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Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Ridiculous Item of the Day: One Complaint Leads to Change in Military Funeral Procedure

You know that all measure of sanity has flown out the proverbial window and that PC has run amok when a single complaint can change the way millions of Americans honor their deceased loved ones in the military. That is the story today that the office of Veteran's Affairs has determined that God may not be referenced in the flag ceremony at the end of a soldier's funeral.

According to Family News in Focus, 125 national cemeteries can no longer honor military veterans families with a flag-folding recitation ceremony because one person complained that the ritual mentions God. Thousands of military families request the recitation ceremony for deceased loved ones. It's considered an unofficial but meaningful way for families to honor a soldier's sacrifice. But the recitations were banned by the VA until further notice because, as Rees Lloyd with the Defense of Veterans Memorials Project of the American Legion puts it, "One disgruntled narcissist has caused a complete ban affecting 300-million Americans honor our war-dead and our comrades, veterans and we think its an outrage and we intend to fight it." [crosswalk]

There are many things that Christians call "outrageous" that I choose not to join in on the fight. Things like the public display of the Ten Commandments, prayer in public schools, etc. Now, to be clear, I'm not against those things being legal, I just don't think they are worth fighting over. I think we often dishonor Christ in the way we respond to these things. After all, prayer in public schools cannot be out-lawed. It is only the public kind of prayer that Jesus was arguably against that has been banned (Matthew 6:5-6). The way He taught us to pray cannot be banned in any public place and, ironically, will actually flourish with more and more freedoms being eroded. It's like the bumper sticker says, "As long as there are tests, there will be prayer in public schools."

I don't want to digress here. My point is that there is much to be outraged about with the fact that the name of God cannot be evoked at the funeral of a veteran. It's absolutely absurd. What outrages me more is that ONE person changed the whole procedure. One, solitary, complaint.

I focus on this because that will be the downfall of this Republic. In a democracy, the majority (for good or ill) is supposed to rule. Yet our government officials are listening to one voice (which, as it turns out, is always the anti-Christian one) and banning, in the name of tolerance, something the majority of Americans are for in favor of. That is absolutely ludicrous because in one stroke of the pen, these bureaucrats have demonstrated intolerance to the majority of Americans. That, I just do not get.

So, I am outraged. I do not fear that these actions can or will somehow remove God from America. It is blasphemy to suggest man's meager actions could move a sovereign, almighty God in even the most minute way. He will do whatever He wishes and be wherever He desires. Certainly, our actions can lead to Him choosing to remove His hand of blessing (which I'm not certain has not already occurred), but God's wisdom and grace always supersede our actions and faithfulness. He will not abandon His chosen, even if all freedoms are stripped and persecution becomes the norm in this Country. It should, though, cause us grief to see injustice on all levels and undue burdens placed on families of those who already have paid a heavy price in service to this Nation, all because, somehow, the one has become mightier than the many.

Labels: Christianity, culture, David C. Price, God, politics, religion

Monday, October 29, 2007

RED SOX!!

Labels: David C. Price

Friday, October 26, 2007

An Amazing Day For The Fam

I can't believe that I didn't think to post about last Sunday. It was a really amazing day for us. We had Harvest Day at church which included Communion, Baby dedications and baptism.

All of those things in and of themselves are great, but for Karen and me, it was extra-special. Andrew (our 7 month-old) was a part of the dedication service and then I had the privilege of baptizing Jacob (my 7 year-old). It was pretty darn cool. I have been waiting and praying for that day for seven years. My parents were in town to take part in it which made it yet even more special and then that night, since communion was before baptism and Jacob missed it, we had a family communion at our house so Jacob could take part for the first time. Incredible day!

I'll post some pictures later.

