http://www.daveramsey.com/etc/newsletters/company/082809.cfm?ectid=cnl0909.1_06#1
With all the buzz about Cash for Clunkers, it’s easy to think that it was a great way for people to get a better set of wheels. But was it really? No way! Cash for Clunkers was simply a way for broke people to buy cars that they really couldn't afford. It was a bad idea on multiple levels. But before digging into that, let’s take a little history lesson.
About a decade ago, a fair housing program was started, called a sub-prime lending market. The idea behind it was that everyone “needed” to own a home—including broke people. The government decided to start a program to reinvest in communities, which allowed pretty much anyone to borrow money to buy a house. Lending companies charged high interest rates, causing already struggling families to go even further into debt.
Basically, this was a program designed to encourage broke people to buy houses. Most people didn’t even know it existed until it unraveled and became the number-one cause of our recent recession. The government took those stupid loans back and securitized them, which created the financial mess last fall. Helping broke people buy houses didn’t turn out to be a great government program. Guess what? Helping broke people buy brand-new cars—and now home appliances—will turn out just as bad.
The Cash for Clunkers program was designed exactly for people who should not take advantage of the program. You trade your $2,000 clunker in for a brand-new, shiny $20,000 car, and the only way you can afford it is with a high-interest payment. That just means you really couldn’t afford it to begin with. Doesn’t this sound like the sub-prime mortgage problem all over again?
When you drive that new car off the lot, you’re immediately going to lose $4,500. The worst car accidents happen on the showroom floor. New cars go down in value like a rock. The government thinks it’s going to save the American auto industry by putting broke people into cars they can’t pay for. It’s going to come back to bite them—and the rest of us—in the form of taxes galore.
Another bad thing about this program is that we, the taxpayers, are paying for the new cars! It’s morally wrong of the government to take money away from us—against our will—in the form of taxes and give that money to someone else to buy a stupid car they can’t afford in the first place! This is theft, plain and simple.
Cash for Clunkers is a program that redistributes wealth in the name of the environment, and it’s going to be a curse on the car dealer and the manufacturer that carries the paper. It’s going to hurt the broke person who bought a car he couldn’t afford. And it’s already a problem for our country, because it’s adding dollars to the national debt.
There’s always a twist with government programs like this. They try to think of creative ways to help people, but the situation usually ends up worse than it did before they “helped.” In the end, I should decide what to do with my own money. If I want to buy you a car, I will! And if you can’t buy a car without actually paying for the whole thing, then you’re better off keeping your “clunker.”
So good riddance to a really bad program that has done more damage than good.
Friday, August 28, 2009
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Understanding Six Worldview that Rule the World
Posted: 08/26/09
http://worldviewtimes.com/article.php/articleid-5324/Brannon-Howse/David-Noebel
Understanding Six Worldviews that Rule the World*
By Dr. David Noebel
President, Summit Ministries
Back in the early 1990s, Dr. James Dobson and Gary Bauer sought to identify what they saw happening to Christian young people in the United States. Their conclusion was that "nothing short of a great Civil War of Values rages today throughout North America. Two sides with vastly differing and incompatible worldviews are locked in a bitter conflict that permeates every level of society."[i] The war, as Dobson and Bauer put it, is a struggle "for the hearts and minds of people. It is a war over ideas."[ii]
On one side is the Christian worldview, the foundation of Western civilization. On the other side are five worldviews: Islam, Secular Humanism, Marxism, Cosmic Humanism, and Postmodernism. While these worldviews don't agree in every detail, they unanimously concur on one point-their opposition to biblical Christianity.
As in any war, there are casualties, and anti-Christian ideas are taking their toll. Recent surveys indicate that up to 59 percent of "born again" college students drop out of that category by their senior year.[iii] According to George Barna's research, nine out of ten "born again" adults do not have a biblical worldview. To effectively engage this battle of ideas, Christians must have an understanding of the times and "know what [they] ought to do" (1 Chronicles 12:32).
What is a Worldview?
Everyone bases his or her decisions and actions on a worldview. We may not be able to articulate our worldview, and our worldview may be inconsistent, but we all have one. So the question is; what is a worldview?
A worldview is "an interpretive framework"[iv]-much like a pair of glasses-through which you view everything. It refers to any set of ideas, beliefs, or values that provide a framework or map to help you understand God, the world, and your relationship to God and the world. Specifically, a worldview contains a particular perspective regarding at least each of the following ten disciplines: theology, philosophy, ethics, biology, psychology, sociology, law, politics, economics, and history.[v]
This article summarizes the six worldviews that currently exert the most influence over the whole world. Other worldviews exist, but they wield much less influence. For example, Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism, or Shintoism may profoundly influence some Eastern countries, but hardly sway the entire world. The major ideas and belief systems controlling the world, and especially the West, are contained in the following six worldviews.
The Christian Worldview
Many people, including many Christians, do not realize that the Bible addresses all ten disciplines of a worldview. Christianity is the embodiment of Christ's claim that He is "the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6). When we say, "This is the Christian way," we mean this is the way Christ would have us approach life and the world. It is no small matter to think and act as Christ instructs.
America has been described as a Christian nation. However, America-along with the rest of Western Civilization-has turned away from its intellectual, cultural and religious heritage. Almost thirty years ago, Christian philosopher Francis Schaeffer noted America's drift toward secularism as a failure of Christians "to see that all of this [cultural and social breakdown] has come about due to a shift in world view-that is, through a fundamental change in the overall way people think and view the world and life as a whole."[vi]
The study of worldviews in general, and the Christian worldview in particular, is a wake-up call for everyone. A country seeking to promote human rights (including the right to be born), liberty, and the common good must adhere to the only worldview that can account for our existence and dignity. We contend that human dignity comes from the fact that human beings are created in the image of God, a uniquely biblical perspective. Abandoning this perspective has dire consequences, considering the rise in abortions, homosexual practices, euthanasia, same-sex marriage, embryonic stem cell research, and the move toward human cloning.
The Islamic Worldview
It is estimated there are 1.3 billion followers of Islam.[vii] In recent years, the Islamic worldview has been growing exponentially in numbers, power, and influence, and, therefore, is worthy of our study. As one article headlined, "The future belongs to Islam,"[viii] providing added incentive to understand its beliefs and goals.
Writing in The Sword of the Prophet, commentator and international political consultant, Serge Trifkovic, explains that "Islam is not a 'mere' religion; it is a complete way of life, an all-embracing social, political and legal system that breeds a worldview peculiar to itself."[ix]
Christianity and Islam have some teachings in common, including belief in a personal God, creation of the material universe, angels, immortality of the soul, heaven, hell, and judgment of sin. Likewise, Muslims accept Jesus as a prophet (one of many), his virgin birth, physical ascension, second coming, miracles, and messiahship.[x]
The major differences between Christianity and Islam is Islam's rejection of the biblical Trinitarian God and the death of Jesus for the sins of the world. Muslims likewise reject Jesus' physical resurrection from the dead and his claim to be the Son of God.
