In this issue: More at summit.org » pg. 2 From the President’s Desk » The latest announcements and the » pg. 5 Doc’s recent reading news on same-sex marriage » Find us on Facebook » pg. 7 A look at upcoming summitDecember 2014 Summit event Arise » Check our Twitter Volume 14 Issue 11 feed: @summitmn Why Christianity Matters

By Owen Hill Dr. Kent Brantley, of Samaritan’s Purse, Christianity was the animating princi- Gladys Alyward (1902-1970), a British and Nancy Writebol, with Service in Mis- ple for Alyward, Brantley, Writebol and so Christian missionary to China, is perhaps sion, were two missionaries administer- many others who have been willing to put best remembered for her role as a “foot- ing medical care to Ebola patients in Li- their lives on the line for the real, tangible inspector” — someone who was appoint- beria when they contracted the disease. good of others. In both of these stories, ed by the Mandarin to travel around and They were brought back to the U.S. for people had the courage to live because unbind women’s feet, a practice which the treatment, where they eventually recov- they knew life is inherently valuable and Chinese government finally decided to ered. While Brantley and Writebol’s cases existence is good. Christianity matters end. So Alyward traveled on behalf of the received much public attention, they are because it is true, and everyone reading government as a foot-inspector, tending not the only Christians who have chosen this understands that. But these stories to the physical needs of women in China. to go to Liberia with the express purpose illustrate other reasons why Christianity This concern for their needs opened the of alleviating the physical suffering of is relevant and matters absolutely. This door for her to share the Gospel wherever many. Christmas season as we remember the she went. See christianity matters page 3 from the president’s desk a word from dr. jeff myers

Christmas transforms culture. The by the side of his bunk mate to nurse Frightful diseases manger led to the cross, the cross of- him back from the brink of death. His still claimed lives. fered salvation, and men and women bunk mate survived; he did not. In an- Food was still scarce redeemed by the gospel and empow- other instance, a guard incensed over and nauseating. But sacrifice had ered by the Holy Spirit changed and the supposed theft of a shovel threat- brought meaning out of misery. Gor- continue to change the world. ened to randomly execute members don says: of a work detail. A believing Christian Ernest Gordon’s description of how stepped forward to “confess” and the “Death was still with us — no doubt prisoners in a Japanese prisoner of war enraged guard beat him, crushing his about that. But we were slowly being camp brought hope out of misery illus- skull. The others looked on in horror, freed from its destructive grip. We were trates this perfectly. helpless to assist the man who had seeing for ourselves the sharp contrast given his life for theirs. A re-count later between the forces that made for life A member of the elite Scottish High- showed no shovels missing. and those that made for death. Selfish- landers, Gordon tells his story in the ness, hatred, envy, jealousy, greed, self- book To End All Wars. In gruesome Christmas indulgence, laziness, and pride were all detail he describes the filthy, disease- “ anti-life. Love, heroism, self-sacrifice, ridden, and inhumane conditions of transforms culture. sympathy, mercy, integrity, and cre- the Chungkai prison camp, in which ” ative faith, on the other hand, were the prisoners died from starvation, dis- Dr. Jeff Myers essence of life, turning mere existence ease, overwork, beatings, shootings, into living in its truest sense. These and beheadings. One man, Dusty, pro- were the gifts of God to men.” fessing faith in Christ, was hung on a From a purely Darwinian view, these tree to die like his Savior. deaths were a foolish waste. But in the Worldviews that deny suffering or camp, they led to a new attitude of fixate on survival find this incompre- Some men just succumbed to hope- “you first” rather than “me first.” Chris- hensible. It takes a baby in a manger to lessness and died. The remaining pris- tian volunteers changed gangrenous make sense of it all, a baby who moved oners, deprived of their humanity, bandages and bathed hideous wounds. from the chill of a stable to the shad- devolved into a beastly mindset of sur- Life regained some of its meaning. ow of the cross to the light of glory. vival of the fittest. Death meant noth- Even the experience of death changed Whether in a remote outpost of the ing and life meant little more. Gordon as prisoners stopped piling bodies and Roman Empire or a forgotten prisoner writes, “Death called to us from every elected chaplains to conduct honor- of war camp in Asia, Christ does not direction. It was in the air we breathed, able funerals for the fallen. merely stand against culture; he trans- the food we ate, the things we talked forms it. about. The rhythm of death obsessed Out of this restored humanity grew us with its beat — a beat so regular, so a stunning culture. The prisoners This is my family’s fourth “Summit pervasive, so inescapable that it made formed a library and taught courses in Christmas.” It is a privilege to walk Chungkai a place of shadows in the everything from math to philosophy to with our dedicated staff as they pre- dark valley.” languages (nine of them). They staged pare young adults to emerge as leaders, plays. Retrieving six violins from a van- grow strong in faith, experience cour- But two events, according to Gor- dalized relief shipment, they formed age in standing for truth, and bring the don, changed everything. First, word an orchestra and held concerts. life and hope of the gospel to a culture spread of a believing Christian who that has lost its way. We wish you a had sacrificed his own food and stayed Camp conditions had not changed. merry Christmas.

Page 2 December 2014 christianity matters continued from page 1

birth of our Savior, let us reflect deeply Summit’s John Stonestreet says, younger siblings, life was quite difficult on the difference his coming makes “This idea of the image bearer is never for the family. Their stories of God’s in each of us individually, and in this more important for the church to fig- provision are inspiring in themselves, world in which we live. ure out, to preach, share, and bring but one story from Eddie’s teenage Created in God’s Image life to, than today. Every social conflict years shows the power of Christ to Christ’s incarnation hallowed our today comes down to the root of mis- bring dignity, even through suffering. humanity, and in turn, Christianity understanding of the human person. A lady in San Diego had a vision that validates human experience and says Christians are saying, ‘I am the image she was supposed to help someone “your life matters.” Atheism and secu- of God’; the culture is saying, ‘I am my she would meet on her upcoming trip larism can’t produce a reason for why inclinations, how I feel, the state that I to Ethiopia. As you can guess, she met life matters. And no world religion can belong to, what I succeed at.’ Christian- Eddie and gave him money for his fam- convey the same dignity on humans as ity says there is an identity given to us ily at a point when they were literally Christianity does, because they all lack and restored by Jesus Christ.” dying from starvation. Eddie wanted the truth of imago dei, humans bearing Redemptive Sacrifice to make this money last so he bought the image of God. The woman at the Christianity gives purpose to sacri- some food, but invested the rest in well did not have great social signifi- fice. Without the truth of who we are, a used grain mill that could provide cance, and yet regardless of her back- Dietrich Bonheoffer would have had some lasting work and income for the ground, Christ spoke to the true her — absolutely no good reason, humanly family. Tragically, the mill broke, and as someone who was not defined solely speaking, to risk his life to stop the evil within three weeks they were out of by choices or social status in life — and of Hitler. But because of his devout food and money again. in doing so he affirmed her dignity as a Christianity, Bonheoffer knew the At this point, another missionary creature of God. When nurses treat the endgame. He was willing to risk his life in Ethiopia had a vision that he was sweating, bleeding, dying Ebola vic- with the knowledge that his patriotism supposed to reach out to Eddie. After tims, they are saying that each individu- and search for justice might require Eddie briefly shared his story, the mis- al life matters, regardless of its transient his fullest measure of devotion to his sionary sensed it wasn’t complete, so condition. For humans are more than, country and Lord. But Bonheoffer he asked Eddie to share more details. though not less than, physical beings; knew the Christian story is one where Once he heard Eddie’s idea to cre- and even in our most weakened state sacrifice is not the end. ate sustainable income and opportu- are objects of splendor. nity for the family, along with Eddie’s C.S. Lewis describes this in his fa- Christianity gives willingness to take calculated risks to mous sermon “The Weight of Glory”: “ help his family, the missionary saw the “There are no ordinary people. You purpose to sacrifice. opening. He helped Eddie raise the have never talked to a mere mortal. ... ” funds to buy a new mill. Work quickly Next to the Blessed Sacrament itself, Recently I had a long lunch with Ed- expanded and Eddie hired others to your neighbor is the holiest object die, a friend of mine who emigrated join his venture, and his talent for en- presented to your senses. If he is your from Ethiopia. He has an amazing tal- trepreneurship took root. Christian neighbor, he is holy in almost ent for starting businesses and spin- Today, Eddie lives in an apartment the same way, for in him also Christ vere ning them off to empower others. in Denver with his beautiful wife and latitat — the glorified and the glorifier, What is so inspiring is how he discov- young daughter. The mill operation is Glory Himself, is truly hidden.” ered this talent. still providing for his family members Only Christianity bestows such dig- Eddie’s dad left when he was four in Ethiopia. His father, after reconcili- nity on human beings, and gives mean- years old because his mother had ation with the family, helps run a hos- ing to life. converted to Christianity. With three pitality business Eddie started. In ad- See christianity matters page 4