Labels: David C. Price

Monday, October 22, 2007

Regarding Harry Potter's Spiritual Quest

Soon after posting my question regarding the Christian influence Rowling's attributed much of her writings to, I read the following article related to the surprise revelation that Harry Potter is actually gay [correction: Harry isn't gay (as far as we know), but rather a character known as Albus Dumbledore is. My apologies as I misread the article originally]. When you think about it, it's a great angle and strategy for indoctrinating millions of people towards your ideology: write a novel series that takes the world by storm, get millions of children to become huge fans of your characters and then right at the end, have that character actually be, as in this case, gay. Explains a lot, actually. Here is an excerpt and a link to the entire article:

NEW YORK —
With author J.K. Rowling's revelation that master wizard Albus Dumbledore is gay, some passages about the Hogwarts headmaster and rival wizard Gellert Grindelwald have taken on a new and clearer meaning.
The British author stunned her fans at Carnegie Hall on Friday night when she answered one young reader's question about Dumbledore by saying that he was gay and had been in love with Grindelwald, whom he had defeated years ago in a bitter fight.
'"You cannot imagine how his ideas caught me, Harry, inflamed me,'" Dumbledore says in "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," the seventh and final book in Rowling's record-breaking fantasy series.
The news brought gasps, then applause at Carnegie Hall, the last stop on Rowling's brief U.S. tour, and set off thousands of e-mails on Potter fan Web sites around the world. Some were dismayed, others indifferent, but most were supportive.
"Jo Rowling calling any Harry Potter character gay would make wonderful strides in tolerance toward homosexuality," Melissa Anelli, Webmaster of the fan site http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org, told The Associated Press. "By dubbing someone so respected, so talented and so kind, as someone who just happens to be also homosexual, she's reinforcing the idea that a person's gayness is not something of which they should be ashamed."
"'DUMBLEDORE IS GAY' is quite a headline to stumble upon on a Friday evening, and it's certainly not what I expected," added Potter fan Patrick Ross, of Rutherford, N.J. "(But) a gay character in the most popular series in the world is a big step for Jo Rowling and for gay rights."

Labels: David C. Price

Harry Potter's Spiritual Quest. Does It Lead To Christ?

There was an interesting story that I read through Crosswalk.com about J.K. Rowlings revelation of the biblical themes in her Harry Potter books.

I have not read the books myself, not so much because of their basis in sorcery themes as much as a lack of interest and time, in general. I can say that they are not books I've wanted (or would want) Jacob diving into.

Anyway, if you haven't read it, check out this article and, especially if you have read the series and have an opinion on it, let me know your thoughts. I'm interested in various takes on this claim.

The Pope may have condemned the Harry Potter books, but J.K. Rowling has now revealed that Christianity has been one of her major inspirations, ASSIST News Service reports. This news was revealed in a story that has appeared on the www.telegraph.co.uk website. "Breaking her silence on the much-debated question as to whether religious themes permeate her books, Rowling confirmed that they echoed her personal struggle with faith," said the story. "Speaking in America this week, she was open about the Christian allegories in her latest book Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows." The author said that she had always deflected questions on the issue in the past to avoid disclosing the direction in which the books were heading. "To me, the religious parallels have always been obvious," Rowling said. "But I never wanted to talk too openly about it because I thought it might show people who just wanted the story where we were going." The Telegraph story said that at the end of her latest and final installment in the series, there are specific references to Christianity and themes of life after death and resurrection. At one point Harry visits his parents' graves and finds two biblical passages inscribed on their tombstones. "They are very British books, so on a very practical note, Harry was going to find biblical quotations on tombstones," she said. "But I think those two particular quotations he finds on the tombstones... they sum up, they almost epitomize, the whole series."