Another major difference between the founder of Christianity and the founder of Islam is that the Bible describes Jesus as living a sinless life while the traditions of Islam depict Muhammad having many flaws. "Muhammad's practice and constant encouragement of bloodshed," writes Trifkovic, "are unique in the history of religions. Murder, pillage, rape, and more murder are in the Koran and in the Traditions."[xi] Furthermore, Muhammad's life "seems to have impressed his followers with a profound belief in the value of bloodshed as opening the gates of Paradise."[xii] Thus, the history of Islam from 622 A.D. to the present has been a history of violence, submission, and war toward infidels (non-Muslims).
For many Muslims, one of Mohammad's most important legacies is to see the world as a conflict between the Land of Peace (Dar al-Islam) and the Land of War (Dar al-Harb). On the other hand, there are a number of Muslims, particularly those living in Western democracies, who do not believe the Koran's violent passages regarding killing infidels and Islam's violent history should be applied literally today.[xiii] Yet, in either case, Islam is a worldview with which Christians must contend.
The Secular Humanist Worldview
Secular Humanism refers primarily to the ideas and beliefs outlined in the Humanist Manifestoes of 1933, 1973, and 2000. Secular Humanism is the dominant worldview on the majority of colleges and universities throughout all Western nations. It has also made gains in many Christian colleges and universities, especially in the areas of biology, sociology, law, politics, and history.
Secular Humanists recognize the classroom as a powerful incubator for indoctrinating students into their worldview. Operating under the educational buzzword "liberalism," a Secular Humanist agenda controls the curriculum in America's public schools thanks to the National Education Association, the National Academy of Sciences, and a host of foundations, including the Ford Foundation.
Christians considering a college education must be well versed in the Secular Humanistic worldview or risk losing their own Christian perspective by default. In her book Walking Away From the Faith, Ruth Tucker, a professor at Calvin Seminary, makes it clear that Christian students are walking away from their faith because of Secular Humanist teaching.
The ideas of Humanism have gained prominent influence throughout modern society. B.F. Skinner, Abraham Maslow, Carl Rogers, and Erich Fromm, all former "Humanists of the Year," have powerfully affected the discipline of psychology. Scientists such as the late Carl Sagan, another "Humanist of the Year," preached his Humanism on a widely heralded television and high school curriculum series. More recently, the outspoken atheist and Oxford biologist Richard Dawkins has gained much attention through a number of popular books on evolution and, of course, his 2006 best-seller, The God Delusion. Clearly, Humanists are willing to support their worldview-often more faithfully than Christians. For these and other reasons, we must give the Secular Humanist worldview close attention.
The Marxist Worldview
Marxism is a militantly atheistic, materialistic worldview. It has developed a perspective regarding each of the ten disciplines-usually in great detail. Based on the writings of Karl Marx in the late 1800s, Marxism has taken on some new looks in recent years-including debasing culture as a form of revolutionary activity.[xiv] The latest Communist Manifesto, titled Empire, was published in 2000 by Harvard University Press. Marx's presence continues to be felt around the world.
Marxism predominates on many American university campuses. Recruited as college students in the 1950s and '60s, many Marxist "radicals" earned PhDs and are now the tenured faculty on many campuses. "With a few notable exceptions," says former Yale professor Roger Kimball, "our most prestigious liberal arts colleges and universities have installed the entire radical menu at the center of their humanities curriculum at both the undergraduate and the graduate level."[xv] U. S. News and World Report published a lengthy article in 2003 entitled "Where Marxism Lives Today," which states, "Marxism is so entrenched in courses ranging from literature to anthropology… that today's students are virtually bathed in Marx's ideas."[xvi]
The "radical menu" Kimball referred to includes a large serving of economic determinism. According to Karl Marx, the key problem with capitalism is that it breeds exploitation. Therefore, capitalism must be replaced with a more humane economic system, one that abolishes free markets (private property and the free and peaceful exchange of goods and services) and replaces it with a government-controlled economy.
Marx's economic ideas and political policy go hand in hand. A Marxist style communism controls a large number of nations around the world, and traveling under the name of "social democracy," a Marxist inspired political philosophy has engulfed Western European nations. Further, many South American countries have also taken a Marxist turn in recent years, and many think that the current administration and congress of the United States is quickly taking America down the same socialist road.[xvii]
In addition, some Christian groups have attempted to combine their Christianity with Marx's ideas of social equality. Because of the prevalence and subversive nature of Marxism, Christians must be aware of the goals of Marxist-thinking professors, politicians, and theologians.
The Cosmic Humanist Worldview
The Cosmic Humanist worldview consists of two interrelated spiritual movements. One is known as the New Age Movement (NAM), and the other is neo-paganism, which includes occult practices, Native American spiritism, and Wicca.
The New Age Movement mixes ancient Eastern religions (especially Hinduism and Zen Buddhism) with a touch of other religious traditions, adds a smattering of scientific jargon, and imports the newly baked concoction into mainstream America. "The New Age," explains researcher Johanna Michaelsen, "is the ultimate eclectic religion of self: Whatever you decide is right for you is what's right, as long as you don't get narrow-minded and exclusive about it."[xviii]
The assumption that truth resides within each individual, however, becomes the cornerstone for a worldview. Granting oneself the power to discern all truth is a facet of theology, and this theology has ramifications that many members of the New Age movement have already discovered. Marilyn Ferguson, author of The Aquarian Conspiracy (a book referred to as "The New Age watershed classic"), says the movement ushers in a "new mind-the ascendance of a startling worldview."[xix]
This worldview is summed up by Jonathan Adolph: "In its broadest sense, New Age thinking can be characterized as a form of utopianism, the desire to create a better society, a 'New Age' in which humanity lives in harmony with itself, nature, and the cosmos."[xx]
While New Age believers make no serious distinctions between religions, considering that all are ultimately the same, John P. Newport explains that "neopagans generally believe that they are practicing an ancient folk religion, whether as a survival or a revival. Thus, being focused on the pagan religions of the past, they are not particularly interested in a New Age of the future."[xxi]
Through best-selling books and popular television shows and movies,[xxii] the Cosmic Humanist worldview is gaining converts in the West and around the world. Malachi Martin lists dozens of organizations that are either New Age or sympathetic to Cosmic Humanist views. Clearly, Cosmic Humanism, a transplant from the East, is a growing presence throughout the Western hemisphere.
the Postmodern Worldview
Forced to face the inhumanity, destruction, and horror brought about by the Third Reich and the Soviet Gulag during the first half of the 20th century, a substantial group of Enlightenment humanists and neo-Marxists abandoned their worldview to create one they believed more fitting with reality, resulting in the Postmodern turn. By the 1980's, Postmodern professors were making significant inroads in humanities and social science departments around the world.
