In this issue: More at summit.org » pg. 2 From the President’s Desk » The Presiden’t Desk: Dr. Jeff Myers’ Blog the » pg. 5 What has Doc Noebel been reading? » Find us on Facebook

» pg. 7 Alumni Spotlight: » Check our Twitter Summit alum’s example of feed: @summitmn journalMay 2013 Volume 13 Issue 5 persistence is lesson for us all Changing Culture Requires Persistence

Cover Story aul penned his second letter to than Paul as we persistently work to affect the 2013 Pew Research Survey, 47 percent of Timothy locked in chains, confined troubling issues that dominate our current Americans think abortion is morally wrong, to a dank prison cell, hidden from the political and social landscape? Let’s look at compared to 13 percent who say it’s morally Prays of the sun, and awaiting what would be four such issues where Christians can and acceptable, and 27 percent who say it’s not a his death at the hands of the Romans. Yet are persevering in their efforts to change moral issue. 1 Last year was a banner year for Paul, knowing he had fought the good fight, attitudes and actions in spite of relentless op- states looking to turn the tide of abortion- finished the race, and kept the faith, charged position and even oppression. on-demand, utilizing pro-life allies in state Timothy to likewise persist in his ministry, • Protecting the unborn houses across the country. This year looks come what may (4:7). Paul’s missionary • Rebuilding a culture of marriage to be much the same. In the first quarter of journeys occupied decades of his life. His and family 2013, nearly 700 bills have been introduced martyrdom was preceded by serious, painful • Protecting religious liberty in state legislatures across the country to persecution. Yet his steadfast refrain to Chris- • Encouraging moral economics make abortion less frequent; 47 percent of all tians was to keep fighting, keep living, keep Who Is Human? health-related bills have focused on abor- working, and keep obeying. Likewise, we More than forty years ago when the tion.2 The rising generation of millennials are called to persist in a fallen world without Supreme Court gave legal cover to abor- is commonly referred to as the “Pro-Life regard for our self-preservation or comfort. tion, some thought the sharp public debate Generation.” What better example could we follow was over. Not so. According to a January See persistence, page 3 from the president’s desk a word from dr. jeff myers Anti-Christian Forces Are Winning: Victory Is Inevitable (P.S. — Don’t Belive It)

Atheist and leftist views don’t doctors learned Ben had suffered matter how great the odds. We’ll be stand the test of reality, they are from childhood asthma. Case closed. praying for you to be a godly, coura- unlivable, and the people who em- Based on the vision for leadership he geous leader for our times. brace them are selecting themselves received at Summit, Ben persisted. We don’t choose our trials, but out of the population by not having After months of appeals and more we do choose whether we will persist children. By any reasonable standard medical tests, he just received con- through them. In The Lord of the they should be acknowledging defeat, firmation of his medical clearance Rings, Frodo says, “I wish none of but instead they are creating the illu- and subsequent appointment to the this had happened.” Gandalf replies, sion of victory through daily carpet- Academy. “So do all who live to see such times, bombing accusations against those Ben wrote: but that is not for them to decide. All who disagree with them. They’re we have to decide is what to do with counting on those with biblical con- I wanted to thank you for inspiring the time that is given to us.” victions to surrender in confusion me to pursue my dreams, and not We have decided. We are going and disunity. settle for something less than what to follow Jesus until the lights go So will the Christian community God has in store for me. I know I out. And then, as Doc Noebel always give in? I’m talking to more and more will be looking back on my Sum- encouraged, we will light a candle. believers who have lost hope. But mit experience as I stand as a light Are there young people you want giving up now shows that we don’t for Christ at the Academy. Thanks to prepare to stand with you on the understand history or how ideas again for all of the help you have ramparts? Send them to Colorado or move in the culture. It displays a lack provided, and keep up the amazing Tennessee this summer. Only a hand- of trust in God’s sovereignty and his work that God is doing at Summit ful of seats remain, but we want them plan for the world. Ministries. all filled with young people desiring Three thousand years ago the to live with purpose and love God author of Psalm 78 narrated the Ben, you are certainly welcome with heart, soul, mind and strength. tragic story of godly generations (for Ben’s full story, see page 7 of this that turned back in the day of battle, month’s Journal). And thank you for snatching defeat from the jaws of vic- your example of never giving up, no tory. Don’t follow their example, the writer implores: prepare the rising generation to put their hope in God. “But giving up now shows that we don’t un- At Summit we gain inspiration derstand history or how ideas move in the from the persistence displayed by the godly, courageous young leaders culture. It displays a lack of trust in God’s we’ve had the privilege of training. sovereignty and his plan for the world. Just one example: a Summit grad ” named Ben felt led to apply to the Air Force Academy. His odds were less Dr. Jeff Myers than 10 percent. But then Academy

Page 2 May 2013 persistence continued from page one

Yet, what has really changed the abortion debate has been the unwavering insistence that an unborn child is, in fact, human. Ultrasound technology shows mothers who are intent on abortion that their fetus is a living, breathing human. Summit alumnus Joe Baker (featured in the December 2012 Journal) and his organization Save the Storks exemplify the power of ultrasound technology. Pro- a movement of millennials who want to the work of election cycles or a few years. life apologists like Scott Klusendorf train change the conversation about marriage This is the work of a generation. We un- people how to effectively and winsomely and family and emphasize — through derstand this is a long-term project,” Mar- convince others that the key abortion accessible, sound reasoning and good link said. The political changes we see now question relates to personhood and that storytelling — why traditional marriage is were really wrought by cultural changes science and philosophy prove that the a good thing for individuals, families, and decades ago, which flowed downstream unborn are human. whole societies. “So much is out of our into the realm of politics. Reversing those While Roe v. Wade represented a ma- control in terms of elections and how the trends will require not only time but also jor legal setback for protecting the sanctity Supreme Court is going to rule,” Marlink courage to take an unpopular stand in the of human life in the U.S., signaling a shift said. “But we understand our task as the midst of name-calling and ostracizing. in public opinion that the most vulnerable same either way.” Preserving Religious Freedom Is a Way among us are disposable, persistence on Marlink — along with Marriage to Love Our Neighbor the part of Christians is helping stem the Generation collaborators Owen Strachan, While some may question claims that tide of the culture of death, made so evi- Eric Teetsel (who will be speaking at religious freedom in the U.S. is eroding, dent by another Summit alum, Lila Rose, our upcoming Engage conferences later last year’s U.S. Department of Health and her organization Live Action. this year in Dallas and San Diego), and and Human Services so-called contra- Rebuilding Marriage and Family Andrew Walker — thinks there are many ception mandate signals otherwise. In Will Be an Uphill Battle young Christians who want to shape recent years, several charitable adoption Perhaps the most difficult issue for their spheres of influence on the mar- organizations — most notably Catholic Christians (especially young Christians) riage question but have been stymied by Charities — closed their doors because to speak into today is marriage and family. ruthless blackballing. Marriage Genera- state laws forbade them to refuse adopt- According to some, there’s no such thing tion is a way for those Christians — and ing children to same-sex couples on the as a millennial who thinks same-sex mar- non-Christians who see the importance of grounds of religious beliefs. Seemingly riage is a bad idea. As of press time, we’re traditional marriage — to begin a conver- small, rhetorical shifts like the move from still awaiting the Supreme Court’s deci- sation within their own spheres of influ- “freedom of religion” to “freedom of sion on two pivotal marriage cases argued ence. “The only way we begin to counter worship” signal a devolved understand- earlier this year. But the uncertainty of the that narrative is if our generation actually ing of our first right. Words matter, and as legal picture — or the possibility of an stands up and starts to lead,” Marlink said. Summit faculty member Dr. Michael Bau- errant ruling — isn’t stopping a group of “The older generations are not going to man says so often, when words lose their young Christians from trying to affect the carry our water on this; not only do we meaning, people lose their lives. marriage conversation. exist, we’re going to lead the discussion.” Preserving a robust freedom of reli- Chris Marlink is one of the principal If marriage and family is to become a gion doesn’t benefit just religious groups leaders of Marriage Generation (www. flip-flop issue the way abortion did after in question; it benefits the whole of marriagegeneration.org), a website and Roe v. Wade, it will take years of long, per- sistent, and intentional work. “This is not See persistence, page 4

