Leaders - How’s Your Passion?

Leaders: Are You Tired?

http://asistasjourney.com/2011/10/12/leaders-are-you-tired/#more-1393

by Natasha S. Robinson

12WednesdayOct 2011

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I attended a leadership course a couple weeks ago and the professor asked the class a trick question. “What’s the opposite of tired?”

Take some time to think about that for a moment.

“What’s the opposite of tired?”

I was waiting to see where he was going with this question when some of my classmates started offering their responses which included various forms of rest.

Some subconsciously thought that the opposite of being tired is being well rested. “Not so,” the professor continued.

“The opposite of tired is not rest; the opposite of tired is passion!”

Ah ha, that was a revelation. Part of the revelation is that on many levels we do have rest, safety, security in the comfort, care, and presence of our father, God. At the same time, faith in that relationship is evident in our work, and there is lots of work to be done.

My mind immediately flooded with the passages where Jesus basically stated that he had limited moments of physical rest and that the disciples should go and do likewise.

Jesus: “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nets, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head (Matthew 8:20 NIV).”

Jesus to the disciples: “As you go, preach this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven is near,’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. Do not take along any gold or silver or cooper in your belts; take no bag for the journey, or extra tunic, or sandals or a staff; for the worker is worth his keep (Matthew 10:6-10).”

That’s a lot of work, and with no assurance of resources. Jesus is calling his disciples to a life of continuous sacrifice. He is calling for an emptying of ourselves and complete reliance on him.

The Holy Spirit within us does not tire; he does not grow weary; he does not need rest. On his strength we can rely completely.

Do you not know?

Have you not heard?

The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.

He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.

He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.

- Isaiah 40:28-29 NIV

That is the same strength and power that sustained Jesus as he went to the cross. We refer to his obedience as the Passion of the Christ or the Passion of the Cross. On that journey, he spoke the words,

“My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death (Matthew 26:38).”

“My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will (Matthew 26:39b, 42, &44).” Notice that he prayed these words three times!

Then he returned to his disciples and stated, “Are you still sleeping and resting (Matthew 26:45)?”

This is a warning to us, as Christians and leaders that we should not be sleeping or resting in the moments when Christ calls us to be awake. We should not sleep on the issues where God calls us to action. We should not rest in the time with God’s name is at stake. We are redeemed for a passionate response particularly in the critical moments. These last days are critical!

In our human flesh, will our physical bodies tire? Certainly. Are there times that we need to sleep and rest? Most definitely.

In those moments of weakness, however, we need to be more passionate in prayer, more reliant on the Holy Spirit, and more spiritually awake than ever, for Jesus said to his disciples, “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak (Matthew 26:41)?”

Are you tired, rested, or spiritually awake? How’s your passion?

© Natasha S. Robinson 2011

Geroge Herbert, "Easter Wings" (poem)