December 2014 Page 3 achristianity look at our matters world fromcontinued the desk from of page dr. david 3 noebel, continued from page

dition, Eddie started a transportation “What do all these (heroes) have in stow dignity and enrich the life of those company, an oil and gas industry staff- common? They bring the Gospel into around us. Whether through business, ing company, a health care company, every area of their life. These (heroes of friendship, conversation, charity, we and is now starting an import/export the faith) understood that the biblical are called to enter the stories of others company. His passion is helping others worldview has implications for every- and reaffirm the significance of Christ by providing dignified work for people thing. They looked at the world around entering our world. around the world. them and asked, ‘How can I live that As we take encouragement from ev- out in my calling, in my place, in my “The great truth of ery story of the difference Christ has time.’ We should ask then: What are Christianity means made in our world, it is easy to relate the needs in my community? How can to the author of Hebrews 11 in verses I demonstrate, by my actions, the love that we are all part 32-38a: of Christ in a fallen world?” of a great story. And what more shall I say? I do not Living Story ” have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Without Christianity, it would be “Christ knows your story, and my Samson, and Jephthah, about David impossible to have meaningful sto- story, every detail and deepest fear,” and Samuel and the prophets, who ries. Without Christianity, and Christ’s author Eric Metaxas says in his now- through faith conquered kingdoms, love ultimately manifested in sacrifice, famous Prayer Breakfast speech. “Jesus administered justice, and gained what the virtues that form men and women is not just for Christians, he’s for every- was promised; who shut the mouths and create good stories are rendered one. The amazing grace of God is for of lions, quenched the fury of the meaningless. Why would the knight everyone.” flames, and escaped the edge of the ever gather the courage to conquer the The great truth of Christianity means sword; whose weakness was turned to dragon? How could Frodo ever self- that we are all part of a great story. A strength; and who became powerful in lessly set aside his comfortable life to story Christ redeems and a story the battle and routed foreign armies. Wom- go out to save the Shire? Why would world is yearning to see lived with pur- en received back their dead, raised to Reepacheep ever declare: pose and passion. Because Jesus came in human form life again. There were others who were My own plans are made. While I can, tortured, refusing to be released so that and showed us our true imago dei, we I sail east in the Dawn Treader. When understand the dignity bestowed upon they might gain an even better resurrec- she fails me, I paddle east in my coracle. tion. Some faced jeers and flogging, and us as beings created in God’s image, When she sinks, I shall swim east with and our lives have meaning, a reason even chains and imprisonment. They my four paws. And when I can swim were put to death by stoning; they were why life matters. Because Jesus went no longer, if I have not reached Aslan’s to the cross and rose from the dead, we sawed in two; they were killed by the country, or shot over the edge of the sword. They went about in sheepskins have the great hope of redemption in world into some vast cataract, I shall all things, purpose in sacrifice. Because and goatskins, destitute, persecuted, sink with my nose to the sunrise. and mistreated — the world was not Jesus saves us, rescues us and makes us worthy of them. All great stories are built around the adopted sons and daughters of God, themes of sacrifice, friendship, virtue, we have the Great Story that provides Because Christ now lives in us forgiveness, justice, love, mercy. And the themes for every great story that through His Spirit, we each have the because of the Cross, they all have moves us and gives us purpose. opportunity to exemplify the love of meaning. Because of Christianity, we Thanks be to God for his indescrib- Christ. As author and professor Glenn believe in Purpose, in Providence. Each able gift! Thank you, Jesus, for coming. Sunshine said at Summit’s 2014 Adult and every one of us has a calling. Not a Owen Hill is a Summit alumnus of the Conference in his talk about heroes of nebulous, limited, impersonal calling. Understanding the Times curriculum the faith: Rather, we each have the chance to be- and a Colorado State Senator.

PagePage 44 DecemberNovember 20142014 a look at our world news and commentary

Editor’s Note: Our President Emeri- this marriage message for The Hitching which is now tus, Dr. David Noebel, helps us with Post: Conform or be punished. And not punishable by six research by sending 20-30 pages just any punishment, but 180 days in months in prison. of clippings of each month’s news. jail and up to $1,000 in fines for every When there are To see the complete list of Doc’s day the ministers refuse to perform the plenty of other clippings, go to www.summit.org/ ceremony. options for homosexuals seeking a mar- resources/the-journal/, open the “Right now,” said attorney Jeremy riage license, why should they be able to PDF, and scroll to page 9, or call us at Tedesco, “they are at risk of being pros- use the power of government to force 866.786.6483. ecuted. The threat of enforcement is Christians to participate? Same-sex Marriage more than just credible.” Unlike bakery Eugene Volokh, in today’s Washington owner Jack Phillips, who Colorado bul- Post, tries to tackle this Left’s conundrum If homosexuals get their way, lied with similar charges, the Knapps are and agrees that there’s no way around Pastor Donald Knapp won’t be be- both ministers. And while their chapel the obvious: Somebody’s rights have hind the pulpit — he’ll be behind bars. is considered a “religious corporation,” to give. “Compelling ministers to speak That’s the stunning development in even it isn’t safe from the same-sex words in ceremonies that they think are Idaho, where the day liberals promised “wedding” march that threatens to put immoral is an unconstitutional speech would never come is already here. Two the First Amendment asunder. compulsion. Given that the Free Speech ministers — a husband and wife FRC warned this moment was Clause bars the government from re- team — have been told by their city coming, but even we didn’t expect the quiring public school students to say government that refusing to “marry” a government to move this quickly. “The the pledge of allegiance … the govern- same-sex couple will send them straight other side insisted this would never ment can’t require ministers — or other to jail. happen — that pastors would not have private citizens — to speak the words in After 25 years of owning The Hitch- to perform same-sex marriages,” ADF’s a ceremony, on pain of either having to ing Post wedding chapel, Donald and Tedesco told Fox News’ Todd Starnes. close their business or face fines and jail Evelyn are being faced with a situa- “The reality is — it’s already happen- time.” tion neither of them thought possible: ing.” Government officials are mak- Remember when President Obama being imprisoned for their faith. Like the ing it clear that they’ll use their power sat down and told ABC News that flood of state amendments steamrolled to punish anyone who opposes the “churches and other faith institutions by activist judges, Idaho’s fell earlier this agenda of homosexual activists. It’s a are still gonna be able to make determi- month. And with it, religious liberty. scary turnaround for a nation founded nations about what their sacraments are Fearing the worst, the Knapps reached on the same free exercise of religion, — what they recognize”? Neither does out to Alliance Defending Freedom, he. Or, for that matter, the rest of his par- concerned that their chapel would be FRC warned this ty, which is lighting the same-sex unity targeted. Less than a week later, the “ candle with the same match it’s taking to battle was at their front door. moment was com- the Constitution. For Donald and Evelyn, there was ing, but even we — Tony Perkins never any question what the duo didn’t expect the Washington Update would do. Unapologetically Christian, October 20, 2014 the husband-and-wife team is overtly government to Capital Punishment & religious, marrying couples with faith- move this quickly. driven vows, and even offering marriage ” Physician Assisted Suicide sermons on CD to newlyweds. That Belgium is on the verge of executing doesn’t matter to city officials, who had Tony Perkins its first murderer by lethal injection. continued on page 6 NovemberDecember 20142014 Page 5 a look at our world continued from page 5

