Moral issues

Political Correctness: Morality’s Poison Pill

10/2/2010 – Greg Halvorson –
There is much talk, and much to say, about what ails America, but one problem, certainly, is political correctness, which along with “tolerance” has become entrenched in daily life. Tolerance and its cousin diversity have become hegemonic in society, a dominant narrative which undermines dialogue with respect to truth. It’s one thing to be civil and to strive for compassion, and quite another to deem it offensive to judge behavior, regardless of whether that judgment is sound.

Eric Holder called us “a nation of cowards,” and as much as it pains me, I agree (don’t tell anyone!). His use of “coward” is telling because not only is it politically incorrect, but it describes what politically correct citizens become. We are cowards, both in our discussion of race, as he specified, and our discussion of life… When it comes to truth, we shrink from dialogue, cowering beneath “tolerance” as a personal badge. [Read more…]

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The Case for Marriage

9/25/2010 – National Review Editors –
If it is true, as we are constantly told, that American law will soon redefine marriage to accommodate same-sex partnerships, the proximate cause for this development will not be that public opinion favors it, although it appears to be moving in that direction. It will be that the most influential Americans, particularly those in law and the media, have been coming increasingly to regard opposition to same-sex marriage as irrational at best and bigoted at worst. They therefore dismiss expressions of that opposition, even when voiced by a majority in a progressive state, as illegitimate. Judges who believe that same-sex marriage is obviously just and right can easily find ways to read their views into constitutions, to the applause of the like-minded.

The emerging elite consensus in favor of same-sex marriage has an element of self-delusion about it. It denies that same-sex marriage would work a radical change in American law or society, insisting to the contrary that within a few years of its triumph everyone will wonder what all the fuss was about. [Read more…]

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Creating a God-Honoring Culture – Centurion Program

Chuck Colson
Chuck Colson
9/10/2010 – Chuck Colson –

I have a burning passion—it’s the first item on my prayer list every day— and that’s to see a movement of Christians raised up from the churches to defend truth in the marketplace of ideas and to live out the gospel. Nothing less than this kind of an awakening can possibly save our quickly deteriorating culture.

That’s why I’m now spending all of my time working at BreakPoint and the Colson Center. One of my major projects is developing Christian leaders who can understand and defend a biblical view of all of life.

We call this the Centurions program. For the past six years we have brought 100 of the best and brightest into this year-long teaching effort, to study under some of the best minds in the Christian world. It’s demanding; we read books together, view movies and critique them; do a lot of teaching on line; and have three residencies during the year in Lansdowne, Virginia near our offices. [Read more…]

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Russian Metropolitan Blasts Anglican Communion’s Sexual Innovations

Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk
Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk

9/13/2010 – David W. Virtue –
Our Church must sever its relations with those churches and communities that trample on the principles of Christian ethics and traditional morals. Here we uphold a firm stand based on Holy Scripture.

In a groundbreaking address at Lambeth Palace before the Nicean Club that included the Archbishop of Canterbury, Russian Metropolitan Hilarion blasted those parts of the Anglican Communion experimenting with sexual innovations saying they threatened continuing dialogue with the Orthodox Church.

In surprise remarks that observers say embarrassed Dr. Williams, Hilarion ripped Western Anglican liberals who have deviated from heterosexual marriage calling it “an abyss that divides traditional Christians from Christians of liberal trend.” [Read more…]

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Sharia Degradation of Women

9/13/2010 – Eileen F. Toplansky –
The unremitting degradation of women in most of the Mideast, Africa, and other parts of Asia where Islamic law plays a huge role is horrifying and appalling. Islamic law endorses slavery, demands executions for apostasy, and condones the repression of women.

The debasement of women plays a critical role among Palestinian women, where little girls live under a death threat of honor killing. The male sexual abuse of female children is quite pervasive [Read more…]

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Humility in a Time of Recession

9/1/2010 – Samuel Gregg –
Since 2008, there has been much discussion about the contribution of unethical behavior to our present economic circumstances. Whether it was borrowers’ lying on mortgage-applications or Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s politically-driven lending policies, there seems to be some consciousness that non-economic factors played a role in facilitating what we already call the Great Recession.

Unfortunately evidence is emerging that some people have learned nothing. A recent report, for example, commissioned by the Wall Street Journal illustrates that “losses from mortgage fraud—ranging from falsified credit reports to identity theft—rose 17% last year after declining 57% in the two years after its 2006 peak.” [Read more…]

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Til Death Do Us Part–Or Whatever

Chuck Colson
Chuck Colson
8/31/2010 – Chuck Colson –

Worldview was on display at a church in Silver Spring, Maryland a few days ago. What did it look like? A lovely bride, dressed in white. A groom looking giddily in love. Promises to love and to cherish, as long as they lived.

If this sounds like an ordinary wedding—well, that’s just evidence that worldview is not always easy to spot. For instance, you couldn’t tell by looking that the bride and groom had never spent a night together before the wedding—unlike most couples these days.

They were both committed Christians—unlike many other brides and grooms who want a church wedding because it’s “traditional.” Most important of all, this young couple fully understood—and embraced—the meaning and purposes of marriage. [Read more…]

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Godly and Ungodly Violence

St Andrew Orthodox Church8/25/2010 – Fr. Josiah Trenham –

A Parishioner Inquires: “I understand that Leo Tolstoi was an excommunicant of the Orthodox church, but in his book The Kingdom of God is Within You, he raises an interesting question. Tolstoi posits that since Christ commands us to ‘resist not’, and to ‘turn the other cheek’, we should not resist physically anybody who would harm us. I have never been able to reconcile this notion to my own experience in life, considering that on more than one occasion, in order to protect those for whom I care, I have resorted to violence or to the threat of violence. In addition, in the life of Father Arseny, there is a passage in which a soldier-turned-priest beats a group of would-be rapists to preserve the honor of his wife. He experiences a measure of guilt for this, but is consoled by his bishop, since the safety of another was concerned. Can you give me an idea of the Orthodox position on the use of violence as a defensive measure?”

Fr. Josiah writes, “We have 20 centuries of warrior saints. Some of our greatest are St. George, St. Demetrios, St. Theodore the General, etc. They were men who utilized immense physical force to suppress evil and defeat injustice. [Read more…]

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Moral Myopia at Ground Zero

Park51 - Site of Ground Zero Mosque
Park51 - Site of Ground Zero Mosque

8/20/2010 – Charles Krauthammer –
Supporters of the mosque fail to see its true significance.

It’s hard to be an Obama sycophant these days. Your hero delivers a Ramadan speech roundly supporting the building of a mosque and Islamic center at Ground Zero in New York. Your heart swells and you’re moved to declare this President Obama’s finest hour, his act of greatest courage.

Alas, the next day, at a remove of 800 miles, Obama explains that he was only talking about the legality of the thing and not the wisdom — upon which he does not make, and will not make, any judgment.

You’re left looking like a fool because now Obama has said exactly nothing: No one disputes the right to build; the whole debate is about the propriety, the decency of doing so. [Read more…]

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2010 Politics and the Cult of Me

8/16/2010 – Jeremy Meister –
The “Me Generation” was cute until it got in charge.

The “Greatest Generation” came home from fighting and suffering in World War 2 and gave birth to the “Baby Boom.” Like most children, these “Boomers” rebelled against their parents’ values, like honor, duty, and sacrifice. It was the ’60s, and the old fuddy-duddy ways of doing things were frowned upon by the new generation. The “Boomers” were going to have a good time regardless of the consequences. [Read more…]

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