Labels: David C. Price

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

The Archbishop of Canterbury Isn't Totally in Left Field...Only Mostly

Hey, what do you know? The Archbishop of Canterbury has actually said something with which I agree:

The Christian Post reports that the atheist author behind the book "The God Delusion" may be a leading scientist, but he's a poor philosopher, according to the spiritual head of the worldwide Anglican Communion. Addressing more than 1,000 people at Swansea University in the United Kingdom, Archbishop Rowan Williams rebutted the assessment of Christianity in Richard Dawkins' best-selling book, saying that atheists had missed the point and failed to understand what Christians actually believe in. "There are specific areas of mismatch between what Richard Dawkins may write about and what religious people think they are doing," said Williams. "Our culture is one that deeply praises science, so we assume because someone is a good scientist, they must be a good philosopher," he added. But Williams suggested that assumption that religion is "an eccentric survival strategy or irrational form of explanation" was distracting people from "real arguments" over God's existence. The Archbishop did cite Christians as "partly to blame," however, when asked 'Whose fault is Dawkins?'

I have said numerous times here that there is a great dichotomy between science and philosophy regarding the great evolution debate. Here, Adkins points to this same idea in dealing with the existence of God. Here is a link to the post I wrote in which I reference Nancy Pearcey's excellent book, Total Truth, to argue that Darwinian evolution is a philosophy of science rather than actual science (as is their claim).

There is also another post from a later date that argues the same thing here. My posts on the subject (of which I believe there are more if you want to do a blog search at the top) have been the target of much ire from several evolution-focussed blogs over the last couple of years. Guess I struck a nerve.

If you happen to be interested in seeing my thoughts on the Archbishops views, in general, you can check out (as Desi Arnaz would say) dis, dat, and de udder ting. If you don't get that reference, don't worry about it, you're probably below the age of thirty.

Labels: Darwin, David C. Price, Evolution, God, Naturalism, religion

Friday, October 12, 2007

Happy Birthday, Jacob!!

Wow, how can it be that you are already seven years old! Time has flown so fast and you are getting so big...but you're still my little boy...my "Goto Guy"!

I am so proud of you and the little man you are becoming. You are an amazing big brother, as I knew you would be, and it makes me glad to know Andrew will always have someone like you to look after him for many years to come.

You have a wonderfully tender heart, caring particularly for those most people overlook or for those who cannot take care of themselves. It is evident that the Spirit of God resides within you. I cannot wait until next Sunday when I have the high privilege of baptizing you.

I want you to always know that I love you with all of my heart and, though sometimes I am weak in showing it, I will always be here for you as long as God gives me breath.

Happy birthday, Son!

~Daddy

Labels: David C. Price

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Jay-Walking Through the Bible

An article in the Indianapolis Star reports that the United States, one of the most religious countries in the world, is also a nation of appalling religious illiteracy. The article discusses Stephen Prothero's "revealing" book, Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know and Doesn't. According to Prothero, in the U.S., "faith without understanding is the standard" and "religious ignorance is bliss." He also regards religious illiteracy as dangerous "because religion is one of the most volatile components of culture and has been, in addition to one of the greatest forces for good in the world, (also) one of the greatest forces for evil." Some examples the article cites of our country's religious illiteracy include: "nearly two-thirds of Americans endorse the teaching of creationism in our public schools, [but] fewer than half can identify the Book of Genesis... [Just under half] of Americans attribute the words "Let there be light" to Thomas Edison...Two-thirds believe that the Bible is God's word, only half of American adults can name even one of the Four Gospels... Ten percent of Americans believe that Joan of Arc was Noah's wife."

[Crosswalk.com]It would appear that church-goers in America aren't any more biblically literate than the geniuses Jay Leno has on his show from time to time in his "Jay-walking" segment. In my opinion, this simply highlights the major difference between the religious and those who have a real relationship with Christ.

Jesus always talked against religion, but even among the least educated (like most of his apostles), when they followed Him and learned from Him, were transformed through the Holy Spirit. When Christ is more than a religious figure, transformation happens from within making you want to know Him (and about Him) more.

I think it's like many (including myself) have said for a long time: this may be a religious nation, but it's far from being a truly Christian one.

Labels: David C. Price

Thursday, October 04, 2007

How 'Bout That...50K

Huh, I finally hit 50,000 visitors (and it only took three years). I have to laugh because that's the daily hit of a lot of blogs. Ah, who cares...it's a milestone for me anyway.