Well, not exactly “executing.” The state usual-punishment meme was furthered far, no news on whether the state will go isn’t going to kill convicted murderer/ earlier this year after two “botched” along. rapist Frank Van Den Bleeken for his executions — one in Arizona that took Then there is Oregon governor John crimes. Rather, it is helping him be eu- 97 minutes to complete, another in Kitzhaber. A medical doctor, Kitzhaber thanized. By a doctor. At a hospital. To Oklahoma that took 43 minutes. The strongly favors giving cancer patients which he was transferred after a court ACLU lawsuits are flying. access to lethal doses of pentobarbital. ruled that Den Bleeken’s request to end Interestingly, the death drug used in But use it on vicious murderers? Abso- the suffering caused by his imprison- euthanasia/assisted suicide is the same lutely not! That offends his liberal moral ment (he has served 30 years of a life one used in executions. Moreover, code. sentence) and continuing violent sexual studies from the Netherlands — where Apparently believing that his own urges fits snugly within that country’s euthanasia was decriminalized in 1973 sensibilities matter more than the votes euthanasia law. and legalized in 2002 — have found of the state’s citizens — who overturned Ironically, Belgium opposes capital that physician-assisted suicide and eu- a court ban and reinstated the death punishment under any circumstances. thanasia by lethal injection can — as in penalty in 1984 — Kitzhaber placed a But it legalized euthanasia in 2002. the Arizona and Oklahoma executions moratorium on executions for the bal- Since then, the country has fallen off a — take considerable time and cause ance of his time in office. moral cliff, with a growing number of le- side effects such as vomiting, gasping But Kitzhaber’s reprieve did not sit thal injections administered by doctors for air, and seizures. These documented well with convicted murderer Gary not just to the dying, but also to those difficulties interfere with the “death Haugen, who has waived all appeals with severe mental illnesses, crippling with dignity” narrative used to jus- and wants to be done with life. He sued disabilities, and chronic, nonterminal tify the legalization of doctor-assisted to be executed, gaining an initial ruling illnesses. There have been several medi- suicide — and so are underplayed by its that he has the right to refuse mercy. calized joint killings of elderly couples proponents. But that decision was overturned on ap- who would rather die together than live Execution has been further entwined peal on the grounds that Kitzhaber has apart. Belgium even permits euthanasia with doctor-assisted suicide through the untrammeled power, as governor, followed by organ harvesting and the the international campaign to prevent to prevent executions — a decision the assisted suicide of dying children if they executions by drying up the supply Oregon supreme court recently refused make the request in writing (among of the killing agent, pentobarbital to review. So, at least until Kitzhaber is other requirements). Killing a prisoner (Nembutal). Oregon and Washington’s out of office, Haugen is stuck in limbo who would rather be dead than impris- assisted-suicide regimens became col- on death row — unable to die but not oned is merely the next logical step. lateral damage after the campaign made wanting to live. Meanwhile, U.S. opponents of capital the lethal drug unobtainable. And we are stuck with a paradox: punishment claim that death by lethal In Oregon, many assisted suicides The use of lethal drugs in executions injection is “cruel and unusual punish- are facilitated by the state’s branch of amounts to cruel and unusual punish- ment.” Thus, California is prohibited Compassion & Choices, a private group ment, while the use of the same lethal by federal court order from using lethal once more honestly named the Hem- drugs to eliminate someone sick, or sick injection protocols because doing so lock Society. The organization became of life, is “death with dignity.” might cause pain. More recently, a so alarmed at the death drug dearth that Call it “cruel and unusual death with federal judge has ruled that California’s its representatives met with the Oregon dignity.” death penalty itself is cruel and unusual Board of Pharmacy to discuss establish- — Wesley J. Smith punishment, and therefore unconsti- ing a nonprofit compounding phar- The Weekly Standard tutional — because it is almost never macy to manufacture a generic form of October 27, 2014 carried out! pentobarbital, which C&C would then The lethal-injection-as-cruel-and-un- distribute for use in assisted suicides. So

Page 6 December 2014 Eric Metaxas Dr. Ravi Zacharias Chris August Author & Co-Host, Breakpoint President, Ravi Zacharias Christian Recording Artist International Ministries *Video Appearance

Josh McDowell Lila Rose John Stonestreet Dr. Jeff Myers Author & Speaker, President, Live Action Author & Radio Host, President, Summit Ministries Josh Mcdowell Ministries Breakpoint *Video Appearance LEARN from bestselling author and humorist, Eric Metaxas, as he hosts an evening to equip you to live Christianly in an often un-Christian world. WORSHIP with special musical guest Chris August! EXPERIENCE America’s leading voices in worldview, apologetics, and Christian relationships. This evening of thought-provoking discussion and worship will inspire Christians to engage culture by living out their faith in their marketplace, government, schools, family, and other spheres of influence. JANUARY 30, 2015 @ 6:30PM DENVER FIRST CHURCH OF THE NAZARENE For more information or to register visit www.arisesummit.org

December 2014 Page 7 American Christian College NON-PROFIT ORG. dba Summit Ministries U.S. POSTAGE PAID PO Box 207 Newton, KS Manitou Springs, CO 80829 PERMIT 867

Address Service INSIDE: How Christmas Requested transforms culture

2015 Adult Conference: TRUE – Discovering the Essence of Our Faith

A Summit for grown-ups? Yes! Make plans now to attend March 8-13, 2015 for the Summit Adult Winter Conference. Keynote: Josh McDowell – One of the most articulate Christian apologists of our day, Josh will be displaying several ancient scrolls and historical artifacts that will take your breath away. Also featured will be Naghmeh Abedini, the wife of Pastor Saeed Abedini, whose story has grabbed headlines as he languishes in an Iranian prison for teaching Christianity. Straight from the time of the apostles, Naghmeh’s story highlights the cries of our persecuted brothers and sisters around the world. For more information visit www.summit.org/confrences/adult

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PO Box 207, Manitou Springs, Colorado 80829 | Phone: 866.786.6483 | URL: www.summit.org | Email: [email protected] a look at our world from the desk of dr. david noebel, continued from page 6

Same-Sex Marriage erty Commission. “The goal is to start need to be re-examined. a conversation to help equip churches “The literary and cultural context As advocates for same-sex marriage to minister in the changing culture on raises serious questions over whether celebrate a series of legal victories and these issues.” [those texts] apply to committed homo- Pope Francis strikes a softer tone toward Mr. Moore said much of the program sexual relationships of Christians today,” gays, the most conservative quarters resulted from conversations with pastors said Mr. Gushee, whose church isn’t af- of the American evangelical Christian “grappling with the transgender issue as filiated with the SBC. “The question is movement are wrestling with how to they’re seeking to evangelize to trans- not as open and shut as some people say respond to a dramatically shifting legal gender persons. How do we address this it is.” and cultural landscape. biblically? How do we articulate a Chris- While more liberal Protestant denom- Most evangelicals remain firmly op- tian understanding of marriage to those inations have begun to accept openly posed to homosexuality, and see the who disagree with us?” gay members and support same-sex increased legalization of same-sex mar- Demand for guidance surprised orga- marriage, Southern Baptists, with nearly riage as a threat to religious freedom and nizers: More than 1,200 signed up for 16 million members, are viewed as a bas- proof of the deterioration of Christian the three-day conference. “We had to tion of conservative evangelical beliefs. values in society. But some are advocat- turn people away,” Mr. Moore said. Andrew Green, a Southern Baptist ing change from within and openly rais- The event has also attracted a small pastor of First Baptist Church of Lil- ing questions about interpretations of number of gay-rights advocates from bourn, Mo., supports the SBC position biblical prohibitions against homosexu- inside and outside the evangelical move- on same-sex marriage, and says churches ality. ment, including representatives from must take the lead in educating the next One group, Evangelicals for Marriage Evangelicals for Marriage Equality and generation on marriage. Equality, recently launched an effort to the Human Rights Campaign, a secular “Whenever the word marriage comes support “the right of same-sex couples advocacy group. Some advocates at- up, I always explain, ‘it’s a man and a to be recognized by the government as tending have arranged private, informal woman, only a man can marry a woman; married,” according to a statement. “You meetings with SBC officials while there, only a woman can marry a man,’” he said can be a faithful evangelical Christian those involved on both sides said. at a meeting of Southern Baptists earlier and at the same time support civil mar- “Recently we have seen openings in this year. riage equality for same-sex couples.” more conservative communities. … Brandan Robertson, a 22-year-old This week in Nashville, the Southern we’re starting to have conversations that evangelical writer and spokesman for Baptist Convention, the largest Protes- did not seem possible before,” said Sha- Evangelicals for Marriage Equality, said tant denomination in the country and ron Groves, director of the Religion and attitudes may change with younger one of the most conservative, is host- Faith Program for the Human Rights evangelicals. Christian millennials have ing its first national conference on “The Campaign. “The SBC has not been a views that are different than their elders’, Gospel, Homosexuality, and the Future friend on our issues … but we want and are more likely to see same-sex mar- of Marriage.” to keep up on what is emerging in the riage as a civil-rights issue, he said. SBC leaders say the purpose of the broader Southern Baptist space. There “When millennials take hold of the conference is not to re-examine the are individual Southern Baptist minis- church, evangelicals will have to prog- church’s stance on same-sex marriage ters and people of faith who are speak- ress on this issue or fade into oblivion,” and homosexuality, but to help guide ing out.” he said. member churches through “new chal- In a series of columns this fall, Baptist Andrew Walker, a 29-year-old South- lenges” in the culture. ethicist David Gushee has argued that ern Baptist and the director of the SBC’s “We cannot revise the gospel we’ve Bible passages prohibiting homosexual- policy studies for the Ethics & Religious received,” said Russell Moore, head of ity may actually be prohibitions against Liberty Commission, said young, active the convention’s Ethics & Religious Lib- sexual violence and promiscuity, and evangelicals aren’t changing their views