Christian philosopher J.P. Moreland notes that Postmodernism refers to a philosophical approach primarily in the area of epistemology, or what counts as knowledge or truth. Broadly speaking, Moreland says "Postmodernism represents a form of cultural relativism about such things as truth, reality, reason, values, linguistic meaning, the 'self' and other notions."[xxiii]
Though Postmodernism comes in many forms, there are three unifying values: (1) a commitment to relativism; (2) an opposition to metanarratives, or totalizing explanations of reality that are true for all people of all cultures; and (3) the idea of culturally created realities. Each of these commitments are designed to deny that there is a worldview or belief system that can be considered absolute Truth.
Postmodernism's most effective methodological tool, one used extensively in university modern language departments, is known as Deconstruction, which means (1) that words do not represent reality, and (2) that concepts expressed in sentences in any language are arbitrary.
Some Postmodernists go so far as to deconstruct humanity itself. Thus, along with the death of God, truth, and reason, humanity is also obliterated. Paul Kugler notes the ironic twist: "Today, it is the speaking subject who declared God dead one hundred years ago whose very existence is now being called into question."[xxiv]
To complicate matters even further, we must acknowledge that there even exists a variety of Postmodernism called "Christian Postmodernism."[xxv] Such is the essence of mainstream Postmodernism-a worldview that claims there are no worldviews. This "anti-worldview" worldview is one that certainly demands the attention of thoughtful Christians.
Conclusion
We cannot overstate the significance of these five anti-Christian worldviews. The basis for much of what is taught in the public classroom today comes from Secular, Marxist, Cosmic Humanist, and Postmodern thinking and takes on a variety of labels: liberalism, multiculturalism, political correctness, deconstructionism, or self-esteem education. Or, as is often the case, the labels are dropped and courses are taught from anti-Christian assumptions without students being told which worldview is being expressed. Neutrality in education is a myth.
The first chapter of the Book of Daniel explains how Daniel and his friends prepared themselves to survive and flourish amid the clash of worldviews of their day. We believe that Christian young people equipped with a comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the Christian worldview and its rivals can become "Daniels" who will not stand on the sidelines, but will participate in the great collision of worldviews in the twenty-first century.
Society will flourish in the light of truth only when the emphasis shifts back to a Christian perspective. This dramatic shift in emphasis can be brought about through the leadership of thousands of informed, confident Christian students who think deeply and broadly from a well-honed biblical worldview and emerge as leaders in education, business, science, and government.
Our desire to bring about this shift in emphasis is the fundamental reason Summit Ministries produces curricula and resources for Christian schools and homeschool families (primary, middle, and secondary), presents in-service worldview training for teachers across the U.S. and around the world, and provides worldview conferences for students and adults. Information is available at www.summit.org.
About the Author:
Dr. David A. Noebel is founder and president of Summit Ministries and edits and writes Summit's monthly publication, The Journal. Dr. Noebel has been a college professor, college president, and candidate for the U.S. Congress. Dr. Noebel has a B.A. from Hope College in Holland, a M.A. from the University of Tulsa, and was a Ph.D. candidate in Philosophy at the University of Wisconsin. He is an Author, Editor, Public Speaker, and Ordained Minister. Dr. Noebel is recognized as an expert on worldview analysis and the decline of morality and spirituality in Western Civilization. His most popular works include Understanding the Times: The Collision of Today's Worldviews, which sold over 500,000 copies, and Clergy in the Classroom: the Religion of Secular Humanism (co-authored with Kevin Bywater and J.F. Baldwin). He and his wife Alice live in Manitou Springs, CO and have two children and five grandchildren.
*This article is taken from the introductory chapter of David A. Noebel, Understanding the Times, 2nd Ed., (Summit Press: Manitou Springs, CO, 2006). Understanding the Times is a landmark text that provides a comprehensive comparison of the six worldviews discussed in this article and can be purchased at www.summit.org. Portions of the original text has been edited and re-written by Chuck Edwards for the purposes of this article.
ENDNOTES:
[i] James C. Dobson and Gary L. Bauer, Children at Risk: The Battle For the Hearts and Minds of Our Kids (Dallas, TX: Word, 1990), 19.
[ii] Ibid., 19–20.
[iii] Taken from the "College Student Survey." Cooperative Institutional Research Program, U.C.L.A. Online article: http://www.gseis.ucla.edu/heri/css_po.html.
[iv] Norman L. Geisler and William D. Watkins, Worlds Apart (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1989), 11.
[v] Other areas could be included in a definition of worldview, such as the arts, yet these ten disciplines contain the primary areas, acting as a web of interacting ideas, which contribute to a total world and life view.
[vi] Francis A. Schaeffer, A Christian Manifesto (Westchester, IL: Crossway Books, 1981), 17.
[vii] http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0001468.html.
[viii] "The Future Belongs to Islam," by Mark Steyn, October 20, 2006, accessed 5/4/2009, http://www.macleans.ca/culture/books/article.jsp?content=20061023_134898_134898.
[ix] Serge Trifkovic, The Sword of the Prophet (Boston, MA: Regina Orthodox, 2002), 55.
[x] Ibid., 369.
[xi] Op cit., p. 51.
[xii] Ibn Warraq1 (Ed.), The Quest for the Historical Muhammad, New York, 2000, p. 349, quoted in Trafkovic, p. 51.
[xiii] See the American Islamic Forum for Democracy at http://www.aifdemocracy.org/.
[xiv] Paul Edward Gottfried, The Strange Death of Marxism: The European Left in the New Millennium (Columbia, MO: University of Missouri Press, 2005); David Horowitz, Unholy Alliance: Radical Islam and the American Left (Washington, DC: Regnery Publishing, 2004); Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri, Empire (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2000); Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History, Theories, and Political Significance (Cambridge, NY: MIT, 1998); Raymond Aron, The Opium of the Intellectuals (third printing; New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction, 2003).
[xv] Roger Kimball, Tenured Radicals (New York, NY: Harper and Row, 1990), xiii.
[xvi] U. S. News and World Report, Special Collection Edition, September 2, 2003, p. 86.
[xvii] See the online article, "The Socialization of America," by David Noebel, accessed 5/4/2009, http://www.summit.org/blogs/pd/2009/03/the_socialization_of_america.php
[xviii] Johanna Michaelsen, Like Lambs to the Slaughter (Eugene, OR: Harvest House, 1989), 11.