Easter Wings from The Temple (1633), by George Herbert The same poem turned about on itself forms a pair of wings  The poem is usually printed in modern anthologies as seen above. In the 1633 edition. the poem is printed as seen in the scanned copy below, making it look more like its title. For a different placement here are copies of the Williams Manuscript (also called MS. Jones B 62 in Dr. Williams Library) The Bodleian MS (also called MS Tanner) page 1 of "Easter-wings"  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Bringing Christian classic books to life http://www.ccel.org/ George Herbert, The Temple - http://www.ccel.org/h/herbert/temple/TempleFrames.html George Herbert, The Priest to the Temple - http://www.ccel.org/ccel/herbert?show=worksBy George Herbert - (1593-1633), Poet and divine George Herbert was born to a noble family in Wales; his mother was patron to John Donne who dedicated his 'Holy Sonnets' to her. He was educated at Westminster School and Trinity College, Cambridge, where in 1620 he was elected to the prestigious post of Public Orator. His first two sonnets were sent to his mother in 1610. On the theme that the love of God is a worthier subject for verse than the love of woman. They foreshadowed his future religious and poetic inclinations, but at first Herbert seemed bent on a secular career, much involved in court life and Member of Parliament for Montgomery in Wales from 1624-5. His only published verse during this period was in Greek and Latin, for formal occasions. In 1627, however, he resigned as Orator and was ordained a priest, becoming rector at Bemerton in Wiltshire where he was noted for his diligence and humility, traits reflected in his poetry which also expresses the conflict between the religious and worldly life. When he realized he was dying of consumption, he sent a collection of his poems in manuscript to his friend Nicholas Ferrar to judge whether to burn them or publish them. The result was The Temple, religious poems using common language and rhythms of speech, published to enormous popular acclaim and running to 13 editions by 1680. Also published after his death, in 1652, was A Priest to the Temple: Or the Country Parson, his Character and Rule of Life homely, prose advice to country clerics. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Related Criticism to Herbert's poem, "Easter Wings" http://www.ccel.org/h/herbert/temple/Easterwings.html Joseph Addison, in The Spectator, No. 58, Monday, May 7, 1711, argued against ancient Greek poems in the shape of eggs, &c. as false wit. He continued: Mr. Dryden hints at this obsolete kind of Wit [shaped poems] in one of the following Verses in his Mac Fleckno; which an English Reader cannot understand, who does not know that there are those little Poems abovementioned in the Shape of Wings and Altars. . . . Chuse for thy Command Some peaceful Province in Acrostick Land; There may'st thou Wings display, and Altars raise, And torture one poor Word a thousand Ways.  This Fashion of false Wit was revived by several Poets of the last Age, and in particular may be met with among Mr. Herbert's Poems; . . . . Professor's rebuttal (without degrading Addison's perception or gift for expression): When devices are dropped into/on to a work, they are just ornaments scattered on pseudo-art/kitsch (in this Addison rings true). When ornaments are integrated into the meaning of the work, they loose their ornamentation and become part of the meaning, working together in the poem. Herbert converted the use of popular devices and tricks of his day into his vision of the world, giving an understanding beyond the mundane. [In a similar way that God takes clay and makes something better out of it.] (JRA) Art Student's Addenda: This is the difference between Baroque and Classical Art. Baroque art is famous for its ornaments, but details support the concept of the work in Classical Art. Music Student's Coda: The history of music classes Bach as baroque, but his "ornaments" advance and echo the message of the piece and hold the entire work together. As Albert Schweitzer shows concerning the Preludes for Organ. In this way Bach was closer to the Classic Period than most give him credit. The following is quoted "as is" from a University of Texas at Austin page no longer on the Internet: Interchange 7 on George Herbert Herbert II Leslie Barnett remarks on "Easter Wings": "With thee Let me combine, And feel this day thy victories: For, if I imp my wing on thine, Affliction shall advance the flight on me." I feel that this poem is saying that you can't just "create" someone then leave them on their own to grow. They will not grow into a strong person with good qualities. A person needs nurturing, love, and support before they can take "flight" on their own. the last line says this more directly, if he puts his wing just over the other persons then their strenght will push him to be strong and begin his own flight. The reference to the Lord's creation of man is only symbolic, I feel that he is speaking indirectly about parenting and society's affect on a person. Cecile Coneway: I do not understand what the last line ("Affliction shall advance the flight on me") is saying. How does affliction fit into it? Todd Erickson: Why is the reference to the Lord's creation only symbolic?? Colleen Ignacio: Knowing Herbert, it was probably strictly about religion. Leslie Barnett: i think affliction means like friction, when the one wing moves and begins flight the other will recieve the initial push to do the same. Todd Erickson: Cecile Flight could have multiple meanings: uplifting of spirit, or running away Shannon Byrne: I felt that he was talking about man and the creation. I thought he was saying that God created man and gave man everything, yet man "foolishly" lost what he gave and became more and more corrupt. The poet is asking for God to let him sing the Lord's praises and by so doing he will fall in the sight of others and this fall will enable him to be closer to God. Todd Erickson: Shannon why does he use 'fall'??? That sounds so counterproductive , when he's wanting to fly. Alicia Lane Jones: Correct me if I am wrong,however, if we look at the title, maybe THIS poem reflects the second coming of Christ - didn't that happen on Easter - or does easter refer to something else? Kalisha James: Affliction seems to mean some sort of punishment in this passage. It advancing the flight in me refers to punishment maybe leading the speaker to do right and therefore advancing his flight to heaven. Shannon Byrne: I thought affliction meant that if he is hurt by others because he is "flying" with God his "flight " will advance or his life will be happier. Chad Dow: I think that he is asking God to forgive him for all the wrong things he has done. He is simply wanting to be ackowledge by God and asking for help and strength to change and correct his life, so that he can sing wonderful praises up to God. Jignesh Bhakta: Alicia, you are right it is a poem of the second coming of Christ Shannon Byrne: Todd: I'm not really sure except maybe he means fall from the graces of society. Maybe he's thinking that if he follows God he will be persecuted. Leslie Barnett: another part that seems to support this interpretation would be: "And still with sickness and shame Thou didst so punish sinne, That I became Most thinne." it seems to be refering to societies tedency to shy away from those that need help the most. when someone looks sickly we don't want to help and that only makes it worse. agood example would be the homeless. Xavier Alfaro: colleen ....i agree, it had to be about religion. he must be casting a sermon down. the wings will only protect you for so long. soon you must make choices. make the right one or else. what the else is, i do not know Kalisha James: Alicia, I think you're onto something. Easter is about the rising of Christ. It coould, in fact be speaking of the second rising of Christ. Shannon Byrne: Alicia, I think your right. Jignesh Bhakta: What is the deal with the shape of the poem? Alicia Lane Jones: you know when you are born you don't have any memory of God - it may take a while to find him again. Maybe this is saying that at his tender age he was foolish and not looking in the right places, but now he has found God and wants to fly Todd Erickson: wings wings Chad Dow: Jignesh, I think it is to symbolize the wings and the uplifiting flight the guy is about to go on. Leslie Barnett: i feel that in both "redemption" and this poem i failed to see the religious connections/interpretations but what shannon said about this poem and what we discussed in class do make sense. Shannon Byrne: Alicia, wha does That I became most thinne mean? Xavier Alfaro: Alicia....you are getting pretty deep. I kind of agree though Kalisha James: Jignesh, I think the shape resembles a bird, possibly a dove. A dove is used a lot in the Bible to symbolize some sort of overcoming or redemption, the title does also have the word "wings" in it. Cecile Coneway: I thought the quote "And still with sickness and shame\Thou didst so punish sinne,\That I became\Most thinne" is illustrating God's way of letting people deal with their sins and suffer their consequences regardless of their physical state. Leslie Barnett: looking at your interpretation i think maybe he became thin because sin was punished with sickness and he was sinning by not believing or following? Kalisha James: Shannon, I know you asked Alicia, but i think of "thinne" meaning a moral thinness. Obviously the speaker has done some wrongs in order to be punished. Shannon Byrne: Cecile, Is "Thinne" thin or thine Colleen Ignacio: I think in his own personal way, he's renewing his vows with God. Easter probably had something to do with it. He says: "My tender age in sorrow did beginne. . .that I became most thinne." He's remembering what part God plays in his life and wants to continue down that path. Cecile Coneway: Shannon: I think it's thin. Xavier Alfaro: i do to Cecile Coneway: It's kind of neat the way the poem's shape becomes the narrowest when it says "Most thinne". Shannon Byrne: Kalisha, If its moral thinness what do the lines before it mean Alicia Lane Jones: Do you all think thinne refers to thin or thine? Leslie Barnett: what is thine? Xavier Alfaro: thin. what's thine Jignesh Bhakta: thine? Leslie Barnett: oh, maybe most his? Kalisha James: Alicia, Are you saying that before we are born we know God, but when we are born we forget Him? Shannon Byrne: thine means that this poet is God's Cecile Coneway: Most his? Leslie Barnett: thy, thine Alicia Lane Jones: thine means yours Vocal arrangement of Easter Wings (White, Medium-high voice and piano, 430-411 For Sale.) Background: song of a true lark Optional music: Welsh folksong "Rising of the Lark" arranged by Red Dragon