May 2013 Page 3 persistence continued from page 3

society, even those who consider them- only an individual’s freedom (and even So how to be persistent in this case? selves nonreligious, according to Wilfred that is under fire these days), it is no more Certainly politics has a major role to play; M. McClay, writing in Union University’s than freedom of worship or freedom of statism can be rolled back only by the spring 2013 edition of Renewing Minds. conscience, which necessarily curtails the state, ironically. He lays out five arguments for why corporate good work done by religious But the public Suggested religious liberty ought to be preserved. communities in the life of a society. needs to know Perhaps most important is the argument Though moving at a slower pace, how freer mar- Reading that robust religious freedom allows cultural and political trends are marching kets benefit churches and religious organizations in toward a much more restricted religious the poorest the U.S. to do the charitable, preservative freedom. Christians will need to persevere among us, work that they have historically done. in making reasoned arguments within along with McClay points out that while the HHS their own spheres of influence as well as middle and mandate most stymies Catholic organiza- within the realm of politics and the courts. upper classes. tions, the Catholic church is the largest Economics Is About Morality Those stories private operator of educational and health Economics isn’t simply about need to be care systems in the U.S, including 7,500 number-crunching. Economics is es- told persis- schools, 630 hospitals, 400 health centers, sentially a moral issue. Yet, Keynesian and tently, and and 1,500 specialized homes.3 Handcuff- state-centered economic programs seem those prin- ing freedom of religion doesn’t affect just to be proliferating in the West and the U.S. ciples need to Sunday worship; it hurts the millions of The rallying cry of folks like Jim Wallis be persistently The Case for Life people helped by religious charities. of Sojourners is that more government and winsome- by Scott Klusendorf McClay also rightly points out that intervention is the way to love our poor ly argued. Available at Summit’s our religious institutions — and in the neighbors. Yet while welfare spending bookstore: U.S. that historically means Christian in- has catapulted since Lyndon B. Johnson’s Notes summit.org/store. stitutions — are where moral conscience “Great Society” legislation, little headway 1. Public Opin- is formed, second only to the nuclear fam- has been made in truly helping the poor. ion on Abortion 4 and Roe v. Wade, Pew Forum, January 22, 2013, ily. For that reason, religion should enjoy We will have to continue winsomely http://www.pewforum.org/Abortion/Public- a special and revered freedom — as it has arguing that private economic growth Opinion-on-Abortion-and-Roe-v-Wade.aspx. historically in the U.S. — in the corpo- (coupled with a necessary understanding 2. The Guttmacher Institute is one of the leading rate sense as well as in the individualistic and practice of virtue in the marketplace) pro-abortion organizations and tracks various sense. If freedom of religion is bound to is the best way to help the poor. The world abortion-related statistics. To see their publi- population living in poverty was cut in half cation bemoaning legislation is a good thing. “State Policy Trends 2013: Abortion Moves to This is not the work from the 19th century to the mid-1900s. the Fore,” Guttmacher Institute, http://www. “ It was halved again between 1980 and guttmacher.org/media/inthenews/2013/04/11/ of an election 2005, as the result of increased economic index.html. cycle or a few years. productivity. As the Acton Institute’s Rev. 3. Wilfred M. McClay, “What’s So Special Robert Sirico puts it, “While the price sys- About Religion? Five or Six Answers,” Renewing This is the work tem in a free economy does not provide a Minds, Spring 2013, 12. 4. Ibid, 10. of a generation. moral foundation for a society, and while 5. Rev. Robert Sirico, “The Role of Profits,” ” it doesn’t remove opportunities for ill- Religion and Liberty, Volume 22, Number 4, The gotten gain, it handily beats every form of Acton Institute, http://www.acton.org/pub/reli- Chris Marlink socialism at providing moral and socially gion-liberty/volume-22-number-4/role-profits. beneficent options for escaping poverty.”5

Page 4 May 2013 a look at our world news and commentary

Editor’s Note: Our President Emeri- of Marriage Act is unconstitutional because fail, government tus, Dr. David Noebel, helps us with it tramples states’ rights. If you substitute grows to pick up research by sending 20-30 pages “slavery” wherever Mr. Will uses the word the pieces -- and of clippings of each month’s news. “marriage,” you’ll quickly see the absurdity to enforce the new To see the complete list of Doc’s of his argument. reality. clippings, go to www.summit.org/ DOMA defines marriage for federal This brings us to the bigger picture. resources/the-journal/, open the purposes as the union of a man and wom- The left’s drive for “gay rights” poses the PDF, and scroll to page 9, or call us at an, but it also says states can’t be forced to greatest domestic threat to the freedoms 866.786.6483. adopt faux marriage from other states. of religion, speech and assembly. When Marriage Mr. Will also ignores key Supreme traditional morality is equated with racist Over the past few weeks, the “war on Court cases, such as Murphy v. Ramsey bigotry, civil rights enforcement becomes marriage” has turned into a blitzkrieg. (1885), in which the court held that Utah a gun aimed at the head of citizens, forcing It’s all designed to sway the Supreme could not be a state until it abandoned po- them to choose between God and Caesar. Court, which will be hearing arguments lygamy. By Mr. Will’s reasoning, that should That should never happen in America, this week on California’s voter-approved be overturned. where our Founders said rights come from constitutional marriage amendment In Baker v. Nelson (1972), the high our Creator, not capricious man, who can and the federal Defense of Marriage Act court upheld the Minnesota Supreme mistake fashion for morality. (DOMA). Court’s rejection of a comparison to the In Massachusetts, which legalized A day doesn’t pass without another Loving v. Virginia (1967) ruling that struck homosexual “marriage” in 2004, public bomb dropped on the oldest human down a ban on interracial marriage: “In schools openly entice children to try homo- institution. If it’s not another slanted poll, common sense and in a constitutional sexual behavior despite well-documented negatively worded to elicit the “correct” sense, there is a clear distinction between health risks. Penalties are enforced against response, it’s a politician sharing his sudden a marital restriction based merely upon dissenters. People are losing jobs. Catholic revelation that God didn’t know what He race and one based upon the fundamental Charities, the largest Massachusetts pro- was doing when He created marriage as the difference in sex.” vider of foster homes for orphans, closed its union of male and female. Recently, Sen. Rob Portman, Ohio doors rather than give up placing children The American Academy of Pediatrics, Republican, announced support for only in married, mother-father homes. Tyr- one of many formerly credible professional homosexual “marriage” because his son is anny is masquerading as enlightenment. associations compromised by political cor- homosexual. Cases are piling up across the nation. rectness and junk science, has announced It’s one thing to have unconditional Counselors are being denied certification. that children no longer benefit from a love and compassion toward a friend or Christian wedding photographers in New mother and a father in the household. Any loved one, and another thing to redefine Mexico were hauled into court and fined two adults will do. Mothers and fathers marriage for the whole nation. Public for declining to shoot a lesbian ceremony. A provide no unique influence. policy is the force of law. Civil libertarians college official who merely signed a petition If you believe that, ask yourself: If who are jumping aboard the homosexual in Maryland to place marriage on a state your father had been replaced by a lesbian, “marriage” bandwagon might want to ballot was suspended. The Boy Scouts have would your upbringing have been any dif- stop and consider why this will lead to less been pushed out of United Way chapters ferent? Did your mother provide anything freedom and more government. and denied corporate funding. Mayors of unique to you that your dad didn’t? In the Sundered by no-fault divorce and major cities have told Chick-fil-A that the best interests of children, why create moth- cohabitation, marriage as a “genderless” fast-food chain is evil because its founder erless or fatherless households by design? institution will lose even more legitimacy defends marriage as the union of a man and Washington Post columnist George and contribute less to stability, prosperity a woman. In Washington, D.C., the Family and self-sufficiency. As nuclear families Will on Thursday wrote that the Defense continued on page 6

May 2013 Page 5 a look at our world news and commentary, continued from page 5

Research Council, thanks to courageous Instead, we’re being asked to repeal insulting Islam’s Prophet Muhammad or security guard Leo Johnson, narrowly reality, which is an unreasonable and dan- desecrating its holy book, the Koran. avoided a mass killing by a shooter who gerous request. To that end, 20 Pakistanis convicted cited as motive the Southern Poverty Law — Robert Knight of blasphemy are currently serving life sen- Center’s slanderous designation of the The Washington Times tences while another 16 are sitting on death council as a “hate group.” March 25, 2013 row awaiting their appointed date with the In New Jersey, the Southern Poverty Religious Liberty executioner. Law Center is suing Jews Offering New In the latest act of bruising intoler- Among those currently slated to die is Alternatives for Healing (JONAH) under ance being perpetrated by Muslims against Younis Masih, a Christian father of four who consumer fraud law. They contend that no Pakistan’s besieged Christian community, has been on death row since 2007 and Asia one can overcome this particular tempta- a Muslim mob recently burned down over Bibi, a Christian mother of five, who in 2010 tion, despite ample evidence to the contrary. 150 Christian homes and two churches was the first Pakistani woman convicted In California, legislators passed a law over allegations that a Christian man had for blasphemy and sentenced to death by making it criminal for parents to take their committed blasphemy. hanging. children to counselors for help in overcom- The rioting, which occurred in the Younis Masih’s heretical act occurred in ing unwanted same-sex desires -- even Pakistani city of Lahore, began after a Mus- September 2005 when he was arrested after children who have been molested. A court lim man accused Sawan Masih, a Pakistani he had reportedly asked a group of Muslims has enjoined the law for now, but is this still Christian, of insulting the Prophet Muham- who were holding a religious service one America, land of the free and home of the mad, an allegation punishable by death evening in a nearby house to turn their brave? under Pakistan’s blasphemy laws. music down. Yet, conservatives, the GOP and even Even though Pakistani police had Bibi’s transgression against Islam came the Tea Parties are told they must bow be- swiftly arrested Masih, Christian families in 2009 after a verbal disagreement with fore this increasingly intolerant movement. nevertheless hurriedly fled the area in some Muslim women in her village led President Obama, Hillary Rodham Clin- fear of Muslim reprisals, an exodus which Bibi to claim that Christians and Muslims ton, Lady Gaga and the Democratic Party proved fortuitous given the ensuing Muslim are equal before God, an affront apparently embrace homosexual “marriage,” so it must rampage. stinging enough to lead to her being accused advance conservative principles, right? Once the mob’s fury had been spent, of having blasphemed against Mohammad. Laurie Higgins, a perceptive writer Christians slowly made their way back to It should be noted, that while Muslim for the Illinois Family Institute, asks this their burned-out homes, leaving one Chris- nations throughout Africa, the Mideast question: “What if Portman’s son had an- tian surveying the destruction to lament, and Asia — such as Sudan, Saudi Arabia nounced he was bisexual or polyamorous? “Nothing is left here. I don’t know why this and Iran — have similar blasphemy laws, Would Portman then seek to have the gov- happened.” few enforce those laws with the zeal of ernment recognize plural unions as mar- The answer to that question, unfortu- Pakistanis. riages? Imagine if everyone decided that nately, is exceedingly clear given the type Perhaps that fervor stems from the fact the ‘Bible’s overarching themes of love and of barbaric treatment routinely meted out that under Pakistan’s blasphemy laws the compassion’ and the ‘belief that we’re all by Muslims to those Christians and other burden of proof required to convict some- children of God’ compel us to affirm all the religious minorities unfortunate enough to one is exceedingly weak given there are no feelings, beliefs and life choices of our loved run afoul of Pakistan’s notorious blasphemy guidelines as to what constitutes blasphemy, ones. The truth is, it is entirely possible to laws. no evidentiary standards, and no require- deeply love people while finding their feel- Those statutes, first introduced in 1986 ment to prove intent. ings, beliefs and life choices disordered or by Pakistani military dictator Muhammad — Frank Crimi false. In this wildly diverse world, most of us Zia ul-Haq, can earn sentences of death FrontPage Magazine do it all the time.” or life in prison for those found guilty of March 14, 2013