[xix] Marilyn Ferguson, The Austrian Conspiracy (Los Angeles, CA: J.P. Tarcher, 1980), 23.
[xx] Adolph, 11.
[xxi] John P. Newport, The New Age Movement and the Biblical Worldview: Conflict and Dialogue (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Publishing Co, 1998) p. 214.
[xxii] Books by best-selling authors include The Celestine Prophecy and Conversations with God, while Cosmic Humanist themes are explicit in TV shows such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Lost, as well as through films such as Pocahontas, Mulan, and Star Wars (directed toward children), and Sixth Sense, Gladiator, Dances with Wolves, and Hidalgo, (for adult viewing), just to name a few in each category.
[xxiii] See J.P. Moreland's website for his article "Postmodernism and the Christian Life." Also, J. P. Moreland and William Lane Craig, The Philosophical Foundation of a Christian Worldview.
[xxiv] Walter Truett Anderson, The Future of the Self: Exploring the Post-Identity Society (New York, NY: Tarcher/Putnam, 1997), 32.
[xxv] See D.A. Carson, The Gagging of God: Christianity Confronts Pluralism (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1996); Myron B. Penner, ed., Christianity and the Postmodern Turn (Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos Press, 2005); and D.A. Carson, Becoming Conversant with the Emerging Church (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2005).
http://worldviewtimes.com/article.php/articleid-5324/Brannon-Howse/David-Noebel
Understanding Six Worldviews that Rule the World*
By Dr. David Noebel
President, Summit Ministries
Back in the early 1990s, Dr. James Dobson and Gary Bauer sought to identify what they saw happening to Christian young people in the United States. Their conclusion was that "nothing short of a great Civil War of Values rages today throughout North America. Two sides with vastly differing and incompatible worldviews are locked in a bitter conflict that permeates every level of society."[i] The war, as Dobson and Bauer put it, is a struggle "for the hearts and minds of people. It is a war over ideas."[ii]
On one side is the Christian worldview, the foundation of Western civilization. On the other side are five worldviews: Islam, Secular Humanism, Marxism, Cosmic Humanism, and Postmodernism. While these worldviews don't agree in every detail, they unanimously concur on one point-their opposition to biblical Christianity.
As in any war, there are casualties, and anti-Christian ideas are taking their toll. Recent surveys indicate that up to 59 percent of "born again" college students drop out of that category by their senior year.[iii] According to George Barna's research, nine out of ten "born again" adults do not have a biblical worldview. To effectively engage this battle of ideas, Christians must have an understanding of the times and "know what [they] ought to do" (1 Chronicles 12:32).
What is a Worldview?
Everyone bases his or her decisions and actions on a worldview. We may not be able to articulate our worldview, and our worldview may be inconsistent, but we all have one. So the question is; what is a worldview?
A worldview is "an interpretive framework"[iv]-much like a pair of glasses-through which you view everything. It refers to any set of ideas, beliefs, or values that provide a framework or map to help you understand God, the world, and your relationship to God and the world. Specifically, a worldview contains a particular perspective regarding at least each of the following ten disciplines: theology, philosophy, ethics, biology, psychology, sociology, law, politics, economics, and history.[v]
This article summarizes the six worldviews that currently exert the most influence over the whole world. Other worldviews exist, but they wield much less influence. For example, Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism, or Shintoism may profoundly influence some Eastern countries, but hardly sway the entire world. The major ideas and belief systems controlling the world, and especially the West, are contained in the following six worldviews.
The Christian Worldview
Many people, including many Christians, do not realize that the Bible addresses all ten disciplines of a worldview. Christianity is the embodiment of Christ's claim that He is "the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6). When we say, "This is the Christian way," we mean this is the way Christ would have us approach life and the world. It is no small matter to think and act as Christ instructs.
America has been described as a Christian nation. However, America-along with the rest of Western Civilization-has turned away from its intellectual, cultural and religious heritage. Almost thirty years ago, Christian philosopher Francis Schaeffer noted America's drift toward secularism as a failure of Christians "to see that all of this [cultural and social breakdown] has come about due to a shift in world view-that is, through a fundamental change in the overall way people think and view the world and life as a whole."[vi]
The study of worldviews in general, and the Christian worldview in particular, is a wake-up call for everyone. A country seeking to promote human rights (including the right to be born), liberty, and the common good must adhere to the only worldview that can account for our existence and dignity. We contend that human dignity comes from the fact that human beings are created in the image of God, a uniquely biblical perspective. Abandoning this perspective has dire consequences, considering the rise in abortions, homosexual practices, euthanasia, same-sex marriage, embryonic stem cell research, and the move toward human cloning.
The Islamic Worldview
It is estimated there are 1.3 billion followers of Islam.[vii] In recent years, the Islamic worldview has been growing exponentially in numbers, power, and influence, and, therefore, is worthy of our study. As one article headlined, "The future belongs to Islam,"[viii] providing added incentive to understand its beliefs and goals.
Writing in The Sword of the Prophet, commentator and international political consultant, Serge Trifkovic, explains that "Islam is not a 'mere' religion; it is a complete way of life, an all-embracing social, political and legal system that breeds a worldview peculiar to itself."[ix]
Christianity and Islam have some teachings in common, including belief in a personal God, creation of the material universe, angels, immortality of the soul, heaven, hell, and judgment of sin. Likewise, Muslims accept Jesus as a prophet (one of many), his virgin birth, physical ascension, second coming, miracles, and messiahship.[x]
The major differences between Christianity and Islam is Islam's rejection of the biblical Trinitarian God and the death of Jesus for the sins of the world. Muslims likewise reject Jesus' physical resurrection from the dead and his claim to be the Son of God.
Another major difference between the founder of Christianity and the founder of Islam is that the Bible describes Jesus as living a sinless life while the traditions of Islam depict Muhammad having many flaws. "Muhammad's practice and constant encouragement of bloodshed," writes Trifkovic, "are unique in the history of religions. Murder, pillage, rape, and more murder are in the Koran and in the Traditions."[xi] Furthermore, Muhammad's life "seems to have impressed his followers with a profound belief in the value of bloodshed as opening the gates of Paradise."[xii] Thus, the history of Islam from 622 A.D. to the present has been a history of violence, submission, and war toward infidels (non-Muslims).
For many Muslims, one of Mohammad's most important legacies is to see the world as a conflict between the Land of Peace (Dar al-Islam) and the Land of War (Dar al-Harb). On the other hand, there are a number of Muslims, particularly those living in Western democracies, who do not believe the Koran's violent passages regarding killing infidels and Islam's violent history should be applied literally today.[xiii] Yet, in either case, Islam is a worldview with which Christians must contend.