Conductive Learning Center: Children with Traumatic Brain Injury, Cerebral Palsy, Spina Bifida

80-90% of CLC's Child Population has Cerebral Palsy, Spina Bifida or Traumatic Brain Injury

http://conductivelearningcenter.org/

To provide opportunities for preschool and school age children with motor challenges to achieve optimal physical, cognitive and social independence through the application and promotion of conductive education principles.

Children and families can be taught problem solving skills that will allow them to develop unconventional ways of accomplishing motor tasks that families never thought their child would do. A child can gain control of their movement, increase strength resulting in an increased level of independence. Because Conductive Education promotes development of the whole person, including physical, social, cognitively and psychological aspects, this intervention is not viewed as a traditional therapy but rather a multi disciplinary approach to improving the quality of life for children and their families.

    

http://conductivelearningcenter.org/

Chuck and Sue Saur give new meaning to parental involvement in education. With an unwavering commitment to their son, Dan, who has cerebral palsy, the Grand Rapids couple made conductive education a reality for Michigan children with motor impairments by working to establish what is now known as the Conductive Learning Center (CLC).

Conductive education is a Hungarian-based educational program for children with motor disorders like cerebral palsy and spina bifida. In 1995, an announcement about a conductive education camp in Ontario, Canada, dramatically altered the direction of the Saurs’ lives. They returned from the camp with a renewed vision of increased physical independence for Dan, who uses a wheelchair.

The Saurs’ vision fueled a grassroots effort in the late 90′s to bring conductive education to West Michigan and earned the support of Aquinas College, a private, liberal arts college in Grand Rapids. Aquinas is the only institution in the United States that offers a POHI methodology teacher training program utilizing the conductive education method. The Conductive Learning Center was established as the labschool for these prospective teachers to do their practical training.

Chuck Saur attributed a recent accomplishment by his son to conductive education. Saur admits he was caught off guard when Dan spoke his first clear words asking, “Where’s mom?” “I stopped what I was doing to have a conversation with Dan,” he says. “It was the beginning of a whole new father-son relationship that changed the way I looked at him.”

In 1995, the Saurs took a second mortgage to finance an intensive six-month program for Dan in Budapest. Sue Saur traveled with both of her sons to Hungary, where she couldn’t speak the language. She recalls carrying her lanky, fifty-five pound son up and down the stairs when the elevator didn’t work.

With Dan immersed in conductive education in Budapest, Chuck Saur knocked on doors in West Michigan garnering support for a pilot program. The dean of education at Aquinas College, was willing to listen. In 1997, the Saurs joined forces with other parents of motor-impaired children to create the first summer program in conductive education in Michigan.