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on homosexuality, and are committed to donate to the SBC or vote at annual prisoned for their faith. Like the flood of “biblical authority.” meetings. state amendments steamrolled by activ- “I’d say where most Southern Baptist SBC President Ronnie Floyd told the ist judges, Idaho’s fell earlier this month. millennials and youth are on this issue is Baptist Press last month the move was a And with it, religious liberty. Fearing the they have a deer in the headlights look,” matter of conviction and didn’t reflect a worst, the Knapps reached out to Alli- said Mr. Walker, who is moderating a lack of compassion for New Heart or ho- ance Defending Freedom, concerned discussion in Nashville on “Millennials mosexuals. New Heart has “walked away that their chapel would be targeted. Less and Marriage.” “They have the reality of from us as Southern Baptists,” he said. than a week later, the battle was at their the Bible that’s pressing down on them “We have not walked away from them.” front door. and the reality of culture, and those are “It’s been a painful process,” Mr. For Donald and Evelyn, there was competing forces right now that are vy- Cortez said. “We’re trying to heal.” Mr. never any question what the duo would ing for their allegiance.” Cortez said his church now welcomes do. Unapologetically Christian, the Differing opinions on homosexuality openly gay members, and he recently husband-and-wife team is overtly re- recently split a Southern Baptist church officiated at his first same-sex wedding. ligious, marrying couples with faith- in La Mirada, a town outside Los Ange- “Times are changing,” he said. “Even driven vows, and even offering marriage les, after the pastor told his congregation among evangelicals.” sermons on CD to newlyweds. That he had changed his position on homo- But many evangelicals show no signs doesn’t matter to city officials, who had sexuality and gay marriage. of changing their traditional beliefs. this marriage message for The Hitching Danny Cortez, who was ordained as When World Vision, an evangelical re- Post: Conform or be punished. And not a Southern Baptist pastor 21 years ago, lief organization, said in March it would just any punishment, but 180 days in jail began to re-examine the church’s stance hire people in same-sex marriages, it and up to $1,000 in fines for every day on gay marriage after a lesbian church quickly reversed itself after receiving the ministers refuse to perform the cer- member decided she had to leave the heavy criticism. emony. congregation when she entered a rela- At the time, the SBC’s Mr. Moore said: “Right now,” said attorney Jeremy tionship. “We’re entering an era where we will see Tedesco, “they are at risk of being pros- “I began realizing that the church who the evangelicals really are.” ecuted. The threat of enforcement is was marginalizing a group of people,” —Tamara Audi more than just credible.” Unlike bakery he said. “I no longer saw the traditional The Wall Street Journal owner Jack Phillips, who Colorado bul- understanding of scripture as valid,” he October 27, 2014 lied with similar charges, the Knapps are said. He told his family last year, and his If homosexuals get their way, Pas- both ministers. And while their chapel son, then 15, came out to him as gay. tor Donald Knapp won’t be behind the is considered a “religious corporation,” Mr. Cortez said he expected to be pulpit — he’ll be behind bars. That’s the even it isn’t safe from the same-sex “wed- fired after informing his congregation stunning development in Idaho, where ding” march that threatens to put the of about 100 of his changed beliefs. In- the day liberals promised would never First Amendment asunder. stead, members of the New Heart Com- come is already here. Two ministers — FRC warned this moment was com- munity Church deliberated for months. a husband and wife team — have been ing, but even we didn’t expect the gov- This year, 60 percent of them voted to told by their city government that refus- ernment to move this quickly. “The oth- keep him and become a “third way” ing to “marry” a same-sex couple will er side insisted this would never happen church, meaning they would stay to- send them straight to jail. — that pastors would not have to per- gether even though not all agreed with After 25 years of owning The Hitching form same-sex marriages,” ADF’s Tedes- the pastor. Others left and joined other Post wedding chapel, Donald and Ev- co told Fox News’ Todd Starnes. “The congregations. elyn are being faced with a situation nei- reality is — it’s already happening.” Gov- Several weeks ago, the church was ther of them thought possible: being im- ernment officials are making it clear that ejected from the SBC, meaning it can’t they’ll use their power to punish anyone

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who opposes the agenda of homosexual appears to contradict God’s command. Portman Clinic, 70 percent to 80 per- activists. It’s a scary turnaround for a na- Chapter 3 of Genesis states, “The wom- cent of them spontaneously lost those tion founded on the same free exercise an saw that the tree was good for food, feelings.” of religion, which is now punishable by and that it was a delight to the eyes, and McHugh became an expert on trans- six months in prison. When there are that the tree was to be desired to make gendering because Johns Hopkins in plenty of other options for homosexuals one wise.” So she ate, despite God’s the 1960s became the first American seeking a marriage license, why should command not to. The consequences medical center to do “sex-reassignment they be able to use the power of govern- were severe. surgery.” Hopkins later compared the ment to force Christians to participate? Sometimes social scientists say we psycho-social adjustment of patients Eugene Volokh, in today’s Washington don’t have enough data — for example, who had surgery with those of similar Post, tries to tackle this Left’s conundrum what are the long-term effects of gay leanings who did not, and found the and agrees that there’s no way around couples raising kids? Here we have to former no better off than the latter. The the obvious: Somebody’s rights have choose between believing what the hospital then stopped doing sex-assign- to give. “Compelling ministers to speak Bible says about homosexuality or be- ment surgery: Why amputate normal words in ceremonies that they think are lieving what is proclaimed at the high organs if the results aren’t beneficial? immoral is an unconstitutional speech places — media, academia and the A long-term study conducted at the compulsion. Given that the Free Speech courts — of American culture. Karolinska Institute in Sweden and Clause bars the government from re- Sometimes, though, we have data published in 2011 gave us more data. quiring public school students to say but ignore it, unless brave experts re- Researchers followed 324 people who the pledge of allegiance … the govern- mind us of what we know. That’s why had sex-reassignment surgery and ment can’t require ministers — or other I’m grateful to Paul McHugh, former learned that about a decade after their private citizens — to speak the words in psychiatrist-in-chief at Johns Hop- operations, the transgendered began to a ceremony, on pain of either having to kins Hospital, who recently wrote a experience increasing mental difficul- close their business or face fines and jail Wall Street Journal column headlined, ties. That study’s overall conclusion: time.” “Transgender Surgery Isn’t the Solu- “Persons with transsexualism, after sex Remember when President Obama tion: A drastic physical change doesn’t reassignment, have considerably higher sat down and told ABC News that address underlying psycho-social trou- risks for mortality, suicidal behavior, “churches and other faith institutions bles.” and psychiatric morbidity than the are still gonna be able to make determi- McHugh noted that persons who be- general population.” nations about what their sacraments are lieve they need transgendering are like McHugh wrote acidly of those who — what they recognize”? Neither does others who suffer from anorexia or bu- hurt transgender claimants “by treat- he. Or, for that matter, the rest of his par- limia nervosa and view themselves as ing their confusions as a right in need ty, which is lighting the same-sex unity blobs even while they become emaci- of defending rather than as a mental candle with the same match it’s taking to ated. Such individuals have disordered disorder that deserves understanding, the Constitution. self-perception, and so do those who treatment, and prevention.” He also —Tony Perkins are male but think they are female, or criticized “misguided doctors” who ad- Washington Update vice versa. minister “puberty-delaying hormones October 20, 2014 The good news (we don’t hear it to render later sex-change surgeries less Transgenderism from transgender advocates) is that the onerous — even though the drugs stunt disorder usually goes away. McHugh: the children’s growth and risk causing What to believe: the Bible or certain “When children who reported trans- sterility. Given that close to 80 percent kinds of data? Let’s think about three gender feelings were tracked without of such children would abandon their types of situations. medical or surgical treatment at both confusion and grow naturally into adult Sometimes the limited data we have Vanderbilt University and London’s life if untreated, these medical interven-