The Secular Humanist Worldview
Secular Humanism refers primarily to the ideas and beliefs outlined in the Humanist Manifestoes of 1933, 1973, and 2000. Secular Humanism is the dominant worldview on the majority of colleges and universities throughout all Western nations. It has also made gains in many Christian colleges and universities, especially in the areas of biology, sociology, law, politics, and history.
Secular Humanists recognize the classroom as a powerful incubator for indoctrinating students into their worldview. Operating under the educational buzzword "liberalism," a Secular Humanist agenda controls the curriculum in America's public schools thanks to the National Education Association, the National Academy of Sciences, and a host of foundations, including the Ford Foundation.
Christians considering a college education must be well versed in the Secular Humanistic worldview or risk losing their own Christian perspective by default. In her book Walking Away From the Faith, Ruth Tucker, a professor at Calvin Seminary, makes it clear that Christian students are walking away from their faith because of Secular Humanist teaching.
The ideas of Humanism have gained prominent influence throughout modern society. B.F. Skinner, Abraham Maslow, Carl Rogers, and Erich Fromm, all former "Humanists of the Year," have powerfully affected the discipline of psychology. Scientists such as the late Carl Sagan, another "Humanist of the Year," preached his Humanism on a widely heralded television and high school curriculum series. More recently, the outspoken atheist and Oxford biologist Richard Dawkins has gained much attention through a number of popular books on evolution and, of course, his 2006 best-seller, The God Delusion. Clearly, Humanists are willing to support their worldview-often more faithfully than Christians. For these and other reasons, we must give the Secular Humanist worldview close attention.
The Marxist Worldview
Marxism is a militantly atheistic, materialistic worldview. It has developed a perspective regarding each of the ten disciplines-usually in great detail. Based on the writings of Karl Marx in the late 1800s, Marxism has taken on some new looks in recent years-including debasing culture as a form of revolutionary activity.[xiv] The latest Communist Manifesto, titled Empire, was published in 2000 by Harvard University Press. Marx's presence continues to be felt around the world.
Marxism predominates on many American university campuses. Recruited as college students in the 1950s and '60s, many Marxist "radicals" earned PhDs and are now the tenured faculty on many campuses. "With a few notable exceptions," says former Yale professor Roger Kimball, "our most prestigious liberal arts colleges and universities have installed the entire radical menu at the center of their humanities curriculum at both the undergraduate and the graduate level."[xv] U. S. News and World Report published a lengthy article in 2003 entitled "Where Marxism Lives Today," which states, "Marxism is so entrenched in courses ranging from literature to anthropology… that today's students are virtually bathed in Marx's ideas."[xvi]
The "radical menu" Kimball referred to includes a large serving of economic determinism. According to Karl Marx, the key problem with capitalism is that it breeds exploitation. Therefore, capitalism must be replaced with a more humane economic system, one that abolishes free markets (private property and the free and peaceful exchange of goods and services) and replaces it with a government-controlled economy.
Marx's economic ideas and political policy go hand in hand. A Marxist style communism controls a large number of nations around the world, and traveling under the name of "social democracy," a Marxist inspired political philosophy has engulfed Western European nations. Further, many South American countries have also taken a Marxist turn in recent years, and many think that the current administration and congress of the United States is quickly taking America down the same socialist road.[xvii]
In addition, some Christian groups have attempted to combine their Christianity with Marx's ideas of social equality. Because of the prevalence and subversive nature of Marxism, Christians must be aware of the goals of Marxist-thinking professors, politicians, and theologians.
The Cosmic Humanist Worldview
The Cosmic Humanist worldview consists of two interrelated spiritual movements. One is known as the New Age Movement (NAM), and the other is neo-paganism, which includes occult practices, Native American spiritism, and Wicca.
The New Age Movement mixes ancient Eastern religions (especially Hinduism and Zen Buddhism) with a touch of other religious traditions, adds a smattering of scientific jargon, and imports the newly baked concoction into mainstream America. "The New Age," explains researcher Johanna Michaelsen, "is the ultimate eclectic religion of self: Whatever you decide is right for you is what's right, as long as you don't get narrow-minded and exclusive about it."[xviii]
The assumption that truth resides within each individual, however, becomes the cornerstone for a worldview. Granting oneself the power to discern all truth is a facet of theology, and this theology has ramifications that many members of the New Age movement have already discovered. Marilyn Ferguson, author of The Aquarian Conspiracy (a book referred to as "The New Age watershed classic"), says the movement ushers in a "new mind-the ascendance of a startling worldview."[xix]
This worldview is summed up by Jonathan Adolph: "In its broadest sense, New Age thinking can be characterized as a form of utopianism, the desire to create a better society, a 'New Age' in which humanity lives in harmony with itself, nature, and the cosmos."[xx]
While New Age believers make no serious distinctions between religions, considering that all are ultimately the same, John P. Newport explains that "neopagans generally believe that they are practicing an ancient folk religion, whether as a survival or a revival. Thus, being focused on the pagan religions of the past, they are not particularly interested in a New Age of the future."[xxi]
Through best-selling books and popular television shows and movies,[xxii] the Cosmic Humanist worldview is gaining converts in the West and around the world. Malachi Martin lists dozens of organizations that are either New Age or sympathetic to Cosmic Humanist views. Clearly, Cosmic Humanism, a transplant from the East, is a growing presence throughout the Western hemisphere.
the Postmodern Worldview
Forced to face the inhumanity, destruction, and horror brought about by the Third Reich and the Soviet Gulag during the first half of the 20th century, a substantial group of Enlightenment humanists and neo-Marxists abandoned their worldview to create one they believed more fitting with reality, resulting in the Postmodern turn. By the 1980's, Postmodern professors were making significant inroads in humanities and social science departments around the world.
Christian philosopher J.P. Moreland notes that Postmodernism refers to a philosophical approach primarily in the area of epistemology, or what counts as knowledge or truth. Broadly speaking, Moreland says "Postmodernism represents a form of cultural relativism about such things as truth, reality, reason, values, linguistic meaning, the 'self' and other notions."[xxiii]
Though Postmodernism comes in many forms, there are three unifying values: (1) a commitment to relativism; (2) an opposition to metanarratives, or totalizing explanations of reality that are true for all people of all cultures; and (3) the idea of culturally created realities. Each of these commitments are designed to deny that there is a worldview or belief system that can be considered absolute Truth.
Postmodernism's most effective methodological tool, one used extensively in university modern language departments, is known as Deconstruction, which means (1) that words do not represent reality, and (2) that concepts expressed in sentences in any language are arbitrary.