The Saurs worked even harder once they won the support of powerful friends. Keith Konarska, former director of special education for Kent Intermediate School District (KISD), and Kathy Barker, former director of special education for Grand Rapids Public Schools and the new director of the Aquinas -Peto School (CLC) for Conductive Education, became involved. The additional support of the past president of Aquinas, Dr. Harry Knopke, President of Aquinas College, further solidified Aquinas’s commitment to creating an international center for conductive education. Today, under the joint direction of Aquinas College and the Peto Institute in Budapest, the Saurs’ dream has a respected educational backing and a solid research component. The Conductive Learning Center (CLC) has served hundreds of children with motor impairments since it’s inception back in 1997.

He remembers the exact moment Dan first cast his own fishing rod into the lake, a task Chuck Saur had always performed for his son. Today Dan can write his own name and take steps with support. He can sit up in bed and rub the sleep from his eyes with his once rigid hands. He verbally joins in his bedtime prayer.

“It’s hard to explain the magnitude of what conductive education has meant to our family,” Chuck Saur explained. “We’ve gone from thinking about what we can do for Dan to celebrating what he can do for himself, and that difference is huge.”

This article first ran in the November 1999 issue of C.E.N. Newsline and was written by Judy Winter, author of Breakthrough Parenting for Children with Special Needs.

Fifth Third River Bank Run Charity Partner

Conductive Learning Center

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kG1v16-FpZM

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FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions

http://conductivelearningcenter.org/

Do I have to stay with my child in the classroom?

Parents are provided an environment to learn with their child in the Parent & Child program, which is for the youngest children. Overall the decision to have parents in the classroom, made by the conductor team includes several factors, such as the age of the child and the child’s/family’s needs.

What can I expect my child to achieve in the program?

The program works with the whole child; that is, the child’s developmental needs are addressed from a cognitive, psychological, emotional and physical perspective. After the child is assessed by a conductor, parents, the child and the conductor decide on specific goals for the child. Each child’s route and timeline toward maximum independence depends on many factors, including the support of the family, the child’s motivation, the type and severity of the disability and the age of the child. At the end of the session extensive reports are produced detailing methods and strategies used with the child. Each activity is described and photo documented. These reports are sent home for use with all care givers involved with the child. This helps insure continuity and continuation of CE principles even after the child is discharged from the program.

Why does the program use a group setting?

Conductive education uses the dynamics of group interaction. This setting provides the opportunity for children to motivate and learn from each other, while in an age appropriate setting that allows social interaction.

Do I have to continue with the exercises while at home?

Parents should encourage the child to use the movements learned in class that improve the everyday functioning of the child. An example of these life skills would be for parents to give the child the opportunity to use silverware when eating, instead of a parent feeding the child.

What type of disability does this program best help?

Conductive education works best with about 80-90% of the child population that has cerebral palsy, spina bifida or traumatic brain injury.

What keeps children motivated for 3 to 6 hours a day?

The program is planned daily with age appropriate academic themes and motivation techniques of repetition, music, singing, and game-like activities in a group setting. A child’s educational environment includes daily living skills of eating, toileting, putting on shoes and socks, etc. Children respond positively to these activities.

What specialized training do the conductors have? Are they therapists?

Conductors have been trained at Aquinas College in a POHI teacher program or at the International Peto Institute in Budapest, Hungary. These teachers all have elementary education and special education credentials, which are recognized in the U.S. While the conductors are not credentialed therapists, the training received at Aquinas and the Peto Institute parallels many parts of what physical, occupational and speech therapists receive.

Are there parents available who can give specifics about their child?

Yes. Please go to the “Success Stories” area of the web site. This section provides a series of letters from parents speaking about their child and the program.

Is the program available in other states?

Yes, there are other programs in the U.S., but the Conductive Learning Center has the only program directed and supervised by the International Peto Institute.

Are any doctors supporting this program?

Yes, there are doctors in the U.S., who have provided written support for conductive education. Locally, the Conductive Learning Center collaborates with Mary Free Bed Hospital in providing services to children enrolled at Conductive Learning Center.

If I don’t live near Grand Rapids, can I still participate in the program?

Yes, many of our out-state and out-of-state parents stay at the local Ronald McDonald House or area hotels, offering discounted rates, while their child attends a scheduled intensive session of four to eight weeks in length.

The Conductive Learning Center
of Grand Rapids, 2009

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9iIlQz0Upg

America's New Evangelicals

What's New Is Old: 'America's New Evangelicals'

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2011/october/review-americas-new-evangelicals.html

Today's politically liberal evangelicals may not be as different as some imagine.

