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NewKirk

Where a new reformation begins....

Public Schools...Pitiful!

Don’t let schooling interfere with your education.

~ Mark Twain

I sometimes grow weary listening to people complaining that the government schools are doing a terrible job. I have many objections to this horrid system, but I must give it credit for accomplishing its actual – but unstated – purpose, namely, to dumb-down the minds of people so as to make them unquestioning and obedient vassals of the established order. There is nothing so disruptive to the status quo as a society of self-directed, independent-minded people both capable of and insistent on informed, analytical thought. It has been the purpose of government schools to assure that such conditions do not arise; to continue to produce a society of capable workers but who, nonetheless, have passive and contented minds.

The contrast between systems of learning that focus on helping students become epistemologically independent and competent, and the government schools, is often difficult to make other than by anecdotal examples. When I was in the eighth-grade in a government school, we were required to study Latin. That revelation, standing by itself, conveys little to a listener. Only occasionally am I able to find some past curricular evidence with which to compare modern school offerings.

Thanks to the Internet, however, I have rediscovered an interesting item that helps make my point. It is an eighth grade exam that students in Salina, Kansas, were required to pass in order to advance to high school (i.e., the ninth grade). The exam was given in 1895, and consists of the following subject areas and questions.

Read the rest...

It's bad enough that the taxpayer-funded, government-controlled schools are failures in the education department, but that they are anti-Christian in every other way, only makes matters worse. That Christians would think of such an ungodly institution as "our schools" (as in, let's get prayer and Bible-reading back in our schools) is head-in-the-sand shameful.

A Rudderless Ship Of State | Tenth Amendment Center

A Rudderless Ship Of State

by Chuck Baldwin

In Patrick Henry’s immortal “Give Me Liberty Or Give Me Death” speech, he said, “[I]t is natural to man to indulge in the illusions of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth.” Never have Henry’s words been truer than they are today. For too long, good men have turned a blind eye to the obvious reality that America’s Ship of State has swerved significantly off course. In fact, it is no hyperbole to say that America’s Ship of State is completely rudderless and, absent a speedy course correction, seems destined to crash against the rocks of oppression and economic ruin in the very near future. For anyone willing to open their eyes, the manifestations of America’s almost-certain collision with history are everywhere.

America’s Liberty Ship is dependent upon the twin mainsails of Morality and Constitutional Government to stay on course. It is an irrefutable and irreversible law that these twin sails are indissolubly linked. We cannot have one without the other. America’s founders clearly understood this. Read the rest here:

A Rudderless Ship Of State | Tenth Amendment Center

Homeschooling Family Granted Political Asylum

Immigration Judge Says Germany Violating Basic Human Rights

In a case with international ramifications, Immigration Judge Lawrence O. Burman granted the political asylum application of a German homeschooling family. The Romeikes are Christians from Bissinggen, Germany, who fled persecution in August 2008 to seek political asylum in the United States. The request was granted January 26 after a hearing was held in Memphis, Tennessee, on January 21.

“We can’t expect every country to follow our constitution,” said Judge Burman. “The world might be a better place if it did. However, the rights being violated here are basic human rights that no country has a right to violate.”

Burman added, “Homeschoolers are a particular social group that the German government is trying to suppress. This family has a well-founded fear of persecution…therefore, they are eligible for asylum…and the court will grant asylum.”

In his ruling, Burman said that the scariest thing about this case was the motivation of the government. He noted it appeared that rather than being concerned about the welfare of the children, the government was trying to stamp out parallel societies—something the judge called “odd” and just plain “silly.” In his order the judge expressed concern that while Germany is a democratic country and is an ally, he noted that this particular policy of persecuting homeschoolers is “repellent to everything we believe as Americans.”

‘Embarrassing for Germany’

“This decision finally recognizes that German homeschoolers are a specific social group that is being persecuted by a Western democracy,” said Mike Donnelly, staff attorney and director of international relations for Home School Legal Defense Associaton. “It is embarrassing for Germany, since a Western nation should uphold basic human rights, which include allowing parents to raise and educate their own children. This judge understood the case perfectly, and he called Germany out. We hope this decision will cause Germany to stop persecuting homeschoolers,” he added.