Page 6 May 2013 summit spotlight a look into the lives of summit alumni Protzman’s Example of Persistence Is One for Us All Ben Protzman’s story embodies a cal disqualification. But again he recalled crucial lesson for all Christians: we must Myers’ talk: “God doesn’t steer immobile never give up. objects.” Ben called the Academy, desperate Ben used to suffer from asthma. for any way to prove his lungs were okay. Used to. For the last several years, though, There was one shot, an Academy specialist he hasn’t experienced the tight-lunged, told him: he could take an intensive lung oxygen-choking condition at all. He runs function test. Ben would be sealed in an competitively for his high school track and airtight chamber and subjected to several cross-country teams. While attending Sum- rounds of testing, including five doses of a mit in Manitou Springs last summer, he drug specifically designed to cause an asth- arose each morning and ran at the beautiful matic reaction. If his lungs constricted too Garden of the Gods park — at more than a much, his dream would be officially dead. mile elevation — with nary a problem. Ben told his parents, and off they went But the pulmonary disorder made to take the test. Amazingly — but not sur- an untimely comeback a few months ago prisingly — Ben passed the lung function — even if only on paper — and almost test. Now his application to the Academy wrecked his dream of attending the Air was open again. And the waiting continued. Force Academy. Almost. A week later: the Academy granted Ben After returning from Summit and re- a medical waiver, but still no word on his ceiving some gentle prodding from family acceptance as a cadet. and church mentors, Ben decided to apply Ben Protzman Then on March 18, nearly a month for the Academy. He recalled a talk Dr. Jeff later, Ben came home from school and and long interviews with each Congress- Myers gave on calling: “He said God has opened his e-mail. He had a message from man’s staff. “Having one or two isn’t bad,” a design for us. We shouldn’t be hesitant the Air Force. Sitting before his computer Ben said, “but doing several is tedious.” A in pursuing that design. God doesn’t steer keyboard, wondering what the message few weeks later he learned he’d received immobile objects.” said, he closed his eyes, bowed his head, two Congressional nominations. and prayed: “God, may your will be done.” Ben submitted his application, but Click. officials quickly flagged it. Apparently his If you’re doing God’s Accepted. “ medical records never reflected the fact will, there’s no need The dream Ben had been nursing that he had grown out of his childhood thanks to encouragement from his parents to be worried. asthma, a common occurrence. Before he and closest mentors was going to come ” could gather materials needed to secure true. Through the highs and lows of the a medical waiver (like testimonials from months-long ordeal, even at his worst, Ben Ben Protzman his cross country coach and teammates), persisted with the knowledge that God was the Academy closed his application. His in control. dream was seemingly over. So, prayerfully, Ben worked on his ap- “What the world says and what my “That was probably my lowest point plication, which included securing Con- surroundings look like aren’t what define throughout the application process,” Ben gressional nominations. Ben applied with the situation,” Ben said. “God defines the said. Dogged by the longing not to disap- his U.S. representative and both U.S. sena- situation. If you’re doing God’s will, there’s point his parents, he initially hid the medi- tors. That in itself required several essays no need to be worried.”

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Marriage Mr. Will also ignores key Supreme them to choose between God and Caesar. Over the past few weeks, the “war on Court cases, such as Murphy v. Ramsey That should never happen in America, marriage” has turned into a blitzkrieg. (1885), in which the court held that Utah where our Founders said rights come from It’s all designed to sway the Supreme could not be a state until it abandoned our Creator, not capricious man, who can Court, which will be hearing arguments polygamy. By Mr. Will’s reasoning, that mistake fashion for morality. this week on California’s voter-approved should be overturned. In Massachusetts, which legalized constitutional marriage amendment In Baker v. Nelson (1972), the high homosexual “marriage” in 2004, public and the federal Defense of Marriage Act court upheld the Minnesota Supreme schools openly entice children to try (DOMA). Court’s rejection of a comparison to the homosexual behavior despite well-docu- A day doesn’t pass without another Loving v. Virginia (1967) ruling that mented health risks. Penalties are enforced bomb dropped on the oldest human struck down a ban on interracial marriage: against dissenters. People are losing jobs. institution. If it’s not another slanted poll, “In common sense and in a constitutional Catholic Charities, the largest Massachu- negatively worded to elicit the “correct” sense, there is a clear distinction between setts provider of foster homes for orphans, response, it’s a politician sharing his sud- a marital restriction based merely upon closed its doors rather than give up placing den revelation that God didn’t know what race and one based upon the fundamental children only in married, mother-father He was doing when He created marriage difference in sex.” homes. Tyranny is masquerading as as the union of male and female. Recently, Sen. Rob Portman, Ohio enlightenment. The American Academy of Pediatrics, Republican, announced support for Cases are piling up across the nation. one of many formerly credible professional homosexual “marriage” because his son is Counselors are being denied certifica- associations compromised by political cor- homosexual. tion. Christian wedding photographers rectness and junk science, has announced It’s one thing to have unconditional in New Mexico were hauled into court that children no longer benefit from a love and compassion toward a friend or and fined for declining to shoot a lesbian mother and a father in the household. Any loved one, and another thing to redefine ceremony. A college official who merely two adults will do. Mothers and fathers marriage for the whole nation. Public signed a petition in Maryland to place provide no unique influence. policy is the force of law. Civil libertarians marriage on a state ballot was suspended. If you believe that, ask yourself: If who are jumping aboard the homosexual The Boy Scouts have been pushed out of your father had been replaced by a lesbian, “marriage” bandwagon might want to United Way chapters and denied corpo- would your upbringing have been any dif- stop and consider why this will lead to less rate funding. Mayors of major cities have ferent? Did your mother provide anything freedom and more government. told Chick-fil-A that the fast-food chain is unique to you that your dad didn’t? In the Sundered by no-fault divorce and evil because its founder defends marriage best interests of children, why create moth- cohabitation, marriage as a “genderless” as the union of a man and a woman. In erless or fatherless households by design? institution will lose even more legitimacy Washington, D.C., the Family Research Washington Post columnist George and contribute less to stability, prosperity Council, thanks to courageous security Will on Thursday wrote that the De- and self-sufficiency. As nuclear families fail, guard Leo Johnson, narrowly avoided fense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional government grows to pick up the pieces a mass killing by a shooter who cited as because it tramples states’ rights. If you -- and to enforce the new reality. motive the Southern Poverty Law Center’s substitute “slavery” wherever Mr. Will uses This brings us to the bigger picture. slanderous designation of the council as a the word “marriage,” you’ll quickly see the The left’s drive for “gay rights” poses the “hate group.” absurdity of his argument. greatest domestic threat to the freedoms In New Jersey, the Southern Poverty DOMA defines marriage for federal of religion, speech and assembly. When Law Center is suing Jews Offering New purposes as the union of a man and wom- traditional morality is equated with racist Alternatives for Healing (JONAH) an, but it also says states can’t be forced to bigotry, civil rights enforcement becomes under consumer fraud law. They contend adopt faux marriage from other states. a gun aimed at the head of citizens, forcing that no one can overcome this particular

May 2013 Page 9 a look at our world from the desk of dr. david noebel, continued from page 9

temptation, despite ample evidence to the won’t affect the average person should desires. For example, she said she tells the contrary. consider what it has done to Massachu- kids that lesbians can have vaginal inter- In California, legislators passed a law setts since 2004. It’s become a hammer to course using sex toys. making it criminal for parents to take their force the acceptance and normalization of • By the following year it was in children to counselors for help in overcom- homosexuality on everyone. The slippery elementary school curricula - with hostility ing unwanted same-sex desires -- even slope is real. New radical demands never toward parents who disagreed. Kindergart- children who have been molested. A court cease. What has happened in the last sev- ners in Lexington, Mass. were given copies has enjoined the law for now, but is this still eral years is truly frightening. of a picture book, Who’s in a Family?, America, land of the free and home of the On November 18, 2003, the Massa- telling them that same-sex couples are just brave? chusetts Supreme Judicial Court an- another kind of family, just like their own Yet, conservatives, the GOP and even nounced its Goodridge opinion, declaring parents. When David Parker - parent of a the Tea Parties are told they must bow that it was unconstitutional not to allow kindergartner - calmly refused to leave a before this increasingly intolerant move- same-sex “marriage.” Six months later, school meeting unless officials agreed to ment. President Obama, Hillary Rodham despite public outrage, homosexual “wed- notify him when discussing homosexuality Clinton, Lady Gaga and the Democratic dings” began to take place. And that was or transgenderism with his son, the school Party embrace homosexual “marriage,” so just the beginning . . . had him arrested and jailed overnight. it must advance conservative principles, The public schools • The next year, second graders at right? The homosexual “marriage” onslaught the same school were read a book, King & Laurie Higgins, a perceptive writer in public schools across the state started King, about two men who fall in love and for the Illinois Family Institute, asks this soon after the November 2003 court rul- marry each other, ending with a picture question: “What if Portman’s son had ing. of them kissing. When parents Robb and announced he was bisexual or polyam- • At my own children’s high Robin Wirthlin complained, they were orous? Would Portman then seek to have school there was a school-wide assembly told that the school had no obligation to the government recognize plural unions to celebrate same-sex “marriage” in early notify them or allow them to opt their as marriages? Imagine if everyone decided December 2003. It featured an array of child out. that the ‘Bible’s overarching themes of love speakers, including teachers at the school • In 2007 a federal judge ruled and compassion’ and the ‘belief that we’re who announced that they would be “mar- that because of “gay marriage” in Massa- all children of God’ compel us to affirm rying” their same-sex partners and starting chusetts, parents have no rights regarding all the feelings, beliefs and life choices of families, either through adoption or artifi- the teaching of homosexual relation- our loved ones. The truth is, it is entirely cial insemination. Literature on same-sex ships in schools. The previous year the possible to deeply love people while find- marriage - how it is now a normal part of Parkers and Wirthlins had filed a federal ing their feelings, beliefs and life choices society - was handed out to the students. civil rights lawsuit to force the schools to disordered or false. In this wildly diverse • Within months it was brought notify parents and allow them to opt out world, most of us do it all the time.” into the middle schools. In September their elementary-school children when Instead, we’re being asked to repeal 2004, an 8th-grade teacher in Brookline, homosexual-related subjects were taught. reality, which is an unreasonable and dan- Mass., told National Public Radio that The federal judge dismissed the case. The gerous request. the marriage ruling had opened up the appeals judges later upheld the first judge’s — Robert Knight door for teaching homosexuality. “In my ruling that because same-sex marriage is The Washington Times mind, I know that, ‘OK, this is legal now.’ If legal in Massachusetts, the school actu- March 25, 2013 somebody wants to challenge me, I’ll say, ally had a duty to normalize homosexual ‘Give me a break. It’s legal now,’” she told relationships to children; and schools have Anyone who thinks that same-sex NPR. She added that she now discusses no obligation to notify parents or let them “marriage” is a benign eccentricity which gay sex with her students as explicitly as she opt out their children. Acceptance of ho-