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tions come close to child abuse.” north, is a beautiful little ancient Chris- where, according to legend, St. George So let’s review uses of sociological tian village, built into a gorge, with sev- is buried. Among the buildings in the and psychological data. When we don’t eral third- and fourth-century church- complex was a 13th-century chapel, still have it, what is culturally trendy wins. es, orphanages, and retreat centers. intact and in good repair, and another When we do have it, what is culturally Aramaic is the principal language, these built in 515 A.D. was also amazingly trendy usually wins. I’m not saying we two villages being among the very few well preserved. The 20 or so monks, all should ignore data, but we shouldn’t places in the world where the language in their 20s and 30s, were overjoyed at idolize it. We should look to the Bible of Jesus is still spoken. At the top of the having an English-speaking guest and and also take into account the lessons hill is the monastery St. Sergius, named gathered around, after evening prayers, of history. for a Roman officer who was martyred to practice their English and speak of —Marvin Olasky in the fourth century for refusing to re- their faith. The place had a peacefulness World Magazine nounce his Christian faith. A Catholic and quiet about it that made it seem al- October 4, 2014 priest from Lebanon engaged me, in most part of another world. Islam passable English, in a lengthy discus- The monastery was attacked in Au- sion about early Christianity; appro- gust of last year by jihadist terrorists, My first stop was the third-century priate, as he told me that our conver- but defended by local Christian volun- village of Sednaya, the most holy Chris- sation was taking place in perhaps the teers, many of whom were killed. Dur- tian city in Syria, where Aramaic, the oldest Christian church in the world. ing Holy Week this year, a school on the tongue of Jesus Christ, is still the domi- The semicircular stone church altar monastery grounds was attacked with nant language. A nun showed me into predates the Council of Nicaea (325 gunfire and mortars leaving several chil- a chapel, where a portrait of the Vir- A.D.); after Nicaea, altars were rectan- dren and teachers dead or wounded. It gin Mary, said to have been painted by gular. And, he explained, the little stone is just a matter of time before it meets the Apostle Luke, held special powers lip around the altar caught the blood of the same fate as Sednaya and Maalula. for both Christian and Muslim young sacrificed lambs in pagan ceremonies A couple of days later, in Aleppo, I women unable to have children. Here, before the birth of Christ. The little had lunch with Metropolitan Gregorios prayer would enable them to conceive church exuded peacefulness and quiet, Johanna Ibrahim, the Syriac-Orthodox a child. Sednaya, and the icon, had been and I got the sense that it would prob- archbishop of Aleppo. A worldly and the cause of Christian miracles for cen- ably remain unchanged forever. strong-willed man in his 60s, with a turies, and would presumably continue Unfortunately, not so. According to graduate degree from the University of to be for centuries more. a London Telegraph story earlier this Bristol in England, he was authoritative But it is not to be. Muslim extremists, year, Maalula was “liberated” by the Is- and gracious; nearly everybody who intent on destroying everything that is lamists, many of its inhabitants, among passed the table, Muslims and Chris- not to their liking, have this year simply the few souls still speaking the language tians alike, stopped to greet him and ex- liquidated Sednaya. According to one of Jesus, were assassinated and the rest change hugs. As we parted, we agreed press report, “the ancient monastery fled. Shellfire breached the limestone that we would no doubt see each other church and side chapels were stripped walls of the oldest Christian church in again sometime. completely of their priceless religious the world and, inside what had long It won’t happen. In April 2013, while icons and other religious objects were been seen as a symbol of Syria’s reli- returning from Turkey with another urinated and defecated upon. Christian gious freedom, broken icons lay on the bishop, his car was attacked by Islamist villagers who were caught in the midst ground alongside crosses, catechisms, terrorists, the driver was shot and the of the rebel assault had their throats slit, and images of the Virgin Mary. two bishops kidnapped. They have not or were shot execution-style at close The Syrian Orthodox Monastery of been seen nor heard from since, and are range.” St. George was just a few miles from presumed dead. Maalula, just a few miles farther the Crusader castle Krak des Chevalier As Islamist extremists continue to

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terrorize Syria, more Christian villages of War and Peace. One day, I stumbled ceptions to these statistics tend to be will be “liberated,” more priceless his- upon a book that shook everything I countries with a long history of militant torical sites destroyed, and many of believed in. secularism (like Turkey), or former Syria’s nearly 2 million Christians will The book was In the Shadows of the communist states (Tajikistan, Bosnia, be killed. It’s a tragedy for civilization. Quran, Sayyed Qutb’s magnum opus. Albania, etc.) where religion was effec- —Alfred S. Regnery The Egyptian writer, who died in 1966, tively wiped out of the public sphere. The Washington Times remains arguably the most influential But Islamism is now growing even in October 20, 2014 thinker in contemporary Muslim soci- those places. This week a Canadian Muslim gun- eties. He was the principal theorist of The trend of history is being reversed. man went on a rampage in Ottawa, the Muslim Brotherhood and the intel- In Egypt, for instance, veiling was un- killing a soldier and storming into the lectual impetus behind the Islamist par- heard of 50 years ago and was virtually Parliament building before he was shot ties it spawned. Qutb’s ardent disciples extinct until the Islamists resurrected dead. Authorities have since said he had included Osama bin Laden and Ayman the practice in the 1970s. Today, an es- applied for a passport to travel to Syria. Zawahiri of al Qaeda. It is not an exag- timated 90 percent of Egyptian women Three Muslim schoolgirls from Colora- geration to say that Qutb is to Islamism are veiled. In many other countries, the do were intercepted in Germany appar- what Karl Marx is to communism. veil — originally a tribal norm, not a ently on their way to Syria, the base for Qutb’s brilliance as a theorist was religious one — is now ubiquitous, as attacks there and in Iraq by the terrorist in how he applied Western-style liter- are views on apostasy in countries that group Islamic State, or ISIS. An August ary criticism to the Quran to interpret were far more progressive 50 years ago. 20 article in Newsweek estimated that God’s intentions. He concluded that Many of my fellow Muslims are try- perhaps twice as many British Muslims the reason for the Muslim world’s de- ing to reform Islam from within. Yet our are fighting for ISIS as are serving in the cline were external cultural and politi- voices are smothered in the West by Is- British army. cal influences that diluted Islam: The lamist apologists and their well-mean- What could possibly inspire young culprits included everything from ing but unwitting allies on the left. For Muslims in the West to abandon their Greek empiricism and liberal democ- instance, if you try to draw attention to suburban middle-class existence and racy to socialism, Persian poetry, and the stark correlation between the rise join a holy war? How could teenagers Hegelian philosophy. The only path to of Islamic religiosity and regressive at- in Denver or anywhere be lured by a an Islamic renaissance was to cleanse titudes toward women, you’re labeled jihadist ideology — or are grisly videos Muslim societies of these contaminants an Islamophobe. of ISIS beheadings and crucifixions not and restore Islam to its seventh-century In America, other contemporary ide- enough of a deterrent? purity. ologies are routinely and openly debat- What is so compelling about radical Today, Qutb’s outlook — Islamism ed in classrooms, newspapers, on talk Islamism may lie within its founding — is the dominant political ideology in shows, and in living rooms. But Ameri- texts. It is time we acknowledged the most Muslim-majority countries, often cans make an exception for Islamism. powerful influence these texts have had taking root in vacuums where secular Criticism of the religion — even in even on ordinary Muslims. The politi- politics have never had space to devel- abstraction — is conflated with big- cal ideology based on them has already op. Polls by the Pew Research Center, otry toward Muslims. There is no pub- dragged the Middle East back toward such as 2013’s “The World’s Muslims,” lic discourse, much less an ideological the Stone Age. indicate that in many Muslim coun- response, to Islamism, in academia or As a teenager growing up in Egypt tries, the population is overwhelmingly on Capitol Hill. This trend is creating in the 1980s, I liked to stroll through in favor of veiling for women, the death an intellectual vacuum, where poison- Cairo’s outdoor book market, fishing penalty for leaving Islam, and ston- ous ideas are allowed to propagate un- out little gems like an Arabic translation ing as punishment for adultery; rabid checked. anti-Semitism is rampant. The few ex- My own experience as a Muslim in