The persecution of homeschoolers in Germany has been intensifying over the past several years. They are regularly fined thousands of dollars, threatened with imprisonment, or have the custody of their children taken away simply because they choose to home educate.

The Romeikes expressed relief when they heard the decision.

“We are so grateful to the judge for his ruling,” said Uwe Romeike. “We know many people, especially other German homeschoolers, have been praying for us. Their prayers and ours have been answered. We greatly appreciate the freedom to homeschool we now have in America and will be building our new life here,” he added.

Donnelly testified at the hearing on January 21, telling the immigration Judge that homeschoolers are persecuted all over Germany.

Read the rest of the article...

Thanks Keynes, you deserve the rap...

For a better understanding of things economic, and issues of freedom, forget Keynes...read Tom Woods!

Al, you are such a cool guy!

Fairbanks businessmen are still so annoyed by former Vice President Al Gore's stand on global warming that they have commissioned another "Frozen Gore" ice sculpture for display in front of a liquor store. This year's version features Gore blowing smoke -- but only when a truck exhaust is connected. Businessmen Craig Compeau and Rudy Gavora say they'll commission the sculpture annually until Gore comes to Fairbanks to debate climate change. "Before we start carbon taxing ... let's try and educate ourselves," Compeau said.

The Loss of Liberty

If you think the Federal Gov't is your friend...think again! The liberties founded by men informed by a Christian worldview are slipping away.

Swine Flu & You

Before rushing out to get the latest vaccine trumpeted by gov't, media, and the powerful pharmaceutical companies, do some research! The vaccine may prove more dangerous than the virus! To help you along, take a look here:



http://www.lewrockwell.com/sardi/sardi119.html

http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig10/bosworth1.1.1.html

http://www.lewrockwell.com/rajiva/rajiva25.1.html

The Butterfly Circus

This is worth every minute of the 20 in this short film. A Christian worldview, yes!
http://www.thedoorpost.com/hope/The%20Butterfly%20Circus/

Yes We Can??

New website for Christ Covenant Church

We're working on a new, improved website for Christ Covenant Church...take a look!

Uncle Screwtape ~ Still At It

A Satirical Essay (apologies to C.S. Lewis)

By David W. Virtue
www.virtueonline.org
7/26/2009

My dear Wormwood,

Word of your enormous success has reached our father's ears. What you achieved in Anaheim at GC2009 this past week was beyond our wildest imaginings.

That you should have obtained a public confession from that Jefferts Schori woman that personal faith or conversion of any sort was unnecessary and was actually a Western heresy must surely go down in the annals of hellish history as a first.

We have atheists and agnostics, unbelievers and disbelievers, but to have someone actually masquerading as a Christian and publicly denying one of its central tenets is a feat of uncommon performance. You are to be congratulated.

Your success at undermining that vile religion so adroitly through a female leader, (equality has its plusses) no less, only proves our point that heretics who rise through the ranks of the priestly classes only aid and abet our side. Jefferts Schori is the apogee of the feminist and pansexual revolution roaring through the churches of the West. Spong is her alter ego. Our success in undermining mainline churches like The Episcopal Church with pansexual acceptance and then calling it a "justice" issue rather than a moral issue deftly deflects it away from the truth that it will ultimately destroy their souls making them all hell bound. Heaven's loss, Hell's gain.

Our father has placed the highest priority on undermining Western Christianity. The successes achieved this week in The American Episcopal Church will undoubtedly be followed by more of the same with the Lutherans, Presbyterians, United Church of Christ, Moravians and, in time, and a lot of effort on your part, the United Methodists.

The thin end of the wedge has penetrated the heart of the Christian behemoth; you will continue to hammer it home, opening up more fractures here and there till we have swallowed them all up. They will, in time, be ripe, for our ultimate goal - the triumph of Islam and the imposition of Sharia Law.

Let them cry out for justice for all oppressed peoples, but make sure that any talk of "justice" for orthodox types is glossed over with talk that when they were in charge, they gave nothing to the other side. Now it is their turn to hold the crown of victory. Never mind that the cry of repentance for all peoples was undermining OUR cause. It is important to focus away from any such talk and on to the whine of inclusion, diversity and justice for all peoples.