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mosexuality had become a matter of good of high schools and even middle schools child from the school. citizenship! Think about that: Because across the state now hold “gay, lesbian, — Brian Camenker same-sex marriage is “legal,” federal judges bisexual, and transgender days.” In my “What Same-Sex Marriage Has Done have ruled that the schools now have a own town, a school committee member to Massachusetts” duty to portray homosexual relationships announced that combating “homophobia” p. 1,2 as normal to children, despite what parents was now a top priority. The schools not Editor’s Note: Mr. Camenker is making think or believe! only “celebrate” homosexual marriage, his 14-page essay available free as a download • The judges also allowed the but have moved beyond to promote other at: www.massresistance.org, or contact him school to overrule the Massachusetts behaviors such as cross-dressing and trans- at: PO Box 1612, Waltham, Massachusetts parental notification law on this issue, with sexuality. 02454 the claim that homosexuality or same-sex • As a result, many more children marriages are not “human sexuality issues” in Massachusetts appear to be self-identi- Dozens of prominent Republicans — (to which the law refers). fying as “gay.” According to the Massachu- including top advisers to former President • School libraries have also radically setts Youth Risk Behavior Survey, given to George W. Bush, four former governors changed. School libraries across the state, students in high schools across the state, and two members of Congress — have from elementary school to high school, between 2005 and 2009 both the percent- signed a legal brief arguing that gay people now have expanding shelves of books age of kids “identifying as gay” and who have a constitutional right to marry, a posi- to normalize homosexual behavior and had same-sex contact rose by approximate- tion that amounts to a direct challenge to “lifestyle” in the minds of kids, some of ly 50%. Although this bi-annual survey is Speaker John A. Boehner and reflects the them quite explicit and even pornographic. unscientific and largely unreliable, it still civil war in the party since the November Parents’ complaints are ignored or met shows a disturbing trend among those election. with hostility. students who chose to answer the ques- The document will be submitted this • A large, slick hardcover book tions in this way. (At a minimum, it implies week to the Supreme Court in support of a celebrating Massachusetts homosexual that these answers are being encouraged.) suit seeking to strike down Proposition 8, a marriages began to appear in many school • Once homosexuality is normal- California ballot initiative barring same-sex libraries across the state. Titled Courting ized, all boundaries begin to come down. marriage, and all similar bans. The court Equality, it was supplied to schools by a The schools have already moved on to will hear back-to-back arguments next major homosexual activist organization. normalizing transgenderism (including month in that case and another pivotal gay Its apparent purpose was to teach kids that cross-dressing and sex changes). The state- rights case that challenges the 1996 federal “gay marriage” was a great civil rights vic- funded Commission on Gay, Lesbian, Defense of Marriage Act. tory. Bisexual and Transgender Youth, which The Proposition 8 case already has a • It has become commonplace goes into schools with homosexual and powerful conservative supporter: Theo- in Massachusetts schools for teachers to transgender programs and activities for dore B. Olson, the former solicitor general display photos of their same-sex “spouses” children, includes prominent activists who under Mr. Bush and one of the suit’s two and occasionally bring their “spouses” to are transsexuals. lead lawyers. The amicus, or friend-of-the- school functions. At one point, both high • In 2006 a cross-dressing man court, brief is being filed with Mr. Olson’s schools in my own town had principals undergoing a sex-change operation was blessing. It argues, as he does, that same- who were “married” to their same-sex brought into a third-grade class in Newton sex marriage promotes family values by al- partners who came to school and were to teach the children that there are now lowing children of gay couples to grow up introduced to the students. “different kinds of families.” School officials in two-parent homes, and that it advances • “Gay days” in schools are con- told a mother that her complaints to the conservative values of “limited govern- sidered necessary to fight “intolerance” principal were considered “inappropriate ment and maximizing individual freedom.” against same-sex relationships. Hundreds behavior”! She ended up removing her Legal analysts said the brief had the

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potential to sway conservative justices as leadership aide who did not sign the brief. same-sex marriage bans are discriminatory, much for the prominent names attached “I think that Republicans in the future are the brief’s signatories are at odds with the to it as for its legal arguments. The list of going to be a little bit more careful about House Republican leadership, which has signers includes a string of Republican focusing on these issues that tend to divide authorized the expenditure of tax dollars officials and influential thinkers — 75 as of the party.” to defend the 1996 marriage law. The law Monday evening — who are not ordinar- Some high-profile Republicans who defines marriage in the eyes of the federal ily associated with gay rights advocacy, support same-sex marriage — including government as the union of a man and a including some who are speaking out for Laura Bush, the former first lady; Dick woman. the first time and others who have changed Cheney, the former vice president; and Polls show that public attitudes have their previous positions. Colin L. Powell, a former secretary of state shifted drastically on same-sex marriage Among them are Meg Whitman, — were not on the list as of Monday. over the past decade. A majority of Ameri- who supported Proposition 8 when she But the presence of so many well- cans now favor same-sex marriage, up from ran for California governor; Representa- known former officials — including Chris- roughly one third in 2003. tives Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida and tine Todd Whitman, former governor of While Republicans lag behind the Richard Hanna of New York; Stephen J. New Jersey, and William Weld and Jane general population — the latest New York Hadley, a Bush national security adviser; Swift, both former governors of Massachu- Times survey found a third of Republicans Carlos Gutierrez, a commerce secretary setts — suggests that once Republicans are favor letting gay people marry — that, too, to Mr. Bush; James B. Comey, a top Bush out of public life they feel freer to speak out is changing quickly as more young people Justice Department official; David A. against the party’s official platform, which reach voting age. Several recent polls show Stockman, President Ronald Reagan’s first calls for amending the Constitution to that about 70 percent of voters under 30 budget director; and Deborah Pryce, a define marriage as “the union of one man back same-sex marriage. former member of the House Republican and one woman.” “The die is cast on this issue when you leadership from Ohio who is retired from By contrast, the brief, shared with The look at the percentage of younger voters Congress. New York Times by its drafters, cites past who support gay marriage,” said Steve Ms. Pryce said Monday: “Like a lot of Supreme Court rulings dear to conser- Schmidt, who was a senior adviser to the the country, my views have evolved on this vatives, including the Citizens United 2008 Republican presidential nominee, from the first day I set foot in Congress. I decision lifting restrictions on campaign Senator John McCain of Arizona, and who think it’s just the right thing, and I think it’s financing, and a Washington, D.C., Second signed the brief. “As Dick Cheney said on solid legal footing, too.” Amendment case that overturned a law years ago, ‘Freedom means freedom for Jon M. Huntsman Jr., the former Utah barring handgun ownership. everybody.’ ” governor, who favored civil unions but op- “We are trying to say to the court that Still, it is clear that Republican backers posed same-sex marriage during his 2012 we are judicial and political conservatives, of same-sex marriage have yet to bring the presidential bid, also signed. Last week, and it is consistent with our values and phi- rest of the party around to their views. Mr. Mr. Huntsman announced his new posi- losophy for you to overturn Proposition 8,” Feehery said there are regional as well as tion in an article titled “Marriage Equality said Ken Mehlman, the former chairman generational divisions, with opposition Is a Conservative Cause,” a sign that the of the Republican National Committee, especially strong in the South. Speaking 2016 Republican presidential candidates who came out as gay several years ago. He of Mr. Boehner, he said, “I doubt very could be divided on the issue for the first is on the board of the American Founda- seriously that he is going to change his time. tion for Equal Rights, which brought the position.” “The ground on this is obviously California suit, and has spent months in Experts say that amicus briefs gener- changing, but it is changing more rapidly quiet conversations with fellow Republi- ally do not change Supreme Court justices’ than people think,” said John Feehery, a cans to gather signatures for the brief. minds. But on Monday some said that Republican strategist and former House In making an expansive argument that the Republican brief, written by Seth P.