Some Postmodernists go so far as to deconstruct humanity itself. Thus, along with the death of God, truth, and reason, humanity is also obliterated. Paul Kugler notes the ironic twist: "Today, it is the speaking subject who declared God dead one hundred years ago whose very existence is now being called into question."[xxiv]
To complicate matters even further, we must acknowledge that there even exists a variety of Postmodernism called "Christian Postmodernism."[xxv] Such is the essence of mainstream Postmodernism-a worldview that claims there are no worldviews. This "anti-worldview" worldview is one that certainly demands the attention of thoughtful Christians.
Conclusion
We cannot overstate the significance of these five anti-Christian worldviews. The basis for much of what is taught in the public classroom today comes from Secular, Marxist, Cosmic Humanist, and Postmodern thinking and takes on a variety of labels: liberalism, multiculturalism, political correctness, deconstructionism, or self-esteem education. Or, as is often the case, the labels are dropped and courses are taught from anti-Christian assumptions without students being told which worldview is being expressed. Neutrality in education is a myth.
The first chapter of the Book of Daniel explains how Daniel and his friends prepared themselves to survive and flourish amid the clash of worldviews of their day. We believe that Christian young people equipped with a comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the Christian worldview and its rivals can become "Daniels" who will not stand on the sidelines, but will participate in the great collision of worldviews in the twenty-first century.
Society will flourish in the light of truth only when the emphasis shifts back to a Christian perspective. This dramatic shift in emphasis can be brought about through the leadership of thousands of informed, confident Christian students who think deeply and broadly from a well-honed biblical worldview and emerge as leaders in education, business, science, and government.
Our desire to bring about this shift in emphasis is the fundamental reason Summit Ministries produces curricula and resources for Christian schools and homeschool families (primary, middle, and secondary), presents in-service worldview training for teachers across the U.S. and around the world, and provides worldview conferences for students and adults. Information is available at www.summit.org.
About the Author:
Dr. David A. Noebel is founder and president of Summit Ministries and edits and writes Summit's monthly publication, The Journal. Dr. Noebel has been a college professor, college president, and candidate for the U.S. Congress. Dr. Noebel has a B.A. from Hope College in Holland, a M.A. from the University of Tulsa, and was a Ph.D. candidate in Philosophy at the University of Wisconsin. He is an Author, Editor, Public Speaker, and Ordained Minister. Dr. Noebel is recognized as an expert on worldview analysis and the decline of morality and spirituality in Western Civilization. His most popular works include Understanding the Times: The Collision of Today's Worldviews, which sold over 500,000 copies, and Clergy in the Classroom: the Religion of Secular Humanism (co-authored with Kevin Bywater and J.F. Baldwin). He and his wife Alice live in Manitou Springs, CO and have two children and five grandchildren.
*This article is taken from the introductory chapter of David A. Noebel, Understanding the Times, 2nd Ed., (Summit Press: Manitou Springs, CO, 2006). Understanding the Times is a landmark text that provides a comprehensive comparison of the six worldviews discussed in this article and can be purchased at www.summit.org. Portions of the original text has been edited and re-written by Chuck Edwards for the purposes of this article.
ENDNOTES:
[i] James C. Dobson and Gary L. Bauer, Children at Risk: The Battle For the Hearts and Minds of Our Kids (Dallas, TX: Word, 1990), 19.
[ii] Ibid., 19–20.
[iii] Taken from the "College Student Survey." Cooperative Institutional Research Program, U.C.L.A. Online article: http://www.gseis.ucla.edu/heri/css_po.html.
[iv] Norman L. Geisler and William D. Watkins, Worlds Apart (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1989), 11.
[v] Other areas could be included in a definition of worldview, such as the arts, yet these ten disciplines contain the primary areas, acting as a web of interacting ideas, which contribute to a total world and life view.
[vi] Francis A. Schaeffer, A Christian Manifesto (Westchester, IL: Crossway Books, 1981), 17.
[vii] http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0001468.html.
[viii] "The Future Belongs to Islam," by Mark Steyn, October 20, 2006, accessed 5/4/2009, http://www.macleans.ca/culture/books/article.jsp?content=20061023_134898_134898.
[ix] Serge Trifkovic, The Sword of the Prophet (Boston, MA: Regina Orthodox, 2002), 55.
[x] Ibid., 369.
[xi] Op cit., p. 51.
[xii] Ibn Warraq1 (Ed.), The Quest for the Historical Muhammad, New York, 2000, p. 349, quoted in Trafkovic, p. 51.
[xiii] See the American Islamic Forum for Democracy at http://www.aifdemocracy.org/.
[xiv] Paul Edward Gottfried, The Strange Death of Marxism: The European Left in the New Millennium (Columbia, MO: University of Missouri Press, 2005); David Horowitz, Unholy Alliance: Radical Islam and the American Left (Washington, DC: Regnery Publishing, 2004); Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri, Empire (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2000); Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History, Theories, and Political Significance (Cambridge, NY: MIT, 1998); Raymond Aron, The Opium of the Intellectuals (third printing; New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction, 2003).
[xv] Roger Kimball, Tenured Radicals (New York, NY: Harper and Row, 1990), xiii.
[xvi] U. S. News and World Report, Special Collection Edition, September 2, 2003, p. 86.
[xvii] See the online article, "The Socialization of America," by David Noebel, accessed 5/4/2009, http://www.summit.org/blogs/pd/2009/03/the_socialization_of_america.php
[xviii] Johanna Michaelsen, Like Lambs to the Slaughter (Eugene, OR: Harvest House, 1989), 11.
[xix] Marilyn Ferguson, The Austrian Conspiracy (Los Angeles, CA: J.P. Tarcher, 1980), 23.
[xx] Adolph, 11.
[xxi] John P. Newport, The New Age Movement and the Biblical Worldview: Conflict and Dialogue (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Publishing Co, 1998) p. 214.
[xxii] Books by best-selling authors include The Celestine Prophecy and Conversations with God, while Cosmic Humanist themes are explicit in TV shows such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Lost, as well as through films such as Pocahontas, Mulan, and Star Wars (directed toward children), and Sixth Sense, Gladiator, Dances with Wolves, and Hidalgo, (for adult viewing), just to name a few in each category.
[xxiii] See J.P. Moreland's website for his article "Postmodernism and the Christian Life." Also, J. P. Moreland and William Lane Craig, The Philosophical Foundation of a Christian Worldview.
[xxiv] Walter Truett Anderson, The Future of the Self: Exploring the Post-Identity Society (New York, NY: Tarcher/Putnam, 1997), 32.
[xxv] See D.A. Carson, The Gagging of God: Christianity Confronts Pluralism (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1996); Myron B. Penner, ed., Christianity and the Postmodern Turn (Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos Press, 2005); and D.A. Carson, Becoming Conversant with the Emerging Church (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2005).