Labels: David C. Price

Wednesday, October 03, 2007

The Difficulty of Saying Goodbye to a Friend

A friend died last week. We were childhood friends, three days difference in our ages, both with two kids, our parents are best friends, and both thinking we had years ahead of us.

We haven't seen each other in over twenty years, but kept up with through our parents. Strangely, sometimes it's not until someone is gone that you realize how you wish you had done a better job keeping contact.

That's the reason for the long delay in posting anything here. Well, partly. I was out of town attending his funeral much of last week, but I think the biggest reason is that I knew what I would have to write...for me, that is. I would have to write about this.

When I first found out about his sudden illness and quick death, I was, of course, shocked, but more than that I was simply hurting for his parents. I made the arrangements to go back home for the service, but didn't really take the time to process. I new it would be hard, but I think I kind of compartmentalized it as I am, oh, too good at doing.

Karen wisely decided to come with me (we had not planned on that initially), because I guess she had a hunch I would need her presence. She was right. She doesn't feel like she did much, but she didn't have to do anything but be there.

So, the day of visitation came which was the night before the funeral. I stood in line with, literally, the hundreds of others who came to pay their respects. When I finally made it to his parents, standing just before the beautiful, metallic silvery blue casket, it just came out. I couldn't stop the tears. I managed to get "I love you" out to his dad, but not even that would come out as a clung to his mother. A kiss on the cheek was all I had to give.

Leaving the room, I quickly put it back in it's little compartment, knowing it was not fully in and knowing it could not stay there. The next morning was the funeral where I was to be a pall bearer.

I sat in the service, listening to all the wonderful things being said about my friend...remembering back on our years together and knowing it was all true. Memories that had been long ago lost, I thought, came flooding back and we were kids again, traveling to Mississippi State games, camping down by the Strong River with our families, water skiing at the reservoir, playing blind-man's bluff in his sister's room, breaking out his sister's window...playing blind-man's bluff. The emotion rose to the surface again.

Since then, I've wondered a lot about "Legacy." What will mine be? If the nice things are said about me, will they be true? If I die tomorrow, will it be said that mine was "a life well lived"? Will my kids know that I loved them? Really love them?

Truly, life is, as Scripture says, merely a vapor. It is so fragile and tomorrow...even the next breath...is not promised. What are we doing with them?

I didn't know the extent to which all of this had affected me until Monday. So much of this has been internalized without my really knowing it. That is, until the stress within became an expression. Strange how that happens. Within a matter of a couple of hours I had blown up at my wife and son and certainly convinced my staff that I'm a maniacal, paranoid freak.

OK, after all of the apologies, I began going through the process of dealing with the stress that was always under the surface following such a difficult week. The thing that I find most ironic is that as much as I have been dealing with leaving a good legacy and appreciating those around me and the time I have with them, the more I end up expressing the exact opposite of how I'm feeling. I love my wife and sons dearly...I appreciate my partners in ministry with which I work. I love the fact that God has blessed me with the opportunity to lead a warm and caring people. Yet over the past few days, the evidence of that has been sparse.

Bottom line...stress kills. It kills us physically by the affects it has on our bodies, but it also kills relationships when left unattended. I have realized that if I want to leave the same kind of legacy that my friend has, I have to manage the stress in my life and prioritize life in such a way that people around me are blessed and God is glorified.

I have been and continue now grieving for the void my friend's death has left in the lives of his family. I mourn that he has a one year-old and a five year-old that will never really remember or know their father. I hate that, because of our similarities both in stature and attitude, my very presence will be a reminder to his parents of the absence in their own lives. All of this is mentally and emotionally tough. Yet I know that God is God...that His grace is sufficient for all of these concerns and that, because of His mercy, my friend has not been lost. He's merely changed addresses...and based on that fact, his funeral was a celebration of life ongoing.

But it is still difficult saying goodbye to a friend.

Labels: David C. Price

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Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Ridiculous Item of the Day: One Complaint Leads to Change in Military Funeral Procedure