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Waxman, a former solicitor general in the Christians slowly made their way back accused of having blasphemed against administration of President Bill Clinton, to their burned-out homes, leaving one Mohammad. and Reginald Brown, who served in the Christian surveying the destruction to It should be noted, that while Muslim Bush White House Counsel’s Office, lament, “Nothing is left here. I don’t know nations throughout Africa, the Mideast might be an exception. why this happened.” and Asia — such as Sudan, Saudi Arabia Tom Goldstein, publisher of Scotus- The answer to that question, unfortu- and Iran — have similar blasphemy laws, blog, a Web site that analyzes Supreme nately, is exceedingly clear given the type few enforce those laws with the zeal of Court cases, said the amicus filing “has the of barbaric treatment routinely meted out Pakistanis. potential to break through and make a real by Muslims to those Christians and other Perhaps that fervor stems from the difference.” religious minorities unfortunate enough to fact that under Pakistan’s blasphemy laws He added: “The person who is going run afoul of Pakistan’s notorious blas- the burden of proof required to convict to decide this case, if it’s going to be close, phemy laws. someone is exceedingly weak given there is going to be a conservative justice who Those statutes, first introduced in are no guidelines as to what constitutes respects traditional marriage but nonethe- 1986 by Pakistani military dictator Mu- blasphemy, no evidentiary standards, and less is sympathetic to the claims that this is hammad Zia ul-Haq, can earn sentences no requirement to prove intent. just another form of hatred. If you’re trying of death or life in prison for those found Moreover, Pakistan’s blasphemy laws to persuade someone like that, you can’t guilty of insulting Islam’s Prophet Mu- also contain no provisions to punish a false persuade them from the perspective of gay hammad or desecrating its holy book, the accuser or false witness. As a result, the rights advocacy.” Koran. laws are often used to settle personal scores — Sheryl Gay Stolberg To that end, 20 Pakistanis convicted rather than to defend against perceived The New York Times of blasphemy are currently serving life slights to Islamic piety February 25, 2013 sentences while another 16 are sitting on In fact, the Muslim rampage in Lahore Religious Liberty death row awaiting their appointed date reportedly had less to do with offending In the latest act of bruising intolerance with the executioner. Islamic sensibilities than it had to do with being perpetrated by Muslims against Among those currently slated to die personal score settling. According to a Pakistan’s besieged Christian community, is Younis Masih, a Christian father of four bishop in Lahore, Masih’s Muslim accuser a Muslim mob recently burned down over who has been on death row since 2007 had levied the blasphemy charge against 150 Christian homes and two churches and Asia Bibi, a Christian mother of five, Masih the day after the two men had got- over allegations that a Christian man had who in 2010 was the first Pakistani woman ten into a fight while drinking. committed blasphemy. convicted for blasphemy and sentenced to Perhaps not surprisingly, those ac- The rioting, which occurred in the death by hanging. cused of blasphemy, more often than not, Pakistani city of Lahore, began after a Younis Masih’s heretical act occurred never see their cases settled by a Pakistani Muslim man accused Sawan Masih, a Paki- in September 2005 when he was arrested court but instead are forced into hiding or stani Christian, of insulting the Prophet after he had reportedly asked a group of killed by mobs before they even stand trial. Muhammad, an allegation punishable by Muslims who were holding a religious Since 1990 at least 60 Christians death under Pakistan’s blasphemy laws. service one evening in a nearby house to accused of blasphemy have been killed by Even though Pakistani police had turn their music down. enraged mobs or individuals, extra-judicial swiftly arrested Masih, Christian families Bibi’s transgression against Islam came justice perhaps best explained by the fact nevertheless hurriedly fled the area in in 2009 after a verbal disagreement with many Pakistani Muslims believe killing fear of Muslim reprisals, an exodus which some Muslim women in her village led a blasphemous person earns a heavenly proved fortuitous given the ensuing Mus- Bibi to claim that Christians and Muslims reward. lim rampage. are equal before God, an affront appar- While Pakistan’s religious minorities, Once the mob’s fury had been spent, ently stinging enough to lead to her being such as Christians, Hindus and Ahmadis,

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have been the disproportionate targets the case of Rimsha Masih. Specifically, an accuser cannot drop of blasphemy allegations, Muslims who Rimsha, a 14-year-old Pakistani Chris- the charges once they have been filed, so violate the blasphemy laws aren’t immune tian girl afflicted with Down syndrome, Patras will still have to stand trial, where to mob reprisal. was arrested in August 2012 after she had if convicted he will face up to ten years in For example, in December 2012 been accused by a local cleric of burning prison. several hundred Muslims in the Pakistani 10 pages of the Koran. Moreover, being granted bail may not province of Sindh dragged a man sus- Rimsha, who worked as a maid, be the act of judicial mercy it appears to pected of burning pages of the Koran from denied any blasphemous wrongdoing, be on the surface given that after his arrest, police custody, where they summarily beat claiming through her attorney that she was Muslims in his village tried wrest Patras him before then burning him alive. simply burning garbage and “did not know from police custody. Failing that, the mob That display of Islamic tolerance was a Koranic book was among the papers settled instead on forcing his five married preceded in July 2012 when Ghulam because she cannot read.” sons and their families to leave the area by Abbas, a 40-year-old mentally impaired Nevertheless, Pakistani police quickly threatening to burn them alive. Muslim man, was accused of burning a brought Rimsha into custody, persuaded Tragically, for Pakistan’s Christian and copy of the Koran in the Pakistani city of less by her illiteracy and mental impair- other religious minorities, that Muslim bel- Bahawalpur. ment and more by a swelling Muslim mob licosity is more than a menacing threat but Incited by local Muslim clerics, a mob gathered outside her home bent on torch- a terrifying reality come to fruition. numbering in the thousands stormed ing the entire Christian community if the — Frank Crimi the police station where Abbas was being young girl was not immediately arrested. FrontPage Magazine held, whereupon they dragged Abbas to Yet, while imprisoned, the cleric who March 14, 2013 the spot where he purportedly desecrated accused Rimsha was himself arrested and the Koran, poured gasoline over him, and charged with planting the burned pages, Black clad Muslim terrorists attacked then burned him to death as he screamed the result of which led Pakistan’s Supreme Christians in the Northern Nigeria State for help. Court in January 2013 to acquit Rimsha of of Kaduna on Saturday night, 23 February. So given all that it’s not terribly sur- all charges of blasphemy. Witnesses said that the gunmen spoke in prising that Pakistan’s religious minorities, Then, shortly after Rimsha’s acquittal, Fulani. The majority of the Fulani tribe are as well as some Muslims, are attempting to Barkat Masih, a Hindu who had converted Muslim. The assailants carried sophisti- amend the blasphemy laws, efforts which to Christianity and spent 18 months in cated weapons and shot up the Christian can carry some deadly consequences. prison after he was accused of blasphemy village on a 3-hour killing spree. In 2011, two Pakistani Christian poli- in 2011, was acquitted in February 2013 Without Warning John Audi, of St. ticians attempting to repeal the blasphemy by Pakistan’s Supreme Court and released. Patricks Church said: “The raid came as a laws were assassinated: Punjab Governor Finally, in March, Karma Patras, a shock, as area Christians had been living Salman Taseer, the only Christian minister 55-year-old Christian pastor charged without enmity toward anyone. We were in Pakistan’s Cabinet, was shot and killed in October 2012 with blasphemy, was all scattered, and some that were shot by one of his own guards; two months released on bail as he was awaiting his trial were crying. We all ran for cover where we later Shahbaz Bhatti, the Minister for because his accuser had acknowledged believed we could avoid being hit by the Minority Affairs, was gunned down by that he had mistakenly accused Patras of bullets.” Islamists. committing blasphemy Failure of Security Forces Bishop Yet, there are those in Pakistan who Still, while that decision was a stun- Danlami Bello, of the First African Church contend that tentative signs are emerging ning rarity given that victims of false commented: “This village was attacked that signal a weakening of support for the accusations of blasphemy are usually for three hours, yet no help came to our blasphemy laws, change prompted in part denied bail, Patras is still mired deep in the people here. These attacks have gone un- by the international outrage generated by Pakistani judicial woods. hindered without security agencies com-

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ing to the scenes of the attacks to assist the expressed their frustration at how so churches give little, or no, attention to Christian victims. There is no doubt that many Christians in the West seem to remembering the persecuted, praying for this attack, like many others on Christian ignore the rising tide of anti-Christian the persecuted and serving the persecuted communities in Northern Nigeria, were by violence throughout the Middle East. The Churches. Muslim leaders in Nigeria to Islamise the Church is meant to be one Body. Where “Remember the prisoners as if country by force; forcing Christians into is the love and concern for our brethren? chained with them - those who are mis- submitting to Islam.” Many Christians seem to want to delude treated - since you yourselves are in the Victims of Jihad themselves that Islam is a peaceful and body also.” Hebrews 13:3 Rev. Casmire Yabo, of the First African tolerant religion. It is a good thing they are — Peter Hammond Church Mission in Aduwan, said that peaceful and tolerant - imagine if they were Frontline Fellowship church members who hid in the bushes violent! “Their feet are swift to shed blood; March 22, 2013 reported seeing 10 assailants leaving after destruction and misery are in their ways; Sexuality the attack. Amongst the slain was an and the way of peace they have not known. On July 1, 2012, a law went into effect infant, Alexander Blessed and a young girl, There is no fear of God before their eyes.” in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Happiness Adamu. 22-year old Felix Saul Romans 3:15-18 titled “An Act Relative to Gender Identity.” of Rebok village was killed in the attack. Pray for Nigeria It is so important for The law added the term “gender identity” He was a final year student at a public high our brethren in Northern Nigeria know to the state’s antidiscrimination statute, school and a member of the church choir. that they are not alone, that they are not joining far better known terms like “race,” Also killed were Theresa Bulus, 35-year old forgotten. “religion,” “sex” and “national origin.” The member of the Baptist Church of Kagaro, Christian Civilisation at Risk Our statute now also applies to “gender-related and 20-year old, Yacham Ayuba, of the Nigerian brethren are also deeply con- identity, appearance or behavior, whether First African Church Mission in Mado- cerned over the Islamic invasion of much or not that gender-related identity, appear- biya. At least 5 people from 5 different of Europe and North America. They fear ance, or behavior is different from that churches were killed during this terrorist that Europe will become Eurabia, and traditionally associated with the person’s raid and 11 Christians were hospitalised. that parts of America and Canada will fall physiology or assigned sex at birth.” The Martha Blessed was shot as she tried to under Shari’a law. Many Christians are hav- common term these days is “transgender.” protect her infant son. Bullets broke both ing such small families and the Muslims The need for this addition to the legs of a 13-year old Christian girl, Gloria are having such large families. Because of antidiscrimination law was never clear. Livinus. this massive migration by Muslims into The existing statute appeared to apply to Church Bombed The Evangelical Western countries which have traditionally every citizen of Massachusetts who could Church Winning All (ECWA) auditorium been Christian, the whole demograph- conceivably be the object of discrimina- was damaged in a bomb blast. Cracks ics of Europe and North America are in tion. “Sexual orientation” was already on caused by the explosion have destabilised danger of shifting. The faith and freedoms the menu. the structure which could fall at any time. of those countries which are traditional The new law’s strongest proponents Bishop Bello called for sustained prayer for Missionary sending nations are being estimated that no more than 33,000 Christians under attack in Northern Nige- undermined. There is an urgent need for people would come under the umbrella of ria and urged Christians worldwide to call Church to wake up and understand the those having “gender identity” concerns. on their governments to assist the Nigerian true nature of Islam and the crisis threaten- That means the statute was rewritten governments in defending against such ing churches worldwide. to cover 0.51% of the state’s population Islamic terror attacks. Persecution Today More than 400 (6,464,144 as of July 2012, according to Do Christians Care About Their million Christians in 66 countries world- the U.S. Census Bureau), even though ad- Persecuted Brethren? Nigerian Chris- wide suffer under religious persecution. vocates for the change were never able to tians who visited our Mission last night Yet little is heard about this and many show evidence of widespread transgender