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New York bears this out. Socially pro- —Aly Salem ist and outspoken atheist Christopher gressive, self-proclaimed liberals, who The Wall Street Journal Hitchens’ 2007 book sums it up: God would denounce even the slightest October 26, 2014 Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons injustice committed against women Atheism Everything. or minorities in America, are appalled The kinder, gentler atheism echoes when I express a similar criticism about In his new book Waking Up, neurosci- a striking shift in religious culture. my own community. entist and popular atheist Sam Harris Millennials — Americans born af- Compare the collective response af- recounts that “a feeling of peace came ter 1980 — were not even a gleam in ter each harrowing high-school shoot- over me” as he followed in Jesus’ foot- their parents’ eyes in 1976 when Mr. ing in America. Intellectuals and public steps on a hill by the Sea of Galilee, and Dawkins published The Selfish Gene, figures look for the root cause of the it “soon grew to a blissful stillness that a textbook for the mainstream atheist violence and ask: Why? Yet when I silenced my thoughts. In an instant, the movement. Millennials are a promising ask why after every terrorist attack, the sense of being a separate self — an ‘I’ or audience for atheists, as nearly a third of disapproval I get from my non-Muslim a ‘me’ — vanished.” them are religiously unaffiliated (com- peers is visceral: The majority of Mus- Mr. Harris doesn’t use religious pared to 20 percent of all Americans, lims are not violent, they insist, the ji- terms, but his musings about meditat- and 9 percent of those 65 and older), hadists are a minority who don’t repre- ing on a mountaintop have left some according to a 2012 Pew Research Cen- sent Islam, and I am fear-mongering by fans wondering what happened to the ter study. But Millennials are much less even wondering aloud. pugilistic author of The End of Faith and interested in debates over evolutionary This is delusional thinking. Even as Letter to a Christian Nation, which de- theory, which most see as settled, than the world witnesses the barbarity of be- clared that “faith is nothing more than in the puzzles of existence: Why do we headings, habitual stoning, and severe the license religious people give to one experience beauty as transcendent and subjugation of women and minorities another to keep believing when reasons suffering as somehow wrong? What is in the Muslim world, politicians and ac- fail.” our purpose? ademics lecture that Islam is a “religion Mr. Harris isn’t the only one who has In the past, atheists tended to dismiss of peace.” Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia changed his tone. The atheist Richard the intangible sources of meaning in routinely beheads women for sorcery Dawkins recently devoted an entire our lives, as when the Harvard biologist and witchcraft. book, The Magic of Reality, to showing E.O. Wilson famously defined ethics In the U.S., we Muslims are handled how scientific inquiry has made sense as “an illusion fobbed off on us by our like exotic flowers that will crumble if of the seemingly miraculous — from genes to get us to cooperate.” Harvard our faith is criticized — even if we do rainbows to the origins of the uni- psychologist Steven Pinker suggested it ourselves. Meanwhile, Republicans verse. The discoveries of science, Mr. in his 1997 book How the Mind Works and Democrats alike would apparently Dawkins writes, offer as much wonder that our sense of beauty in nature is prefer to drop bombs in Syria, Iraq, and life satisfaction as religious belief. simply “the mechanism that drove our Afghanistan, and beyond, because kill- The evolutionary biologist and athe- ancestors into suitable habitats.” The ing Muslims is somehow less offensive ist Olivia Judson calls “the knowledge new popular atheism is taking these than criticizing their religion? Unfor- that we evolved a source of solace and mysteries of consciousness much more tunately, you can’t kill an idea with a hope.” seriously. bomb, and so Islamism will continue Since when are these well-known If a system of beliefs is true, or at to propagate. Muslims must tolerate atheists so concerned with consolation least plausibly true, it should help its civilized public debate of the texts and and connection, with solace and hope? adherents to better navigate our world. scripture that inform Islamism. To de- Mr. Dawkins and his fellow atheists This is why testimonials are so central mand any less of us is to engage in the were famous for their zingers dismiss- to nearly every religion or system of soft bigotry of low expectations. ing religion. The title of the late journal- thought. The Meditations of Roman

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Emperor Marcus Aurelius extolled the ordinary Americans. They have now “I don’t understand evolution, and I benefits of the ancient Stoics’ approach offered a testable claim: that an athe- will confess that to you,” he says in the to living. Christians read Augustine ist theory of reality can offer the same video. “Is it OK for me to say, ‘I don’t ’s Confessions or the biblical account consolation and connection that reli- understand this’? Is that all right? I know of St. Paul’s defense of his faith before gion has provided from the beginning that there’s a lot of people out there a Roman judge, and testify to one an- of human history. that don’t understand anything about other about how their own conversion — David Skeel organic synthesis, but they understand has transformed their lives. At a Jewish The Wall Street Journal evolution. I understand a lot about mak- Passover, the youngest child prompts a October 23, 2014 ing molecules; I don’t understand evolu- collective testimonial by asking, “What Darwinism tion. And you would just say that, wow, I makes this night different than any oth- must be really unusual.” er?” HOUSTON — A prominent chemist However, Tour says he is not the only Messrs. Harris and Dawkins and who was recognized this year as one of one who does not understand how life other atheists seem to have recognized the 50 most influential scientists in the could have arisen through natural, un- the essential role of testimonials. Their world says most scientists do not under- guided processes. recent books reflect this, as does a wave stand how evolution could explain the “Let me tell you what goes on in the of other recent essays extolling the con- existence of life. back rooms of science — with National solation and connection possible for Dr. James Tour is a well-known pro- Academy members, with Nobel Prize an atheist. “You have to trust that your fessor at Rice University, specializing in winners,” Tour stated. “I have sat with individual life is linked to something chemistry, nanoengineering, and com- them, and when I get them alone, not bigger,” as Kristin Dombek, a colum- puter science. Over the last 30 years, in public — because it’s a scary thing, if you say what I just said — I say, ‘Do you nist for the trendy literary journal n+1, Tour has authored over 500 research understand all of this, where all of this recently put it: “that you belong, body publications, and he was recognized came from, and how this happens?’” and soul, to a larger story for which you as one of “The 50 Most Influential Sci- The answer he inevitably receives, are responsible.” entists in the World Today” by TheBe- Tour explained, is: “no.” So far the testimonials seem to be stSchools.org. Tour has also received awards and recognitions from the “Every time that I have sat with people limited to a handful of atheist intellec- American Chemical Society, Thomson who are synthetic chemists, who under- tuals in the West, but they could spread. Reuters, Honda, NASA, and others. stand this, they go, ‘Uh-uh. Nope,’” Tour Perhaps stories will soon pop up about In a video released in late 2012, Tour said. “And if they’re afraid to say ‘yes,’ how a reader in China pulled her life explained that he has had extensive ex- they say nothing. They just stare at me, out of a ditch after readingWaking Up, perience studying the origin of life. because they can’t sincerely do it.” or how a man in Africa was once blind “I will tell you as a scientist and a syn- Tour says there is an important dis- but now sees thanks to the power of the thetic chemist,” Tour said, “if anybody tinction between microevolution and atheist explanation of our existence. should be able to understand evolution, macroevolution — the former is clearly Even those of us who doubt there it is me, because I make molecules for a observable and repeatable, but the latter will be a great atheist awakening, and living, and I don’t just buy a kit, and mix has never been witnessed. are skeptical of atheistic attempts to this and mix this, and get that. I mean, “From what I can see, microevolution explain what consciousness, beauty, ab initio, I make molecules. I understand is a fact; we see it all around us regard- and our longing for justice mean, can how hard it is to make molecules.” ing small changes within a species, and agree that Messrs. Harris and Dawkins Despite his experiences and expertise, biologists demonstrate this procedure in and their peers have taken an essential Tour admits that he does not under- their labs on a daily basis. Hence, there is step. They are no longer simply trying stand how evolution could account for no argument regarding microevolution,” to poke holes in the religious beliefs of life’s existence. he wrote in a blog post. “The core of the