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Congress Doesn't have the Constitutional Authority
If you haven't checked out AIPnews.com yet, please do so. This is some of the great stuff you can find there.
Article I Section 8, Federalist No. 45, and the Tenth Amendment - the usurpation of power by Congress
AIPNews.com
by Bob Bailey
It is difficult to understand how our national leaders can pass many of the laws they do given they have no authority to do so. It is also difficult to understand how everything seems to have been turned upside down -- what use to mean one thing now means the opposite. Well, here are the facts regarding the intent of the Constitution and how politicians attempt to convince us they are operating within its confines.
US Constitution
Article I - The Legislative Branch
Section 8 - Powers of Congress
17 Sep 1797
Taxing and Spending Clause – Article I, Section 8 of the US Constitution is sometimes referred to as the "The Taxing and Spending Clause". It's intent is to grant Congress the power to impose taxes for paying for three general areas: (1) pay off the Debt incurred during the war for independence, (2) provide for national Defense, and (3) provide for the general Welfare. The first paragraph reads as follows:
(first paragraph) The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;
General Welfare Clause – The "general Welfare" clause in this paragraph is what the leaders in the central government use to grant themselves power to do whatever they want. However, James Madison pointed out that if this is what was intended, there would have been no need to enumerate the limiting powers listed in this same article. Madison was very clear that the power to tax and spend was confined only to the enumerated powers listed in the US Constitution. As has been pointed out, the general Welfare clause is a reference to one of the three areas where power was granted to the federal government with regard to taxing and spending, and those powers are enumerated between the first and last paragraphs of Article I, Section 8.
The first paragraph, therefore, is clearly an outline of what is to follow, which are the enumerated powers granted to the US Congress.
Necessary and Proper Clause – The "necessary and proper" clause is the other clause the central government uses to grant themselves power. This clause is found in the last paragraph:
(last paragraph) To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.
Here again, if the intent had been to grant the federal government unlimited powers there would have been no need to list the powers granted to the federal government, either in Article I, Section 8, or anywhere else in the Constitution. The intent of this clause is to provide the federal government the means to carry out the powers that were granted to it in the Constitution. For example, Section 8 grants the power to the federal government "To establish Post Offices and Post Roads". With regards to establishing Post Offices, it is "necessary and proper" that the government build post office buildings in order to carry out this function.
The last paragraph is clearly a clarification regarding the authority granted Congress as listed in the enumerated powers, and only the enumerated powers.
Commerce clause – Before leaving Article I, Section 8, the Commerce clause should also be discussed. The Commerce clause is an enumerated power listed in Article 1, Section 8, Clause 3. The clause states:
[The Congress shall have power] To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, and with the Indian tribes;
This clause is often paired with the Necessary and Proper Clause in order to take a broad, expansive perspective of the Commerce clause. However, several facts must be taken into account. By definition "commerce" is the commercial exchange of goods and services including the marketing, purchasing, and transporting those goods. Production, on the other hand, is not part of the process of the commercial exchange of goods and services. "Among the several States" means activity occurring in more that one State. “To regulate" means the power to prescribe rules under which commerce shall be transacted. Taken together, this means Congress can not regulate matters that are completely internal to a State. Congress also can not interfere with things that are not necessary for executing its enumerated powers.
The way usurpers in the Congress have used the Commerce clause is to argue that commerce should include any gainful activity; which would of course give power to the central government to control the entire economy. Some have even proposed the Commerce clause is to deal with any human interaction including speech. The problem with these ideas is that they are inconsistent with the thinking of those who participated in the creation our Constitution.
US Constitution
Tenth Amendment
15 December 1791
When determining the intent of the US Constitution with regards to broad versus limited power there is the Tenth Amendment. This Amendment is part of the Bill of Rights, which were proposed by the First Congress to address the concern that the Constitution, as drafted, would open the way to tyranny by the central government. The Tenth Amendment reads:
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
This Amendment addresses the powers retained by the States and the people. It makes clear the idea that the federal government is limited only to the powers granted in the Constitution and restates how the Constitution's principle of federalism is designed; that is, by providing that powers not granted to the National government nor prohibited to the States are reserved to the States or the People.
The Federalist Papers
Essay No. 45
[James Madison]
26 Jan 1788
Quoting The Federalist No. 45:
“The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the State governments are numerous and indefinite. The former will be exercised principally on external objects, as war, peace, negotiation, and foreign commerce; with which last the power of taxation will, for the most part; be connected. The powers reserved to the several States will extend to all the objects which, in the ordinary course of affairs, concern the lives, liberties, and properties of the people; and the internal order, improvement, and prosperity of the State.
The operations of the federal government will be most extensive and important in times of war and danger, those of the State governments in times of peace and security.”
Federalist No. 45 makes clear the distinction between the external powers granted to the federal government from the domestic powers reserved to the States. The Federal government's power pertains, for the most part, to external or foreign affairs. The State government's power pertains to the life, liberty or property of the people of the several States. Again, Congress was not granted broad authority under the general Welfare clause. Therefore, Congress does not have the authority to fund domestic social programs under the guise of the general welfare.
Examples of Unconstitutional Taxing and Spending
Congress often seeks to exercise its powers which are not authorized in the Constitution by offering or encouraging the States to implement national programs consistent with national minimum standards; a system known as cooperative federalism. One example of the exercise of this device is to condition allocation of federal funding where certain State laws do not conform to federal guidelines. For example, federal educational funds may not be accepted without implementation of special education programs in compliance with IDEA. Similarly, the nationwide State 55 mph speed limit, .08 legal blood alcohol limit, and the nationwide state 21-year drinking age were imposed through this method; the States would lose highway funding if they refused to pass such laws. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenth_amendment
Another easy to understand example of how Congress usurps its authority is the funding of local or particular projects comes from an article written at the Tenth Amendment Center. At the present time, Congress imposes a general gasoline tax of 18.4 cents per gallon throughout the United States. When Congress writes a spending bill and a powerful member of Congress wants to buy some votes from the folks back home, he places an earmark in the legislation to have a 3 million dollar bicycle trail built in his home State or congressional district. The money for the project is appropriated from the general fund of the United States where the gasoline taxes were deposited with other taxes of a general nature. Thus, taxes from the general fund were used to finance a local or particular project within an individual State. This is unconstitutional. The project was not for the [general] welfare of the States in their united capacity. This is unconstitutional. Since building bicycle trails in the States is “not authorised in the Constitution, either expressly or by fair implication,” the appropriation failed this test and is unconstitutional. In other words, Congress cannot impose a general tax throughout the United States, put the money in the general fund of the United States, appropriate money from the general fund of the United States, and then spend the money for a local or particular project. (from the Tenth Amendment Center http://www.tenthamendmentcenter.com/2009/08/04/congress-a-wealth-eating-virus/ )
Conclusion
In summary, Congress can only tax and spend in order to: (1) pay the debt, (2) provide for the common defense of the Nation, or (3) for the general Welfare of the nation; and if for the general Welfare, then it must be governed by BOTH the following:
a. Authorized in the Constitution.
b. Be general and apply to all; not for local or particular projects.
