quite so willing to give credit cards to pets or dead people.

This is sounding better and better.

And I’m quite serious about it.

Nevermind…everyone should just see Gattaca.

Hat Tip to: NewsBusters.org

According to this article (archived copy) in Business Week, our public schools are now near the top in the world. That is certainly not how it’s being sold to us. Is it?

Full Reprint Below

I have no problem believing that there are artificial and manipulated “miracles,” any more than I have believing in genuine miracles and other supernatural phenomena. In the same way, I believe in the existence of fallen angels, demonization, and exorcism as much as I believe that there are some mental and psychological disorders that should be treated with medication and therapy. In other words, I believe in discernment. The mere existence of cubic zirconium in a jewelry store does not mean that genuine diamonds do not exist.

In his column, Hearing the ‘Music of the Spheres’, Steve Beard makes an eloquent point about discernment.

That is the word I was looking for in regards to politics (funny, I’ve been using the word a lot, reading it a lot, but it takes someone else putting it in writing for me to make a connection). That’s what we need. Not just from our politicians (oh, and honesty, straight-forwardness, and a lack of dissembling would also help), but from the media, and we the consumers of politics and media circuses.

If we could not rant and rave, not patronize the Micheal Moore’s and Ann Coulter’s of the world, and just think, we would be better off.

Take health-care for instance. Somebody has to pay for it. Remember, the government doesn’t, you do. You pay taxes, therefore you pay for it. The hated insurance companies? If we weren’t so risk averse, no insurance company would exist. The Democrats are correct, insurance companies and health care companies successfully lobby Republicans. The Republicans are correct that Government (“single payer”) health care is a monster in the wings. Think back to the media induced “scandal” of government procurement during the Reagan years. The infamous $10,000 hammer, for example. Or the bomber (i.e., a big huge flying thing that carries lots of other big things long distances) that did not have the payload capacity to carry the paperwork required to make it (and that is the paperwork for EACH plane built).

Have you ever looked at a hospital bill, only to find that you were charged $5 for two acetaminophen, when you could buy a bottle of 150 capsules at the corner drugstore? Imagine how much those will cost when the government issues them.

A few questions to think about. If single-payer health care is so great, why do Canadians (who can afford it) go the States to get surgery? If Cuba is such a great country, with great health care, and the state owns the media, why do people keep fleeing? Mr. Moore’s failure to think critically regarding the “quickness” of Cuban health care, to me, proved that he can create conflict, but doesn’t see how he is used. Of course, the Cuban health care system worked quickly, are you kidding? Psychological victory. Michael Moore was USED!

The reason why other countries have “cheap” pharmaceuticals? Because WE subsidize them. Since the pharmaceutical companies can’t recover their costs elsewhere, and because we in the States love lawsuits, our pharmaceuticals are obscenely priced. It is not price controls that are needed, it is everyone else’s price controls that need to be removed!

Speaking of lawsuits, imagine trying to sue the government for shoddy health care. Veterans have been having, to our shame, poor success in that area. Also, imagine trying to get unorthodox treatments approved through the government system. I’ve experienced the private system, and it is bad enough.

Privacy. All those privacy advocacy groups would be run out of business. Now the government will know everything. Yep, that’s good. Right? Forget those stupid cameras watching everything, forget the warrantless searches, the government WILL know your very DNA.

The short answer? There isn’t one. The easy answer? There isn’t one. If a politician, media hack (and they’re almost all hacks, at least the national ones), or political hack says there is one? Run away with your hand on your wallet.

Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.

The first piece is an interview with James Shikwati, a Kenyan economics expert.

The second piece is a more in depth review, which is, frankly, quite depressing.

So where does this leave us? As much as we want to, and we should want to, help others, this should give us pause in how we help others. I am not advocating abolishing compassionate assistance, but this is no different than welfare here in the States. I will have to say that much of the same criticism that has been leveled at welfare, should also be leveled here.

It is not whether we should help them, because that is not in question at all, but how they who are being helped may be best enabled to no longer need assistance. For by freeing them from that need, the chains will fall from their feet and arms, and they will be able to go forth with heads held high with hope

Basically, private tutoring at low cost. Before someone throws a fit about taking advantage of the “poor” ignorant Indians, the story states that most of these poor, ignorant Indians are college graduates. They are “poor”, perhaps, in comparison to us, however, they certainly aren’t ignorant, and as India is still part of the British Commonwealth, I bet a lot of these teachers graduated from colleges in the U.K., and even the U.S.A..

I find this interesting in a number of ways. There is an increasing acceptance of the use of the internet as an educational tool. This is another way to reduce infrastructure costs for school buildings. I believe that it will, eventually, put downward pressure on the (far too) high priced internet education programs out there. I believe that it will also increase the pressure on schools to perform. I also hope that this will free up funds and resources for secondary education (high schools) to teach something other than a straight college-prep curriculum, which is, in many ways, useless to non-college bound students.