Review by Matthew Lee Anderson | posted 10/14/2011 09:07AM

book link

The 2008 election of Barack Obama reinvigorated an ongoing discussion within evangelicalism about the nature of its relationship to the political order. It is a discussion that will almost certainly receive a new infusion of energy during the 2012 election cycle. But analyses of evangelical captivity to politics and purported generational shifts in ideology have come close to reaching a saturation point, bringing evangelical introspection to the edge of exhaustion. Of the writing about evangelicals and politics, there is apparently no end.

Marcia Pally's America's New Evangelicals: Expanding the Vision of the Common Good (Eerdmans) is one of the latest attempts to understand the direction of evangelicalism's political priorities. For Pally, the emergence of the "new evangelicals"—figures like Tony Campolo, Shane Claiborne, and David Gushee—reveals important shifts, in both substantive beliefs and habits of engagement. She sees this movement as "new" because its members embrace "beliefs and practices that have advanced religion, liberal democracy, and just economic distribution." She contrasts the new with the "old evangelicals" (though Pally does not call them that), whose political engagement she believes has been sullied by allegedly "prototheocratic yearnings" and an attachment to free-market capitalism. The new evangelicals, she argues, allow religious convictions to shape their political vision, but nevertheless "support pluralism, economic justice, and liberal democratic government." Whether the new evangelicals are championing ideals wholly different from their forebears, or simply imbuing them with different meanings, is not always clear. Pally's presumption, for instance, that "economic justice" is antithetical to free-market economics is astonishing, given the enormous debate over the question.

While Pally presents the "new evangelicals" as an antidote to perceived evangelical vices, her narrative is occasionally given to overstatement.

Take, for instance, those supposedly "prototheocratic yearnings." True, Pally's stance later softens into suggesting that evangelicals have "at times" attempted to "use the state to impose religious views on the nation." But even this skirts the boundaries of hyperbole. Unless Pally thinks that evangelical opposition to abortion and same-sex marriage are exclusively theological in nature—a highly debatable contention—she is left only with school prayer as an example of such attempts. Evangelical activism may have sectarian underpinnings, but evangelicals have shown a remarkable willingness to abide by the rules of liberal democracy in working—through legislatures, courts, and grassroots initiatives—to "impose" their views.

Not So New

Pally makes no attempt at any statistical survey, instead approaching her subject through blogs, newsletters, sermons, and other expressions of the "new evangelicalism." Transcripts of interviews with prominent figures like Richard Cizik and Joel Hunter punctuate her commentary, lending the reader a firsthand familiarity that is both interesting and illuminating.

Yet whether the new evangelicals are really new depends upon our understanding of what came before them. And unfortunately, Pally's understanding makes it difficult to discern what's actually new about the movement. For instance, she argues that the new evangelicals practice a "third way" of political engagement, avoiding the twin traps of theocratic ambition and privatized piety. They do this through "voluntarist associations" that "advocate for their positions through public education, lobbying, coalition building, and negotiation."

This "civil society activism" is a commendable approach, but couldn't Pally apply the same description to the Religious Right? Historically, this movement was propelled by a cluster of voluntary parachurch organizations—many of them avowedly non-sectarian in their approach—that worked to influence society by means of lobbying and public persuasion. Moreover, and somewhat ironically, traditional approaches to limited government have often been justified precisely because they leave room for the mediating institutions of civil society, rather than relying upon the coercive powers of the state. Because Pally conflates conservatism with what amounts to libertarian economics, she overlooks the possibility of a mutually reinforcing relationship between "civil society activism" and limited government principles.

What's more, Pally passes over any discussion of "compassionate conservatism," the more activist school of thought espoused by George W. Bush and cheered on by many fellow evangelicals. (Conservative commentator Fred Barnes famously re-labeled it "big government conservatism.") The advent of compassionate conservatism suggests that evangelicals, in their association with the Republican Party, have not, for good or ill, hewed inflexibly to a libertarian orthodoxy. Widespread evangelical support for the 2008 campaign of Mike Huckabee, who was (perhaps unfairly) spurned by mainstream Republicans for being too comfortable with government involvement, confirms this point.

Evangelical activism may have sectarian underpinnings, but evangelicals have shown a remarkable willingness to abide by the rules of liberal democracy.

Closer to the heart of the book, though, is Pally's suggestion that the new evangelicals are distinguished by their endorsement of "church-state separation and constitutionally based law." Here again Pally's lack of substantive argument about the "old evangelicals" makes it hard to discern where the differences actually lie. With respect to "church-state separation," Jon A. Shields demonstrates in The Democratic Virtues of the Christian Right (2009) the great pains to which evangelicals have gone to present their views on abortion in non-sectarian terms. And as for endorsing the principle of "constitutionally based law," this does not preclude working, through constitutionally legitimate channels, to reform or undo laws deemed unjust. In this regard, evangelicals' abortion and same-sex marriage, both in the courtroom and at the ballot box, seem to exemplify the highest respect for constitutionally based law.