Keep the Listening Process alive and well. Make sure they get millions of dollars to listen themselves to death. It all works in our favor.

Add to all this the undermining of Western morality with abortion, Internet porn, divorce, the abandonment of children, further undermining of the educational system, preaching moral relativity (keep the pressure on homosexual acceptance in the schools) and the rejection of absolute truth ...and our work will almost be done.

That lesbian Ragsdale woman at Episcopal Divinity School preaching that abortion is a blessing was further sweet music to our ears. It is emptying their churches faster than we could have hoped or imagined.

Now it is very important, Wormwood, to keep the institution alive. To do so, you must keep the remaining orthodox dioceses and parishes in TEC. If they leave, TEC will wilt and die even faster. If The Episcopal Church dies, and on its present trajectory it most certainly will, then it will be apparent to everyone. That will only undermine our cause. Whatever you do, keep it going, if only to make their case (and ours) that this church is where it is at - the seeker friendly church, the inclusive church, the emergent church, full of new ideas, taking the e-word (evangelism) and giving it a whole new definition and meaning.

The thing is not to kill off the church, but to undermine it from within, to change the definition of things, making words mean the opposite of what they originally meant and keeping people seduced by the language of inclusion. Keep the empty shell open if only for tourism traffic. The English have that down to a fine art.

Keep Robinson smiling and hopping from one event to the next while making sure he stays off the booze. Keep him going to AA and announcing he now believes in a "higher power". Good stuff that changes nothing. Hell is filled with people who believe in a higher power. His upcoming appearance at Greenbelt, England, is a major coup. There he will preach his inclusive god and seductive gospel that embraces all manner of sexualities. The only sexual "sin" left in The Episcopal Church is heterosexual adultery. We need to trot that out occasionally to remind the world that TEC still has standards. (Grin)

Marriage, that horrid institution that has provided so much stability for societies and cultures for centuries, must be undermined. If not, then it must be twisted to meet the new sexual realities of the world and church. With your able assistance, we have taken it out of the sphere of heterosexual behavior and procreation, and have turned it into a narcissistic, self-absorbed past-time. Keep pushing the issue of ersatz rights - rights for gays, rights for women, rights for the transgendered, rights for same-sex marriage, and rights for dogs, if need be. Let them keep talking about the "other", but under no circumstances must this talk move into an understanding of a transcendent "other" - of a loving G-d who demands obedience and faith.

Keep that Jefferts Schori woman well supplied with heresies. Above all, keep her focused on this worldly transformation. Under no circumstances must she be given a glimpse of another world, a heavenly realm, a kingdom not made with hands...keep her believing that MDGs will change the world making it a better place with heaven just an extension of this world as SHE knows it.

Your work has been masterful, Wormwood. Our father broke open a pint of Pike's blood the other evening just to celebrate your incredible success.

Let the darkness roll on.

You remain in our warmest embrace,

Your affectionate Uncle,

Screwtape

Atheism's Moral Swindle

Before the Wilson-Hitchens movie arrives, lets start thinking about apologetics and defending the Christian faith....

by Joel McDurmon

I long since stopped blogging on atheism, deeming it often a waste of time and occasionally counterproductive. Sometimes, however, the issue merits revisiting. After rereading some old classics, I find the following quotation worth sharing:

When one gives up the Christian faith, one pulls the right to Christian morality out from under one’s feet. This morality is by no means self-evident: this point has to be exhibited again and again, despite the English flatheads. Christianity is a system, a whole view of things thought out together. By breaking one main concept out of it, the faith in God, one breaks the whole: nothing necessary remains in one’s hands. Christianity presupposes that man does not know, cannot know, what is good for him, what evil: he believes in God, who alone knows it. Christian morality is a command; its origin is transcendent; it is beyond all criticism, all right to criticism; it has truth only if God has truth—it stands or falls with faith in God.