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debate for me, therefore, is the extrapo- motivated independent prosecutor,” or point out that the Clintons weren’t lation of microevolution to macroevolu- Ken Starr. above falsely smearing a young woman tion.” The problem is that Ms. Lewinsky not much older than their daughter as After recognizing that evolutionists was actually the victim of the Clinton an oversexed psycho blackmailer. Since are “collectively bewildered” by life’s lagoon, as White House operatives tried Ms. Lewinsky brought it up, we also origins, Tour joined nearly 900 other to destroy her reputation when the scan- wonder what the modern feminists ap- scientists in signing A Scientific Dissent dal broke. The real bullies weren’t online plauding her address think about men From Darwinism, which states: “We are but in the West Wing. in positions of power publicly shaming a skeptical of claims for the ability of ran- On January 21, 1998, Mr. Clinton told female subordinate without her consent. dom mutation and natural selection to his aide Sidney Blumenthal that Ms. But the story is especially instructive account for the complexity of life. Care- Lewinsky “came on to me and made a for what it reveals about the Clinton ful examination of the evidence for Dar- sexual demand on me,” according to Mr. family mores of saying or doing what- winian theory should be encouraged.” Blumenthal’s deposition to Mr. Starr. ever it takes to win. Mr. Blumenthal and If evolution cannot account for life’s Mr. Clinton added that he “rebuffed her” the rest of the Clinton menagerie are existence, then how did life originate? and then she “threatened him. She said rested and ready for another run at po- Tour says the most reasonable answer is that she would tell people they’d had an litical power. As the 2016 election nears, simple. affair, that she was known as the stalker Americans should be prepared for more “I believe fundamentally that God among her peers, and that she hated it attempts to rewrite 1990s history. created us all,” he told the Houston and if she had an affair or said she had —An Affair to Remember Chronicle. an affair then she wouldn’t be the stalker The Wall Street Journal — Garrett Haley any more.” October 23, 2014 Christian News Mr. Blumenthal then repeated this tale Socialism/Higher Education October 13, 2014 to anyone in the press corps who would Political Campaigns listen, and the “stalker” smear soon made “Harvard has been the source of so- it into multiple media reports under the cialist penetration long before the Bol- As Hillary and Bill Clinton prepare authority of “a White House source.” shevik revolution. W.E.B. DuBois, the for another White House ramble, the Mrs. Clinton for her part described Ms. current Negro favorite of the Kremlin, country is fated to endure more than Lewinsky as “a narcissistic loony toon,” emerged as a full-fledge socialist from a few 1990s flashbacks, often includ- as the first lady’s friend Diane Blair re- Harvard in 1890. Harry F. Ward ac- ing attempts to whitewash the real his- counted in the personal papers archive quired his socialism in Harvard before tory. The latest character to re-emerge opened in 2010 by the University of Ar- 1898. There were many such instances is Monica Lewinsky, the former intern kansas library. of individual indoctrination before the who is doffing her beret to reinvent her- Meanwhile, Mr. Clinton fanned out turn of the century.” self as an anti-cyberbullying activist. across the talk shows to deny that he had —Keynes at Harvard, p.11 In a speech this week at a Forbes maga- any romantic or otherwise improper re- zine conference that went viral on the “After the year 1900, the pattern at lationship, which he continued to insist web, Ms. Lewinsky describes herself Harvard followed the general evolution until he was forced to admit his lies by as a “survivor” of online abuse — she of social-communism in the Western the blue DNA dress. Then the Clintons became “the creature from the media world. Among the most virulent radical flipped to attacking the respected jurist lagoon.” As the worst abusers, she cited groups in Harvard were the Fabian So- Mr. Starr as a rabid partisan. Mr. Clinton Matt Drudge and the New York Post, cialists. Felix Frankfurter, Harvard Law was impeached for obstruction of justice which gave Ms. Lewinsky a term of tab- School in 1906, Walter Lippman, Har- and lying under oath, and he later was loid endearment as “the portly pepper- vard ’10, Roger N. Baldwin ’05, Stuart stripped of his law license. pot.” Another culprit was “a politically Chase ’10 were some of the Fabians in We correct the record not least to

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Harvard during that period. British Fabi- the nation has so voted for years. It was tutes are learning centers that are funded, an lecturers taught at Harvard: Graham the forces of that revolution that I struck staffed, and controlled by the Chinese Wallas (about 1910), Bertrand Russell at the point of its struggle for power.” Communist Party. The institutes are on (1914), and Harold Laski (1918). Pro- —Whittaker Chambers hundreds of campuses in free countries fessors and teachers of leftist persuasion, Witness, p. 741, 742 around the world. The institutes exist to aided by professional agitators, orga- “There were more self-declared com- advance the CCP’s interests — they are nized extremist groups among students munists on the Harvard faculty than its “soft power.” Earlier this year, more and faculty. These in turn infiltrated es- there were republicans.” than 100 faculty members at Chicago tablished student organizations and the —Ted Cruz signed a petition objecting to the Con- Harvard administrative apparatus.” World Magazine fucius Institute on their campus. The —Ibid November 7, 2009, p. 25 university’s administration apparently “The Bolshevik Revolution whipped reassured the Chinese officials respon- “What was this ‘promise’ [Presi- sible. The officials then boasted that they the socialist ranks into a ferment. Young dent] Obama incessantly invokes when radicals like John Reed (Harvard ’10) had brought Chicago to heel. This must speaking and writing about his father? have been awkward for the administra- joined the Bolshevik movement out- It was communism. This was the Luo right. Large segments of the Fabian tion. Now Chicago has broken, saying ‘promise’ to Africa, the vision revealed that Chinese authorities made it impos- Socialist and Marxist Socialist groups in Barak Hussein Obama Sr.’s academic broke away to help form the Commu- sible to have an “equal partnership.” That attainment. It was, and is, a virulently is true of Confucius Institutes in every nist Party of the United States. Others anti-capitalist, anti-Western, and anti- remained socialists, enjoying the cover place. Again, may Chicago, in its bold- American brand of socialism — one ness, have set a precedent. of respectability while secretly sympa- that meshed comfortably with the elder thizing with the Bolsheviks.” —National Review Obama’s Muslim roots.” October 20, 2014, p. 10 —Ibid —Andrew C. McCarthy “Harvard became a pink and red The Grand Jihad, p. 189 Vladamir Putin does what he can to commemorate the Soviet Union. Com- hotbed.” “No boots on the ground? No mili- —Ibid, p. 12 munist nostalgia comes easily and often tary strategy? Trust your enemies and to him. In those good old days, a secret “Alger Hiss [Harvard Law School] was diss your allies? Spokespersons for the policeman like him could get on with a Communist and may still be one.” president could have been lip-synched the job, and no questions asked. Felix —Whittaker Chambers by denizens of his alma mater [Harvard Dzerzhinsky was the old-timer who, af- Witness, p. 711 Law School]. That Mr. Obama has no ter the Bolshevik Revolution, made the “The simple fact is that when I took use for the other side of the aisle is the secret police the real power in the land. up my little sling and aimed at Commu- logical extension of a university that has “We represent in ourselves organized nism, I also hit something else. What I purged all but a handful of conservatives terror.” Iron Felix boasted as he ordered hit was the forces of that great socialist from its faculty — and has done so in the the summary execution of tens of thou- revolution, which, in the name of lib- name of achieving a greater diversity.” sands of victims. After his death, the Dz- eralism, spasmodically, incompletely, —Ruth R. Wisse erzhinsky Division was an elite police somewhat formlessly, but always in the The Wall Street Journal unit named in his honor with the wide same direction, has been inching its ice October 21, 2014, p. A 13 remit of keeping public order. In 1994, cap over the nation for two decades. The University of Chicago has done the reforming Boris Yeltsin tried to drop This is not a charge. My opinion of that something bold and wonderful — may it grim historical associations by giving the revolution in whole or in part, and, con- be a precedent. The university canceled unit a cumbersome identity as the Inde- sciously or unconsciously, a majority of its Confucius Institute. Confucius Insti- pendent Operational Purpose Division.