Keeping Vigilant

Pally's chapter on the new evangelicals' underlying beliefs departs noticeably from her generally dispassionate, scholarly approach. She quotes virtually no new evangelical activists or theologians, and instead develops Anabaptist theologian John Howard Yoder's concept of "revolutionary subordination," analyzing how Scripture understands Jesus as a political actor. It is an odd moment of normative political theology in the middle of a book that presents itself as examining the beliefs of others.

Strangeness aside, the chapter is excellent and very well balanced. Pally suggests that Christian political engagement should obey "positive law in all but extreme circumstances, defend its country under the extreme condition of invasion, and [spend] most of its time serving those within the church, the stranger, and the enemy." This is wise counsel, so far as it goes, but ought we simply to infer that new evangelicals would endorse Pally's principles?

The answer isn't clear. On the one hand, in presenting their underlying beliefs, Pally comes close to describing a consistent, unified framework out of which policy decisions might be made. But in presenting this belief system in her own voice, she leaves it unclear whether the new evangelicals understand and abide by their own framework. After all, Pally repeatedly underscores the issue-by-issue approach that often characterizes young evangelical politics. It can be difficult to discern whether new evangelical activism arises from a unified moral philosophy, or whether its piecemeal approach reflects a more pragmatic spirit.

Pally makes clear, though, why evangelicals will and must continue reflecting on their relationship with state authority. In a liberal society, marked by a crowded and contentious public square, an impulse toward introspection helps preserve a proper ordering of religious faith and political power. The new evangelicals certainly understand that such vigilance is a price worth paying for liberty. But so too, I suspect, do their counterparts of "old."

Matthew Lee Anderson is the author of Earthen Vessels: Why Our Bodies Matter to Our Faith (Bethany House). He blogs at MereOrtho doxy.com.

Copyright © 2011 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

No Dinosaurs in Heaven

Regrettably, though I would encourage exploring Evolutionary Creationism (also known as "Theistic Evolution"), this public approach is definitely the wrong way to broach the subject of Creationism. It puts fundamental Christians on the defensive, removes their democratic rights of free speech and beliefs, redirects their tax earnings lawfully given to public education, is heavy-handed and mule-footed. As an American citizen, I would decry this type of politicking and forced subjugation  of subject matter in favor of the fundamentalist Christian movement seeking freedom of expression, of rights and free speech. Freedom of expression is the most basic of American rights no matter how "un-scientific" it appears to educational elitists.

Despite all the scientific evidences found in cosmology, geology, biology, and anthropology in every facet of the natural and human sciences to support a material development (or evolution) within God's creation, it still does not warrant the forced removal of alternative religious beliefs. If this subject is to be approached at all, it must be done within a renewed observance of reading the Bible's creation texts aright (which examples have earlier been submitted here) and to allow earnest Christians to decide in the face of these examinations.

I am submitting the related article below as offensive in approach - though sympathetic to the frustrations of science with older Christian interpretations that are unscientific - wishing to illuminate, without further alarming or unnecessarily dividing, this blog's readership. And despite both my concerns and former appreciation for Creationisism's simplicity, I must sue for this position's political presence within our democratic public educational system.

- skinhead

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'No Dinosaurs In Heaven' Explores Shifting Debate Over Evolution        

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/11/no-dinosaurs-in-heaven-ex_n_1005849.html

By Kimberly Winston
Religion News Service

(RNS) A new documentary examines the evolving battle over teaching evolution in American classrooms as tactics have shifted from a hard-nosed debate to a more subtle fight in the name of "academic freedom."

The film, "No Dinosaurs in Heaven," follows Eugenie Scott, executive director of the National Center for Science Education, down the Colorado River as she refutes creationist theories that the Grand Canyon is only a few thousand years old [or that it] shows evidence of the biblical flood.

It also charts the story of its director, Greta Schiller, as she studies to become a science teacher and is assigned a biology professor who refuses to teach evolution because of his religious beliefs.

"I made the film to convey three major ideas," Schiller said. The most important, she said, is "that science is a way to understand the natural world and is not inherently in conflict with a belief in God."

Americans have grappled with science standards since the Scopes Monkey Trial of 1925, which put a Tennessee teacher on trial for teaching evolution. The debate was revived in the 1990s with the rise of "intelligent design," or ID, the idea that the universe shows evidence of a master designer.

Many thought ID was discredited in a 2005 court case, Kitzmiller v. Dover, the first challenge to teaching ID in public schools, when a Pennsylvania judge ruled ID is a form of religious creationism and therefore cannot be taught in public schools.

But evolution proponents say creationists have returned to the trenches to refine their attack. Where they once asked teachers to "teach the controversy" -- one that most scientists insist does not exist -- they now promote their ideas in the interest of "academic freedom."

"Now they are not talking about balancing evolution with a religious idea, but about balancing evolution with evidence against evolution," Scott said. "Of course, scientists are unaware of any evidence against evolution. It seems only the creationists who can come up with a list."

