Moral issues

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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Re-education, It’s Not Just for Tyrants Anymore

Chuck Colson
Chuck Colson
8/16/2010 – Chuck Colson –

The threat to religious freedom in this country is not a hypothetical threat. It’s real, and real people are suffering as a result.

When we wrote the Manhattan Declaration last fall, we warned about “the decline in respect for religious values in the media, the academy and political leadership.”

An example of this decline is on display currently in Georgia. Jennifer Keeton, who is a 24-year-old studying for a master’s degree in counseling at Augusta State University, has been threatened with expulsion. The grounds for the threatened expulsion are not poor grades or misconduct – they are Keeton’s beliefs.

Specifically, they are Keeton’s beliefs about the morality of homosexuality. In written assignments and classroom discussions, Keeton has said that people’s sexual conduct is “the result of accountable, personal choices,” and not “a state of being.” [Read more…]

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The Perils of ‘Wannabe Cool’ Christianity

8/13/2010 – Brett McCracken –
‘How can we stop the oil gusher?” may have been the question of the summer for most Americans. Yet for many evangelical pastors and leaders, the leaking well is nothing compared to the threat posed by an ongoing gusher of a different sort: Young people pouring out of their churches, never to return.

As a 27-year-old evangelical myself, I understand the concern. My peers, many of whom grew up in the church, are losing interest in the Christian establishment. [Read more…]

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Judging Marriage, Proposition 8 Struck Down

One gay judge invalidates 7,000,000 voters in California.

Chuck Colson
Chuck Colson

8/5/2010 – Chuck Colson –

Yesterday, federal district court Judge Vaughn Walker, a Reagan appointee, overturned California’s Proposition 8, which defines marriage as the union of one man and one woman.

While the immediate impact is limited to the state of California, the consequences of this egregious bit of judicial overreach threatens to be nationwide.

Two years ago, the California Supreme Court ruled that denying same-sex couples the right to marry violated the state constitution. In response, supporters of traditional marriage followed California’s legal and democratic process: They collected enough signatures to put a proposed amendment to the state constitution on the ballot. [Read more…]

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Pity the Postmodern Cultural Elite

7/20/2010 – Victor Davis Hanson –

I think most of our problems transcend politics, which is increasingly a reflection of an elite, insider culture that is completely at odds with the majority of the country that it oversees.

So what is a cultural elite?
It is a sloppy term that might include the academic class in the university that educates our children in college. The upper echelons that run government departments constitute part of this cultural elite. So does an entertainment cadre that oversees television and Hollywood. Corporate managers are elites as well.

There is no racial, regional, religious, or tribal commonality. One shared allegiance perhaps is to higher education that certifies the cultural elite by diplomas of all sorts from a “good school,” as well as a respectable salary and a nice home with appurtenances. The good life of the elite is defined by both the absence of worry about necessities, and a certain status that accrues from properly recognized advanced education and sensitivity. [Read more…]

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