May 2013 Page 15 a look at our world from the desk of dr. david noebel, continued from page 1315 discrimination. about their gender get any bright ideas, sexuality are central to at least five lawsuits, There was always a hint of the absurd the guidelines are ready: The transgender including two before the Supreme Court in the movement for “An Act Relative to feelings must be “sincerely held.” School next month. Gender Identity.” Now the absurdity has staff can challenge anyone who seems to be A key argument in the battle over come to the fore with the Massachusetts making the assertion for “some improper same-sex marriage is whether homosexual- Department of Education’s directives for purpose.”) If a female student feels uncom- ity is inborn and “immutable,” and whether the treatment of transgendered public- fortable and objects to the boy’s presence gays, as a class of people, need special school students under the law. It’s not clear when she is in the bathroom, the rules say, protection or “heightened scrutiny” from how many students are among those the the complaint “is not a reason to deny ac- the courts on equal-rights issues. law is intended to protect, but the educa- cess to the transgender student.” Attorneys David Boies and Theodore tion bureaucrats are looking out for them. It is a given that nearly all teenage girls Olson made these exact points in their new The 11-page directive, released on Feb. 15, will feel deeply uncomfortable having an brief to the Supreme Court in Holling- reads like it was written by someone who anatomical male of any sort using the same sworth v. Perry, the California case chal- believes that anatomical and biological bathroom or locker-room shower. That lenging a proposition passed by state voters differences between the sexes are about is the reality of human life, and no young essentially blocking same-sex marriage. as significant as the differences between woman should be forced to endure such “Because of their sexual orientation individuals in shoe size or hair color. embarrassment. As for an anatomical but — a characteristic with which they were Some of the highlights include allow- transgender girl showering in the boys born and which they cannot change — ing transgendered and gender-questioning locker room, that hardly bears contemplat- plaintiffs and hundreds of thousands of gay students to use the bathrooms of their ing. men and lesbians in California and across choice or to play on sports teams that At least the guidelines seem to recog- the country are being excluded from one correspond to the gender with which they nize the trouble they invite: “The Depart- of life’s most precious relationships. They identify. Schools are directed to eliminate ment strongly recommends that districts may not marry the person they love,” the gender-based clothing (at some gradua- include an appropriate number of gender- attorneys wrote Thursday on behalf of the tions, boys wear blue robes and girls wear neutral restrooms commensurate with the American Foundation for Equal Rights, white, or they used to) and gender-based size of the school, and at least one gender- an organization that seeks to overturn the activities (including not having boys and neutral changing facility, into the design of state’s Proposition 8 and legalize same-sex girls line up separately to leave the class- new schools and school renovations.” marriage in the state. room). But what the guidelines don’t rec- “Sexual orientation is ‘immutable’ or Transgender students are those whose ognize is that it is impossible to erase the beyond the group member’s control,” the assigned birth sex doesn’t match their differences between the sexes, even if a brief added, one key reason that the high “internalized sense of their gender,” the politically connected few would wish it so. court should give heightened scrutiny to directive says, and they “range in the ways in It is entirely possible, though, to erase com- the gay respondents’ claims that they face which they identify as male, female, some mon sense and replace it with a policy that discrimination under the Constitution. combination of both, or neither.” There- gives transgender students more rights and Opponents of same-sex marriage fore, “the responsibility for determining privileges than their classmates. reject the central premise of the challenge, a student’s gender identity rests with the — James Erhard countering that homosexuality is neither student.” Wall Street Journal permanent nor inborn. Under the order of the guidelines, a March 4, 2013, p. 13 Thousands of individuals with un- 16-year-old high-school junior who says wanted same-sex attraction “have made the that he believes he is a girl has the right to Lady Gaga may belt out that gays personal decision to leave homosexuality,” use the girls bathroom and locker room. are “born this way,” but questions about and this “ex-gay community” is receiving (But before boys who are unconfused the origin and unchangeability of homo- “growing recognition” in courts, govern-

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ment and business entities, attorney Dean force the act because of doubts about its professional, medical, mental health and R. Broyles wrote in his brief for Parents & constitutionality, formally urged the high child-welfare groups recently filed a brief in Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays, in support of court to strike down the portion of the law support of it. Proposition 8. barring the federal government from rec- These 10 briefs “underscore the The brief tells the stories of two men ognizing the rights of gays married in states unified message” that “efforts to change a and two women “who have done exactly where same-sex unions are legal. child’s sexual orientation are cruel, damag- what” a California federal judge said they The 1996 law “denies to tens of ing and have no place in the provision of couldn’t do: “They chose to change their thousands of same-sex couples who are mental health care,” said Shannon Minter, orientation and now live in opposite-sex legally married under state law an array of legal director for the National Center for relationships despite having been deeply important federal benefits that are available Lesbian Rights, a co-sponsor of the law. entrenched in same-sex relationships,” Mr. to legally married opposite-sex couples,” Supporters of sexual-orientation Broyles wrote. the brief read in part. Because this discrimi- change efforts, who like many gay mar- A struggle to define nation cannot be justified as substantially riage opponents say same-sex attractions Science doesn’t agree on a definition furthering any important governmental are not permanent or inborn, argue that for homosexuality, bisexuality or even interest, [the section] is unconstitutional.” youths who want to escape such attrac- sexual orientation, Dr. Paul McHugh, a Many legal observers think that if the tions should be able to receive counseling psychiatry professor at Johns Hopkins high court finds sexual orientation to be to support that goal, and SB 1172 illegally University School of Medicine, said in a protected class deserving of heightened interferes in that free and protected speech. a brief filed by Gerald Bradley of Notre scrutiny, the court will hand the gay clients Therapist David Pickup, who benefited Dame Law School in support of Proposi- victories and overturn both marriage laws. from sexual-orientation change therapy, is tion 8. Therapy lawsuits one of the supporters in the lawsuit filed The high court should resist tak- Three more lawsuits revolve around by Liberty Counsel. Therapists Donald ing “the momentous step” of assigning whether homosexuality is innate and Welch and Anthony Duk, and counselor- “heightened scrutiny” to people based on unchangeable. in-training Aaron Bitzer are plaintiffs in sexual orientation, Dr. McHugh advised. In California, the 9th U.S. Circuit a second lawsuit against the law, this one A legally protected classification must be Court of Appeals in San Francisco is slated filed by the Pacific Justice Institute. “discrete” and “determined solely by ac- to hear arguments the week of April 15 in In New Jersey Superior Court in cident of birth,” like race or national origin. two lawsuits against SB 1172, a California Hudson County, the Southern Poverty “Sexual orientation fails that test,” he said. law that forbids teens and children from Law Center is seeking damages and the li- The Supreme Court is set to hear receiving sexual-orientation change efforts. cense revocation of Jonah, an organization arguments on these issues March 26 in The law is not being implemented as the formerly known as Jews Offering New the Proposition 8 case, and March 27 in a legal challenge plays out. Alternatives for Healing. separate case, Windsor v. United States of The law was enacted out of concern In Ferguson v. Jonah, four gay men America. In the latter case, Edith Wind- that gay children and teens are harmed and their family members say they suffered sor of New York is suing to overturn the by efforts to change their “normal” and consumer fraud when Jonah’s paid coun- federal Defense of Marriage Act of 1996 “natural” same-sex attractions, according selors failed to help the men change their because it blocked the federal government to legal briefs, including one filed by four sexual orientations. The “therapy” caused from recognizing her Canadian marriage gay men who “survived” sexual-orientation deep psychological scars, said plaintiff to her longtime lesbian partner and cost change efforts and the sister of a gay man Sheldon Bruck, who talked with a Jonah- her more than $363,000 in federal estate who committed suicide when the efforts recommended therapist for several weeks taxes. didn’t work for him. when he was 17. The Obama administration, which California Gov. Jerry Brown’s ad- Charles LiMandri, president of the has announced that it would not en- ministration is defending the law, and 10 Freedom of Conscience Defense Fund, is