Scott points to several "battleground states" where evolution is not the classroom standard:

• Kentucky law now requires educators teach "the theory of creation as presented in the Bible" and "read such passages in the Bible as are deemed necessary for instruction on the theory of creation."
• The Tennessee House passed a bill earlier this year that describes evolution and global warming as "controversial"; the Senate will consider the issue in 2012.
• In 2008, Louisiana enacted the Louisiana Science Education Act, which described evolution and global warming as "controversial" and permitted the use of supplemental materials to teach alternative theories. It was the subject of an unsuccessful repeal effort earlier this year.
• Texas, which has a long history of turmoil over its curriculum standards, is debating whether to include supplementary materials on theories other than evolution.
• In New Hampshire, some legislators have said they will introduce bills requiring the teaching of evolution "as a theory" and the teaching of ID in 2012.

Such laws seem to reflect Americans' thinking on the subject. A recent poll conducted by the Public Religion Research Institute and Religion News Service found that 38 percent of Americans believe "humans and other living things have existed in their present form since creation." In a recent CNN poll, more than 40 percent of respondents said evolution was probably or definitely false.

"Yup, we have a lot of work to do," Scott said.

In Britain, too, the battle over science education standards is heating up. A group of scientists, including the prominent biologist and atheist Richard Dawkins, has called for a law prohibiting the teaching of creationism in public schools.

"No Dinosaurs in Heaven" premieres in New York on Oct. 25 at the New York Academy of Sciences, where Scott will also speak. The film is part of a "Celebrate Science" campaign initiated by the film's producers, Jezebel Films, which plans to screen it on college campuses and community centers across the country.
 

NO DINOSAURS IN HEAVEN

NO DINOSAURS IN HEAVEN is a film essay that examines the hijacking of science education by religious fundamentalists, threatening the separation of church and state and dangerously undermining scientific literacy. The documentary weaves together two strands: (i) an examination of the problem posed by creationists who earn science education degrees only to advocate anti-scientific beliefs in the classroom; and, (ii) a raft trip down the Grand Canyon, led by Dr. Eugenie Scott of the National Center for Science Education, that debunks creationist explanations for its formation.

These strands expose the fallacies in the "debate," manufactured by anti-science forces, that creationism is a valid scientific alternative to evolution. Emmy Award-winning director and science educator Greta Schiller uses her own experience -- with a graduate school biology professor who refused to teach evolution -- to expose the insidious effect that so-called "creationist science" has had on science education. NO DINOSAURS IN HEAVEN intelligently argues that public education must steadfastly resist the encroachment of religion in the form of anti-evolution creationism, and that science literacy is crucial to a healthy democracy.

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Al Mohler and the “Apparent Age” of the Cosmos

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/peterenns/2011/10/al-mohler-and-the-apparent-age-of-the-cosmos/

Posted on October 13, 2011 by peteenns

Al Mohler believes that God created the cosmos, including humanity, about 6000 years ago, but with “apparent age.” That means that the cosmos only looks billions of years old because God created it to look old. This is Mohler’s solution to why the earth looks so old when the Bible says it is so young. “Apparent age” allows Mohler to accept the observations of science while rejecting the interpretation of those observations by scientists. The interpretation of those observations remains securely with Scripture itself, not with scientists or others who refuse to accept the Scripture’s “clear” teaching.

The strategic benefit is clear: Mohler can–in a sense–”accept” the scientific data while also remaining a biblical literalist. Science only studies what God appeared to have done, and scientists are free to have at it. Scripture, however, tells us, without fear of contradiction, what God actually did.

This kind of thinking may appear to be a tidy solution the problem, but in fact it creates many more.

The most pressing problem–not only here but at any point where Mohler discusses the science/faith issue–is that Mohler simply asserts that Genesis is prepared to tell us how old the earth is. That assertion is what puts him in the bind of having to “reconcile” Genesis and science in the first place.

But Mohler’s opinions about a literal reading of Genesis need to be articulated and defended, not simply asserted–which would require Mohler to interact patiently with those many Christians who have very good reasons for not reading the opening chapters of Genesis as a literal account of history.

That is a topic for another day. Here, even accepting Mohler’s literalism for the sake of discussion, “apparent age” loses its traction fairly quickly. We will look at one reason why today and two more in my next post.

“Apparent age” is an arbitrary claim that makes the “facts fit the theory.”

It is surely obvious that the theory of “apparent age” is generated to make the observations of science fit Mohler’s literal reading of Genesis. Unless one were precommitted to a literal reading of Genesis, one would never think of making this sort of claim.

Making facts fit theory is an unfortunately common, yet still unacceptable, method of establishing one’s point. It is particularly common in theological debates, where one assumes that one’s own theological pre-commitments are the sure and unassailable point of departure. One’s theology is to be defended, never examined. Counterarguments are either molded to fit the theory or ignored altogether.

This is why true discussion–an exchange of ideas–is often unproductive in these instances. The issues at stake are bound up with ideological self-preservation.