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It’s an irony that Yeltsin chose Putin as their public schools. There are success- want to be another person who lets his successor, and Putin has restored the ful men and women willing to sit down them down.” former name of this unit. The clock goes with them at the church and share what Since the program started in 1964 — back a little. they have always taken for granted: the one night a week, that first year, in the —National Review ability to add and subtract and divide, church basement — more than 6,000 October 20, 2014, p. 11 the ability to spell and to read with un- children have been taught. Now tutor- Education derstanding. ing is available four nights a week. The I first reported on the church’s tutor- children who journey downtown from On a crisp-as-an-apple-slice autumn ing program 25 years ago, and then, as some of the city’s bleakest, most danger- afternoon in Chicago, a man named Ty- now, I was most struck by the devotion ous neighborhoods could be excused lus Allen looked around a softly lighted on both sides. On the coldest Chicago for complaining about the hand life has chapel and said, “When I first came winter nights, in drenching rain and bit- dealt them. But complaining is easy; here, it was because I heard this was ing winds, the children would arrive for working to better oneself is hard. The where people were willing to help you.” their tutoring sessions right on time. So volunteers could be excused — even He is 24 now, a clerk at a downtown would the volunteer tutors. Attendance commended — if they chose only to hospital. When he began evening visits was typically 100 percent. give money to charities instead. But to the Fourth Presbyterian Church, he “At first, the children don’t even know writing a check is easy; being the person was a fifth-grader who lived many grim exactly what they’re hoping for,” said who does something — the one who miles away. His father was in prison. He Stefani Turken, who is in her 22nd year shows up — is hard. was a boy who yearned to learn, to better of tutoring. “But little by little, they see The rewards, though, are lasting. himself, but wasn’t sure how. “I was hop- that there is a different world available Tamatha Webster’s daughter no longer ing to find people who wouldn’t give up to them, that they can dream of some- has to struggle to learn in chaotic class- on me,” he said. thing better. That if you want it to, life rooms. She has been a faithful attendee He came to the right place. The can change.” on tutoring nights for seven years now church, on a postcard-glamorous North Tamatha Webster, a single mother and because of her intelligence and dili- Michigan Avenue corner, has, for 50 from Chicago’s West Side, said she en- gent work has been awarded a scholar- years, provided a tutoring program for rolled her daughter in the tutoring pro- ship to one of Chicago’s finest private children as young as first graders. Most gram — it has always been free of charge schools. of the boys and girls, often from the — when the girl was 6. “She was going Her name is Brenna. She said that one city’s poorest and most violent neigh- to a school where there was so much of the happiest moments in her life was borhoods, are African-American. Most disruption in classes — children being when, during her first year of tutoring, of the volunteer tutors are white, many rude and disrespectful to the teachers. she finished in second place in a spelling of them professional men and women. She was trying to block all that out, and bee, with her mother watching. Brenna On this afternoon, hundreds of them learn, but it was very hard.” aspires to become a pediatrician. — former pupils like Mr. Allen, current Most of the tutors, not all of whom During her early years in the program, pupils, present and past tutors — were are church members, have just finished she said, on blizzardy days at her public gathering at the church to celebrate half a full day at work. “We never start by just elementary school she would look out a century of lives made better. The prem- opening the books,” said Jon Findley, a the window at the swirling snow. “I told ise of what goes on there on weeknights bank data-base manager who has been myself that no matter what, I was going is simple: The children seek one-on-one volunteering for 24 years. “These kids to make it to tutoring that night,” she help with the basics of mathematics and bring their day with them. So you listen. said. “I hoped it wouldn’t be snowed reading and writing. They don’t always It’s important that they know someone out. There was never a time that I didn’t get that kind of individual attention in wants to hear about their lives. I don’t get there. And there was never a time

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when they weren’t there waiting.” Capital Punishment & death penalty itself is cruel and unusual —Bob Greene Physician Assisted Suicide punishment, and therefore unconsti- Wall Street Journal tutional — because it is almost never October 9, 2014 Belgium is on the verge of executing carried out! The teachers’ union in Jefferson its first murderer by lethal injection. The lethal-injection-as-cruel-and-un- County, Colo., has been fighting with a Well, not exactly “executing.” The state usual-punishment meme was furthered “hostile” school board for months, over isn’t going to kill convicted murderer/ earlier this year after two “botched” the usual issues: Teachers want more rapist Frank Van Den Bleeken for his executions — one in Arizona that took money and less accountability, and the crimes. Rather, it is helping him be eu- 97 minutes to complete, another in school board wants to offer them the op- thanized. By a doctor. At a hospital. To Oklahoma that took 43 minutes. The posite. That is a difficult position for the which he was transferred after a court ACLU lawsuits are flying. unions to market to the public, and so a ruled that Den Bleeken’s request to end Interestingly, the death drug used in cultural issue has been invented: Teach- the suffering caused by his imprison- euthanasia/assisted suicide is the same ers are holding a “sick-out” to protest the ment (he has served 30 years of a life one used in executions. Moreover, allegedly heavy-handed interference of sentence) and continuing violent sexual studies from the Netherlands — where the school board with the curriculum. urges fits snugly within that country’s euthanasia was decriminalized in 1973 The board, charged by law with review- euthanasia law. and legalized in 2002 — have found ing curricular changes, wishes to review Ironically, Belgium opposes capital that physician-assisted suicide and eu- the new Advanced Placement U.S. His- punishment under any circumstances. thanasia by lethal injection can — as in tory program, a controversial set of rec- But it legalized euthanasia in 2002. the Arizona and Oklahoma executions ommendations shaped in part by far-left Since then, the country has fallen off a — take considerable time and cause academics. The College Board itself has moral cliff, with a growing number of le- side effects such as vomiting, gasping on several occasions insisted that final thal injections administered by doctors for air, and seizures. These documented details are in the hands of local school not just to the dying, but also to those difficulties interfere with the “death boards. The school board’s determina- with severe mental illnesses, crippling with dignity” narrative used to jus- tion to do its duty has led to reckless disabilities, and chronic, nonterminal tify the legalization of doctor-assisted cries of censorship and — irony of iro- illnesses. There have been several medi- suicide — and so are underplayed by its nies — complaints about politicizing calized joint killings of elderly couples proponents. the curriculum. Students have joined who would rather die together than live Execution has been further entwined teachers in walking out. In a great many apart. Belgium even permits euthanasia with doctor-assisted suicide through high-school curricula, the history of followed by organ harvesting and the the international campaign to prevent these United States begins with the Mid- assisted suicide of dying children if they executions by drying up the supply dle Passage and ends with the Triangle make the request in writing (among of the killing agent, pentobarbital Shirtwaist fire, and it’s not unreasonable other requirements). Killing a prisoner (Nembutal). Oregon and Washington’s for a Colorado school-board member who would rather be dead than impris- assisted-suicide regimens became col- to voice concerns that the AP standards oned is merely the next logical step. lateral damage after the campaign made downplay the “positive aspects” of U.S. Meanwhile, U.S. opponents of capital the lethal drug unobtainable. history (liberty, democracy, prosperity, punishment claim that death by lethal In Oregon, many assisted suicides saving the world from fascism once or injection is “cruel and unusual punish- are facilitated by the state’s branch of twice). But this is really a protest about ment.” Thus, California is prohibited Compassion & Choices, a private group bank accounts, not historical accounts, by federal court order from using lethal once more honestly named the Hem- and the students are being suckered. injection protocols because doing so lock Society. The organization became —National Review might cause pain. More recently, a so alarmed at the death drug dearth that October 20, 2014 p. 11 federal judge has ruled that California’s its representatives met with the Oregon

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Board of Pharmacy to discuss establish- Call it “cruel and unusual death with ing a nonprofit compounding phar- dignity.” macy to manufacture a generic form of — Wesley J. Smith pentobarbital, which C&C would then The Weekly Standard distribute for use in assisted suicides. So October 27, 2014 far, no news on whether the state will go along. Then there is Oregon governor John Kitzhaber. A medical doctor, Kitzhaber strongly favors giving cancer patients access to lethal doses of pentobarbital. But use it on vicious murderers? Abso- lutely not! That offends his liberal moral code. Apparently believing that his own sensibilities matter more than the votes of the state’s citizens — who overturned a court ban and reinstated the death penalty in 1984 — Kitzhaber placed a moratorium on executions for the bal- ance of his time in office. But Kitzhaber’s reprieve did not sit well with convicted murderer Gary Haugen, who has waived all appeals and wants to be done with life. He sued to be executed, gaining an initial ruling that he has the right to refuse mercy. But that decision was overturned on ap- peal on the grounds that Kitzhaber has the untrammeled power, as governor, to prevent executions — a decision the Oregon supreme court recently refused to review. So, at least until Kitzhaber is out of office, Haugen is stuck in limbo on death row — unable to die but not wanting to live. And we are stuck with a paradox: The use of lethal drugs in executions amounts to cruel and unusual punish- ment, while the use of the same lethal drugs to eliminate someone sick, or sick of life, is “death with dignity.”

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