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representing Jonah and its officials, Arthur that Bell has jumped off is the same cliff them for the eternal fire. Goldberg and Alan Downing. If legal that I held fast to when I left the Episcopa- Therefore those who remain Bible- principle establishes that homosexuality lian Church. I chose the way of Jesus. Un- believing Christians should never panic is fixed and immutable, “the adverse con- fortunately, Bell and others have chosen nor be surprised when we see the weeds sequences for religious liberty, freedom of the way of Judas. revealed. We should not be surprised, but conscience and freedom of speech will be “Shock jocks” in the church are not neither should we gloat. Far from it. simply staggering,” he said Friday. “We’re new. They love to make a splash on their It is a tragedy. We should grieve and in the thick of it.” way from light to darkness. weep and feel the depth of sorrow for — Cheryl Wetzstein In fact, I venture to say that most of them. May God have mercy on us all. The Washington Times them—like Bell and Bishop Spong before — Michael Youssef March 14, 2013, p. 16 him—traveled alongside those in the Townhall.com light, but in reality, were never in the light March 24, 2013 Liberal Theology themselves. They faked their evangelical- When evangelical preachers lose ism until they could fake it no more. The Philosophy their way and turn their backs on biblical pressure to be accepted by modern society Richard Dawkins is a scientist who Christianity, why is it they end up in the became too great, and the wolves had to is apparently either extraordinarily bored Episcopal Church? remove their sheep coverings and come with his discipline, or hopelessly oblivious As a preacher who traveled in the out. Then they often found a welcoming to its limits. opposite direction and left the Episcopal audience in the Episcopal Church, who From his tireless defenses of atheism Church 22 years ago—or I should say the also had long ago given into the need for to his recent tweet on abortion, Dawkins, Episcopal Church left me—I think I have acceptance from the world. you see, spends very little time, it seems, a clue. However, Mr. Bell’s pronouncement sticking to what he knows. Instead, he is On March 18, the Huffington Post of the demise of Bible-believing Christian- busy away treating his background in sci- reported that Rob Bell, the one-time ity may be premature. To be sure, statistics ence as the supreme credential for making evangelical pastor who rejected the core of back his assertion that many people are pronouncements on all matters religious Christian faith, has endorsed homosexual rejecting biblical faith. But that only serves and moral. marriage. to strengthen true believers. Dawkins’ is a textbook case of Ama- Where was that endorsement made? From the beginning, Jesus taught teur Philosopher Syndrome (APS)—the Surprise, surprise: Grace Cathedral, the that true believers would always be small delusion that because one is an expert Episcopal Cathedral of the Diocese of in number, but their impact would be on the physical, one is an expert on the California. Grace Cathedral is located in inversely proportional to their size. metaphysical—the stuff that scientists San Francisco, the Mecca of homosexual- After all, martyrdom served as the have traditionally left to the philosophers ity and all things anti-biblical. seed of the church, and it may do that and theologians to study. Bell is now living in California, where again. Just this past weekend, he got people he’s promoting his book, Love Wins. The Bell refers to biblical Christianity as talking about him after he fired off a tweet book has propelled Bell to a stardom of a “dying” subculture, but he of all people regarding abortion in which he said that sorts, even though it rejected a cornerstone should know what Jesus said. For Bell once “any fetus is less human than an adult pig.” of Christian faith—that no salvation is opened the Bible and taught from it. When a biologist, as a biologist, uses possible except through faith in Jesus We know that the sheep and the goats the term “human,” we expect for it to refer Christ. Ultimately, that rejection caused will get mixed up until God begins to to that which is, well, biologically human. his split with mega-church Mars Hill Bible separate them. The wheat and weeds will A human fetus, then, is obviously more hu- Church in Grandville, Michigan. grow together until harvest time, when man than a pig, for the latter isn’t human The solid cliff of the Christian gospel the angels will bind the weeds and bundle at all. Dawkins, however, uses “human”

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here in a moral sense, for he is interested in Dawkins’ position on abortion is just FrontPage Magazine showing that abortion is permissible. “‘Hu- as amateurish as his stance on the question March 22, 2013 man’ features relevant to the morality of of theism, belief in God’s existence. Not Radical Environmentalism abortion,” he tweets, “include [the] ability unlike most people, Dawkins thinks that Electric cars are promoted as the chic to feel pain, fear etc & to be mourned by science has it within itself the ability to harbinger of an environmentally benign fu- others.” undermine belief in God’s existence. This ture. Ads assure us of “zero emissions,” and To be clear, there is nothing in the least is probably the one big blunder of which President Obama has promised a million bit scientific or descriptive about Dawkins’ both theist and atheist alike are guilty. The on the road by 2015. With sales for 2012 comments on this score. His training in reality is that science can no more disprove coming in at about 50,000, that million-car science no more qualifies him to speak or prove God’s existence than can a paint- figure is a pipe dream. Consumers remain to the moral standing of abortion than ing of the ocean establish the number of wary of the cars’ limited range, higher price does a person’s experience as a janitor or gallons that the ocean contains. and the logistics of battery-charging. But a dishwasher endow him with any special In short, in theory science has no for those who do own an electric car, at authority to do the same. bearing on religion, for each speaks to a least there is the consolation that it’s truly And his handling of the abortion issue world separate from the other. green, right? Not really. shows this in spades. The world of the scientist is an abstrac- For proponents such as the actor and Dawkins reasons here as if what he’s tion. It consists of causes and effects, activist Leonardo DiCaprio, the main said hasn’t been said thousands of times bodies, structures, processes, material argument is that their electric cars— over by abortion apologists. Worse, he forces, objects and categories of various whether it’s a $100,000 Fisker Karma proceeds as if he was utterly ignorant of the sorts—e.g. genera and species, etc. By (Mr. DiCaprio’s ride) or a $28,000 Nissan fact that even those philosophers who have definition, this is a “natural”—a purely Leaf—don’t contribute to global warming. used his argument have conceded that natural—world, a universe that doesn’t And, sure, electric cars don’t emit carbon- it is fraught with pitfalls. This ignorance, allow for any intelligence or mind that isn’t dioxide on the road. But the energy used though, is a common symptom of APS. ultimately reducible to matter in motion. for their manufacture and continual bat- If Dawkins is correct and an entity is The methods of science ensure this. tery charges certainly does—far more than human only if it is sentient (able “to feel In contrast, the world of religion (and most people realize. pain, fear etc.) and “be mourned by oth- morality) is comprised of, not causes, but A 2012 comprehensive life-cycle ers,” then our duties to pigs, rats, bats, and reasons; not matter, but mind; not objects, analysis in Journal of Industrial Ecology all sorts of other animals are no different but subjects; not forces and processes, but shows that almost half the lifetime carbon- than those that we owe to one another, for intentions and purposes. It is a world of dioxide emissions from an electric car all of these are sentient and, in the right believers and unbelievers, moral agents come from the energy used to produce contexts, capable of being enjoyed and and moral patients, virtues, vices, duties, the car, especially the battery. The mining mourned by others. Furthermore, those rights, good and evil. of lithium, for instance, is a less than green members of the human race who are less In conflating these two worlds into activity. By contrast, the manufacture of sensitive to pain than others must thereby one, Dawkins destroys them both. In a gas-powered car accounts for 17% of its be deemed less human than others, and bringing morality and religion before the lifetime carbon-dioxide emissions. When those humans whose sufferings or death tribunal of science, Dawkins betrays an an electric car rolls off the production line, fail to elicit the sympathies of their fellows astonishing ignorance of the characters of it has already been responsible for 30,000 must then be relegated to the ranks of the morality, religion, and science. pounds of carbon-dioxide emission. The non-human. This, though, is exactly what we amount for making a conventional car: This is where Dawkins’ logic leads. should expect from one ravaged by Ama- 14,000 pounds. But afflicted as he is with APS, Dawkins teur Philosopher Syndrome. While electric-car owners may cruise apparently hasn’t thought it through. — Jack Kerwick around feeling virtuous, they still recharge

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using electricity overwhelmingly pro- Even if the electric car is driven for widely published Danish professor and duced with fossil fuels. Thus, the life-cycle 90,000 miles and the owner stays away director of one of the world’s leading envi- analysis shows that for every mile driven, from coal-powered electricity, the car ronmental think tanks, the Copenhagen the average electric car indirectly emits will cause just 24% less carbon-dioxide Consensus Center, published an article about six ounces of carbon-dioxide. This is emission than its gas-powered cousin. This about the Philippines’ decision, after 12 still a lot better than a similar-size conven- is a far cry from “zero emissions.” Over years, to allow genetically modified (GM) tional car, which emits about 12 ounces its entire lifetime, the electric car will be rice -- “golden rice” -- to be grown and per mile. But remember, the production of responsible for 8.7 tons of carbon dioxide consumed in that country. the electric car has already resulted in size- less than the average conventional car. The reason for the delay was environ- able emissions—the equivalent of 80,000 Those 8.7 tons may sound like a mentalist opposition to GM rice; and the miles of travel in the vehicle. considerable amount, but it’s not. The cur- reason for the change in Philippine policy So unless the electric car is driven a rent best estimate of the global warming was that 4.4 million Filipino children suffer lot, it will never get ahead environmentally. damage of an extra ton of carbon-dioxide from vitamin A deficiency. That deficiency, And that turns out to be a challenge. Con- is about $5. This means an optimistic Lomborg writes, “according to the World sider the Nissan Leaf. It has only a 73-mile assessment of the avoided carbon-dioxide Health Organization, causes 250,000 to range per charge. Drivers attempting long associated with an electric car will allow 500,000 children to go blind each year. Of road trips, as in one BBC test drive, have the owner to spare the world about $44 in these, half die within a year.” reported that recharging takes so long climate damage. On the European emis- During the 12-year delay, Lomborg that the average speed is close to six miles sions market, credit for 8.7 tons of carbon- continues, “About eight million children per hour—a bit faster than your average dioxide costs $48. worldwide died from vitamin A defi- jogger. Yet the U.S. federal government essen- ciency.” To make matters worse, the batteries tially subsidizes electric-car buyers with up “Golden rice” contains vitamin A, in electric cars fade with time, just as they to $7,500. In addition, more than $5.5 bil- making it by far the most effective and do in a cellphone. Nissan estimates that lion in federal grants and loans go directly cheapest way to get vitamin A into Third after five years, the less effective batteries to battery and electric-car manufacturers World children. in a typical Leaf bring the range down to like California-based Fisker Automotive So who would oppose something that 55 miles. As the MIT Technology Review and Tesla Motors . This is a very poor deal could save millions of children’s lives and cautioned last year: “Don’t Drive Your Nis- for taxpayers. millions of other children from blindness? san Leaf Too Much.” The electric car might be great in a The answer is people who are more If a typical electric car is driven 50,000 couple of decades but as a way to tackle devoted to nature than to human life. miles over its lifetime, the huge initial global warming now it does virtually And who might such people be? emissions from its manufacture means the nothing. The real challenge is to get green They are called environmentalists. car will actually have put more carbon- energy that is cheaper than fossil fuels. These are the people who coerced dioxide in the atmosphere than a similar- That requires heavy investment in green nations worldwide into banning DDT. size gasoline-powered car driven the same research and development. Spending in- It is generally estimated this ban has led number of miles. Similarly, if the energy stead on subsidizing electric cars is putting to the deaths of about 50 million human used to recharge the electric car comes the cart before the horse, and an inconve- beings, overwhelmingly African children, mostly from coal-fired power plants, it will nient and expensive cart at that. from malaria. DDT kills the mosquito that be responsible for the emission of almost — Brian Lomborg spreads malaria to human beings. 15 ounces of carbon-dioxide for every Wall Street Journal US News and World Report writer one of the 50,000 miles it is driven—three March 11, 2013, p. A 15 Carrie Lukas reported in 2010, “Fortu- ounces more than a similar gas-powered nately, in September 2006, the World car. Last week, Bjorn Lomborg, the Health Organization announced a change