If Mohler were to admit that the Bible can be read in a less than literal manner regarding Genesis—well—the dominoes would start unraveling down the slippery slope. This is not an option for Mohler.

When fear of losing one’s “all-encompassing narrative” is at stake, reasonable assessment of contrary evidence is an early casualty, which leaves us with “explanations” like “apparent age.”

Such explanations demonstrate that the theology driving them is a barrier to truth more than its guardian.

If an opponent of Mohler’s were to employ the same type of ad hoc explanation to establish a contrary point, I imagine Mohler would not find it convincing.

Many—might I say, most—Christian thinkers trained in these matters (science, biblical studies, theology, philosophy) are deeply invested in working through how Genesis is to be read not only in view of evolution, but of our growing understanding of how “origins stories” worked in the ancient Near Eastern world (a whole other topic).

I do not think it is wise for Mohler to cut oneself off from these potential conversation partners and retreat to an ad hoc explanation like “apparent age.”

It is even less wise for Mohler to counsel others that they must follow his lead.

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Al Mohler’s Theory of “Apparent Age”: Two More Problems

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/peterenns/2011/10/al-mohlers-theory-of-apparent-age-two-more-problems/

Posted on October 14, 2011 by peteenns

In my last post we looked at one problem with Mohler’s theory that the cosmos was created to look billions of years old but is really only about 6000 years old (“apparent age”). It is an arbitrary solution that makes the facts fit the theory. Today we will look at two more problems.

The world shows evidence of age and evolutionary development

The world does not just show evidence of age. It also shows evidence of millions upon millions upon millions of years of evolution, judging by the wealth of evidence at hand (e.g., fossils, geological records, human genome).

Mohler needs to account not only for why the cosmos looks old, but why the cosmos–including the earth and life on it–looks like it evolved.

Mohler does not need to accept evolution to do this–just as he doesn’t need to accept an actually old earth. He could simply advance another ad hoc theory, that God created the universe, the earth, and all life as if they evolved: God created with “apparent evolutionary process.”

I am not sure how else Mohler could address this problem, other than simply rejecting the sciences, as does Ken Ham.

This raises the question, “How many ad hoc theories would one need to advance in order to preserve biblical literalism?” At what point do the ad hoc explanations begin to seem more like a stubborn defense rather than a true explanation of things?

It also raises some serious questions about God. Why would God do such a thing? Why would he load the cosmos with all this evidence and then expect his intelligent creatures, made in his image, to stop short of drawing some conclusions from that evidence?

I think this is a very serious issue. Mohler’s theory of “apparent age” gives us a God who makes the world look one way, but then expects us to hold all that at bay in favor of a literalistic reading of Genesis that, according to Mohler, God requires of us.

Is God—like a touchy tyrant—testing our allegiance to see if we will hold fast to his word? I think the Christian God is better than that.

Mohler is arbitrary in what portions of Scripture he reads “plainly”

As we’ve seen, Mohler rejects evolution and the age of the earth because his literal reading of the Bible demands it. But Mohler cannot simply stop there. He must follow his own logic with respect to other biblical statements about the physical world that don’t line up with modern science. After all, if the Bible must be given the last word, then it must be given the last word consistently.

The biblical writers thought the earth was a flat disk. To follow Mohler’s logic, we must conclude that the world only looks round, since Scripture has the final word on the matter. Hence, God created the earth with “apparent roundness.”

Likewise, the Bible speaks of the sky overhead as a dome. Therefore, it can only appear that we have broken free of our atmosphere and orbited the earth, landed on the moon, and are moving further to the outer limits of our solar system daily. God created the cosmos with “apparent outer space.”

The Bible speaks of the earth as the stable, motionless, center of the cosmos. Therefore, it can only appear that the earth rotates on it axis, thus giving us day and night, or that the earth revolves around the sun, along with the other planets, on its yearly course. God created the solar system with “apparently heliocentricity.”

I know this may look like I am being unfair to Mohler. I do not mean to be. I am confident that Mohler does not believe that the earth is flat and stationary, or that there is no outer space. I am fairly certain he would read these examples as ancient ways of looking at the world–and he would be correct.

The question, though, is why [would] Mohler places Genesis 1 on the “must read literally” side of the line and not on the “this is ancient idiom” side (as he does a flat, stationary, domed earth).

Mohler seems to feel free to decide what should and should not be read literally–the very accusation he levels at others. Of course, every reader of the Bible sooner or later makes these kinds of decisions. No one actually thinks God is a literal rock or a fortress, for example.

If Mohler were consistent, a literal reading of Genesis 1 would be as intolerable to him as a literal reading of those places where the Bible speaks of a flat, stationary earth with a dome overhead.

Mohler speaks of “apparent age” with calm assurance. But it is a explanation that creates many more problems than it tries to solve. Those problems are rooted in Mohler’s unexamined precommitment that Christians have no choice but to read Genesis literally.

They do have a choice, and Christians have been making it for a very, very long time.