In this quotation, many of my readers will immediately detect the echo of Van Til, or Bahnsen, or some other related apologist infused with “worldview,” or presuppositional thinking. Such a guess comes close in content, but misses widely. The surprise: this quotation flows candidly—and insightfully!—from arch-atheist Friedrich Nietzsche.[1] This is not, of course, to say that Van Til derived his ideas from reading Nietzsche—highly unlikely. The point—completely lost on modern atheists—is that when you strike down Christianity, Christian morality necessarily goes with it. Nietzsche candidly professed this, as did his earlier French counterpart Marquis de Sade: no God, no moral imperatives; no “thou shalt,” and no “thou shalt not.” Only, “I will.” Read more

Ambulance chasing....

Collision, the full-length movie of the debates between Pastor Doug Wilson and famous atheist, Christopher Hitchens should be out soon. In the meantime, here is a preview....

COLLISION - 13 min VIMEO Exclusive Sneak Peek from Collision Movie on Vimeo.

Bubbles burst...and we better be prepared! Peter Schiff makes a convincing case for "the worst is yet to come." I think he is right, fundamentals don't lie, and there is no reasonable reason to think that it will get better until the government stops doing stupid things. This presentation is long, but worth every minute. Christians need to hear this!

Fred Thompson sounding like Ron Paul

(HT: Mark Horne) Hits the nail on the head!

From Ron Paul's Campaign for Liberty....


3rd Grade Civics Lesson

Posted by Don Rasmussen on 10/30/08 09:08 AM Last updated 10/30/08 09:11 AM

Special thanks to my mom for sending this along.

The most eye-opening civics lesson I ever had was while teaching third grade. The presidential election was heating up and some of the children showed an interest. I decided we would have an election for a class president. We would choose our nominees. They would make a campaign speech and the class would vote.
To simplify the process, candidates were nominated by other class members. We discussed what kinds of characteristics these students should have. We got many nominations and from those, Jamie and Olivia were picked to run for the top spot.
The class had done a great job in their selections. Both candidates were good kids. I thought Jamie might have an advantage because he got lots of parental support. I had never seen Olivia’s mother. The day arrived when they were to make their speeches. Jamie went first. He had specific ideas about how to make our class a better place. He ended by promising to do his very best. Every one applauded. He sat down and Olivia came to the podium. Her speech was concise. She said, “If you will vote for me, I will give you ice cream.” She sat down. The class went wild. “Yes! Yes! We want ice cream.”
She surely would say more. She did not have to. A discussion followed. How did she plan to pay for the ice cream? She wasn’t sure. Would her parents buy it or would the class pay for it. She didn’t know. The class really didn’t care. All they were thinking about was ice cream. Jamie was forgotten. Olivia won by a land slide.
Every time Barack Obama opens his mouth he offers ice cream, and fifty percent of America reacts like nine year olds. They want ice cream. The other fifty percent know they’re going to have to feed the cow.

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Now here are some economic proposals that break the socialist connection! Christian Schools need to teach this stuff. Somebody write the curriculum, please!

You Heard It Here First

By Dr. Richard A. Jones

Pretend I’ve been chosen as a special select committee of one with authority to fix the financial crisis. The following is my plan to bring you the most effective U-turn possible. I’ve taken the best of the remedies as suggested in recent weeks by various experts and merged them for your information into a single, all-inclusive package. You’ll also see why these proposals help explain why so many in Congress were in a lose-lose dilemma last week per the bailout no matter which way they voted. Neither a Yes nor a No vote will be of any lasting value, with Yes being by far the worst of the two. As you read, keep in mind what the Bible says about honest money, honest markets and honest men. Also be aware that only by adopting the no-nonsense blueprint below will a lasting cure take place, outright socialism prevented, the potential for an explosion of solid, long-term growth made possible, and individual freedom made more secure. Continue reading...

The Day and the Hour......

Please take this seriously....not the DVD series, but what the production and sale of such stuff reveals. When will Christians stop buying this nonsense that purports to tell us what God has NOT revealed in His Word? I guess when the Holy Spirit graciously opens the eyes of the blind.

See here WorldNet Daily


That is why Christ Covenant Church's men's study is doing this:....An antidote to end-times craziness that detracts from the work of following Christ's command to "disciple the nations". Join us this Friday, 7:30pm at the Smith Public House. Call for directions: (631)594-1377