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in policy: It now recommends DDT for less egregious examples of the movement’s March 4, 2013, p. 28 indoor use to fight malaria. The organiza- lack of concern for people. Marxism-Leninism tion’s Dr. Anarfi Asamoa-Baah explained, Take the Keystone XL pipeline, the There’s an old joke from the Cold War. ‘The scientific and programmatic evidence pipeline the Canadian government wants It went like this: Hardline East German clearly supports this reassessment. Indoor built in the US in order to send Canadian communist Walter Ulbricht (who erected residual spraying (IRS) is useful to quickly crude to American refineries. It would be the Berlin Wall) died and went to hell. reduce the number of infections caused a 1,179-mile, 36-inch-diameter crude oil There, the devil gave him a choice between by malaria-carrying mosquitoes. IRS has pipeline, beginning in Alberta, and ending the socialist sector and the capitalist sector. proven to be just as cost effective as other in Nebraska. The pipeline will be able to Devoted to the end, Ulbricht stuck to the malaria prevention measures and DDT transport about 830,000 barrels of oil per faith, saying: “I’ll go to the socialist sector.” presents no health risk when used prop- day to Gulf Coast and Midwest refineries, “Good choice,” averred the devil. “Over erly.’” reducing American dependence on oil in the capitalist sector, they’re getting the Though Lukas blames environmen- from Venezuela -- Iran’s base in the West- full hellfire treatment. But in the socialist talists for tens of millions of deaths, she ern Hemisphere -- and the Middle East sector, they’ve run out of coal.” nevertheless describes environmentalists by up to 40 percent. It will also provide Say what you want of Hugo Chavez, as “undoubtedly well-intentioned.” Americans with many thousands of well- of his tactics, of his beliefs, and (as many I offer two assessments of this judg- paying jobs. are doing) of perhaps where he might ment. Approving this pipeline is a moral and be right now, but this much is certain: he First, in life it is almost always irrel- economic necessity. stuck to the faith. evant whether or not an individual or a The American economy needs the Many of us were downright amazed movement is well intentioned. It is difficult pipeline -- even big labor wants it; it vastly when Chavez, in his late 50s and desper- to name a movement that has commit- reduces American dependency on coun- ately ill from cancer, opted to go to Cuba ted great evil whose members woke up tries that wish to hurt us; it helps our ally for treatment. It was a surefire death sen- each day asking, “What evil can I commit and biggest trading partner, Canada; and if tence. Only the most hopelessly devoted today?” Nearly all of them think they’re America doesn’t use that oil, China will. communist would be so naïve. Loaded well intentioned. Good intentions don’t But the Obama administration may with vast wealth he stole from his people, mean a thing. (again) veto the Keystone XL pipeline Chavez effectively chose acupuncture over Second, while environmentalists -- for one reason: environmentalist fanati- the 21st-century healthcare widely avail- believe they have good intentions, I do not cism. able anywhere in the West. believe their intentions are good. The employment of thousands of And yet, the Venezuelan dictator Concern for the natural environment Americans, the well-being of the American clung to his religion. He went to Havana. is certainly laudable and every normal per- economy and American national security Chavez apparently gained some mea- son shares it. But the organized environ- -- all of these concerns are secondary to sure of comfort near the aging breast of mentalist movement -- Lomborg specifi- the environmentalist movement’s view of his dying, beloved Fidel. He had so much cally cites Greenpeace, Naomi Klein and nature uber alles. in common with Castro, admiring the the New York Times -- is led by fanatics. There are many fine people who are totalitarian’s unparalleled, unprecedented The movement’s value system is morally concerned with the environment. Indeed, seizure of power and resources, all in the askew. It places a pristine natural world we should all be. But the movement name of redistribution and “social justice.” above the well-being of human beings. known as environmentalism is not only a Like Fidel, he pilfered enough riches The environmentalist movement’s false religion, it is one that allows human from the ostracized affluent class to make responsibility for the deaths of tens of mil- sacrifice. himself one of the world’s wealthiest lead- lions of poor children in the Third World is — Dennis Prager ers. As he did, he churned the propaganda, the most egregious example. But there are The Washington Times blaming his nation’s every ill on his prede-

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predecessors and on the alleged crimi- Yes, even to Hugo Chavez, Barack America but for the world.” nality of the very same rich—as Fidel has Obama equaled hope; the theological That means two American states are done, as the left generally has done. virtue of Obama. The Venezuelan caudillo to the left of the Scandinavian countries, A few years back, my wife and I were inspiringly appealed to David Axelrod’s Holland, and every other liberal country in Washington meeting with an old friend legendary campaign slogan. regarding marijuana. from grad-school days, a native of Venezu- And like Obama, Chavez just as CBS4 quotes a number of local high ela named Daria. When we introduced quickly jettisoned the words of hope when school students: her to another acquaintance, she remarked less-inspiring rhetoric better suited his “I’ve seen a lot more people just walk- with a sad smile, “I’m from Venezuela. intentions. He excelled at blaming things ing down the street smoking (joints),” high We’re communist now.” on the rich, on profit seekers, on greedy school student Irie Johnson said. In Chavez’s partial defense—and this corporations, on nefarious jet-owners and “In high school it has kind of gotten isn’t saying much—he never achieved millionaires and billionaires, on banks, on out of hand,” student Alaina Tanenbaum the scales of collectivism and depths of investors, and, of course, on George W. said. depravity of Fidel Castro, or of the world’s Bush. Unlike Obama, who he spoke of in According to the CBS4 report, based really bad communists. Venezuela didn’t angelic terms, Chavez called George W. in part on data from a local drug testing become Cuba or the Soviet Union. Bush a “devil.” lab: “Experts say the test results show that Needless to say, Hugo Chavez was no Joe Chavez often seemed to invoke the children are getting higher than ever with Stalin—even as, remarkably, he died on devil. alarming levels of THC, marijuana’s active the 60th anniversary of Stalin’s death. Alinsky-like, Chavez constantly ingredient, in their bodies.” Nonetheless, like any man of the left, isolated his targets and demonized them, The massive increase in both the he had his enemy groups, and he used calling them “degenerates,” “squealing number of users and the amount of mari- them to full advantage. Some of these pigs,” and “counter-revolutionaries.” It was juana used by young people is precisely assorted villains were flagged in a curi- pure demagoguery. what I, and many others, predicted. ous Washington Post obituary which In this, and more, Hugo Chavez was It was easy to predict. headlined Chavez as a “passionate” albeit faithful to the very end. Did he really think When something desirable is made “polarizing” figure. What earned him even he would be healed in Havana? Was there easier to obtain, more people will obtain it. this slight compliment from the Post? no other hope? Or, in the end, maybe faith It is difficult to imagine an exception to this Who knows? The same article noted that was all that Chavez had. He should have common sense observation. Chavez referred to the Catholic Church learned from millions of Cubans over the So, legalizing marijuana is foolish hierarchy as “devils in vestments.” But last 50-plus years: faith in Fidel leads only because it leads to far more use of the drug perhaps the Post was impressed less with to destruction and death. and the availability of ever more potent Chavez’s opprobrium for the Catholic — Paul Kengor forms. But the foolishness doesn’t end Church than his encomiums for Barack Townhall.com there. Equally foolish is that as a society Obama. Law we have made peace with marijuana while Of course, Chavez was a big fan of Denver television station CBS4 making war on tobacco. This has been a Obama. He made this clear the first year of reports that Colorado has seen a sharp classic example of upside down thinking, Obama’s presidency. In an extraordinary spike in marijuana use among teenagers and we are reaping exactly what we have statement at the United Nations that Sep- since Colorado voters passed Amendment sown. We have produced a generation of tember, Chavez sniffed, “It doesn’t smell of 64 last November legalizing recreational young Americans who would never put sulfur here anymore.” This was a swipe at use of the drug. As described in The a cigarette or cigar near their lips but who former President George W. Bush. Waxing Economist, along with a Washington State increasingly get high on pot. almost spiritual, Chavez mused: “It smells measure also legalizing marijuana, Amend- Yes, tobacco -- specifically cigarettes of something else. It smells of hope.” ment 64 is “an electoral first not only for -- kills and marijuana doesn’t. But, forgive

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the ultimate political incorrectness, young be the first American generation to live people would do much better in life if they materially inferior to the their parents; and smoked tobacco rather than weed. robbed their innocence with sex education First, tobacco doesn’t kill young peo- classes, now beginning in kindergarten ple. When it kills, it generally kills much in Chicago and elsewhere. Now they are older people. Moreover, according to a making marijuana available to more kids recent issue of the New England Journal of and in greater potency than ever before. Medicine, if you stop smoking cigarettes But they have left them with higher by age 44, you will lose only one more year self-esteem. of life than a person who never smoked. — Dennis Prager Second, regular pot smokers increas- Townhall.com ingly tune out of life, becoming what are March 15, 2013 known as potheads, or, to put it bluntly, losers. Third, as noted in the CBS4 report, “new studies that have been published say the risk of a car accident increases two-fold after someone consumes pot.” In other words, innocent human beings -- some- times whole families -- are more likely to be maimed, paralyzed and killed by pot smokers than by cigarette smokers. For myriad reasons, then, I would far prefer my teenager indulge in cigarettes -- not to mention cigars -- than pot. Anyone who thinks that pot is less harmful to a teenager than tobacco is fooling himself -- and his teenager. If this is not obvious, ponder these questions: Would you rather your airplane pilot smoke pot or tobacco while flying? How would Britain have fared in World War II if Winston Churchill had smoked pot instead of cigars? In terms of the effects of tobacco and pot on the smoker while smoking, there is simply no comparison between pot and tobacco. What the left has done to America’s youth in the last 40 or so years is so dam- aging as to be unforgiveable. They have ruined public school education; left them with so much debt that they will likely

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