Since every spending bill passed by Congress for the general Welfare of the nation must meet both of these requirements to be constitutional, and very few of the spending bills by the central government can meet these standards, then members of Congress have usurped their authority.
Article I Section 8, Federalist No. 45, and the Tenth Amendment - the usurpation of power by Congress
AIPNews.com
by Bob Bailey
It is difficult to understand how our national leaders can pass many of the laws they do given they have no authority to do so. It is also difficult to understand how everything seems to have been turned upside down -- what use to mean one thing now means the opposite. Well, here are the facts regarding the intent of the Constitution and how politicians attempt to convince us they are operating within its confines.
US Constitution
Article I - The Legislative Branch
Section 8 - Powers of Congress
17 Sep 1797
Taxing and Spending Clause – Article I, Section 8 of the US Constitution is sometimes referred to as the "The Taxing and Spending Clause". It's intent is to grant Congress the power to impose taxes for paying for three general areas: (1) pay off the Debt incurred during the war for independence, (2) provide for national Defense, and (3) provide for the general Welfare. The first paragraph reads as follows:
(first paragraph) The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;
General Welfare Clause – The "general Welfare" clause in this paragraph is what the leaders in the central government use to grant themselves power to do whatever they want. However, James Madison pointed out that if this is what was intended, there would have been no need to enumerate the limiting powers listed in this same article. Madison was very clear that the power to tax and spend was confined only to the enumerated powers listed in the US Constitution. As has been pointed out, the general Welfare clause is a reference to one of the three areas where power was granted to the federal government with regard to taxing and spending, and those powers are enumerated between the first and last paragraphs of Article I, Section 8.
The first paragraph, therefore, is clearly an outline of what is to follow, which are the enumerated powers granted to the US Congress.
Necessary and Proper Clause – The "necessary and proper" clause is the other clause the central government uses to grant themselves power. This clause is found in the last paragraph:
(last paragraph) To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.
Here again, if the intent had been to grant the federal government unlimited powers there would have been no need to list the powers granted to the federal government, either in Article I, Section 8, or anywhere else in the Constitution. The intent of this clause is to provide the federal government the means to carry out the powers that were granted to it in the Constitution. For example, Section 8 grants the power to the federal government "To establish Post Offices and Post Roads". With regards to establishing Post Offices, it is "necessary and proper" that the government build post office buildings in order to carry out this function.
The last paragraph is clearly a clarification regarding the authority granted Congress as listed in the enumerated powers, and only the enumerated powers.
Commerce clause – Before leaving Article I, Section 8, the Commerce clause should also be discussed. The Commerce clause is an enumerated power listed in Article 1, Section 8, Clause 3. The clause states:
[The Congress shall have power] To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, and with the Indian tribes;
This clause is often paired with the Necessary and Proper Clause in order to take a broad, expansive perspective of the Commerce clause. However, several facts must be taken into account. By definition "commerce" is the commercial exchange of goods and services including the marketing, purchasing, and transporting those goods. Production, on the other hand, is not part of the process of the commercial exchange of goods and services. "Among the several States" means activity occurring in more that one State. “To regulate" means the power to prescribe rules under which commerce shall be transacted. Taken together, this means Congress can not regulate matters that are completely internal to a State. Congress also can not interfere with things that are not necessary for executing its enumerated powers.
The way usurpers in the Congress have used the Commerce clause is to argue that commerce should include any gainful activity; which would of course give power to the central government to control the entire economy. Some have even proposed the Commerce clause is to deal with any human interaction including speech. The problem with these ideas is that they are inconsistent with the thinking of those who participated in the creation our Constitution.
US Constitution
Tenth Amendment
15 December 1791
When determining the intent of the US Constitution with regards to broad versus limited power there is the Tenth Amendment. This Amendment is part of the Bill of Rights, which were proposed by the First Congress to address the concern that the Constitution, as drafted, would open the way to tyranny by the central government. The Tenth Amendment reads:
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
This Amendment addresses the powers retained by the States and the people. It makes clear the idea that the federal government is limited only to the powers granted in the Constitution and restates how the Constitution's principle of federalism is designed; that is, by providing that powers not granted to the National government nor prohibited to the States are reserved to the States or the People.
The Federalist Papers
Essay No. 45
[James Madison]
26 Jan 1788
Quoting The Federalist No. 45:
“The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the State governments are numerous and indefinite. The former will be exercised principally on external objects, as war, peace, negotiation, and foreign commerce; with which last the power of taxation will, for the most part; be connected. The powers reserved to the several States will extend to all the objects which, in the ordinary course of affairs, concern the lives, liberties, and properties of the people; and the internal order, improvement, and prosperity of the State.
The operations of the federal government will be most extensive and important in times of war and danger, those of the State governments in times of peace and security.”
Federalist No. 45 makes clear the distinction between the external powers granted to the federal government from the domestic powers reserved to the States. The Federal government's power pertains, for the most part, to external or foreign affairs. The State government's power pertains to the life, liberty or property of the people of the several States. Again, Congress was not granted broad authority under the general Welfare clause. Therefore, Congress does not have the authority to fund domestic social programs under the guise of the general welfare.
Examples of Unconstitutional Taxing and Spending
Congress often seeks to exercise its powers which are not authorized in the Constitution by offering or encouraging the States to implement national programs consistent with national minimum standards; a system known as cooperative federalism. One example of the exercise of this device is to condition allocation of federal funding where certain State laws do not conform to federal guidelines. For example, federal educational funds may not be accepted without implementation of special education programs in compliance with IDEA. Similarly, the nationwide State 55 mph speed limit, .08 legal blood alcohol limit, and the nationwide state 21-year drinking age were imposed through this method; the States would lose highway funding if they refused to pass such laws. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenth_amendment
Another easy to understand example of how Congress usurps its authority is the funding of local or particular projects comes from an article written at the Tenth Amendment Center. At the present time, Congress imposes a general gasoline tax of 18.4 cents per gallon throughout the United States. When Congress writes a spending bill and a powerful member of Congress wants to buy some votes from the folks back home, he places an earmark in the legislation to have a 3 million dollar bicycle trail built in his home State or congressional district. The money for the project is appropriated from the general fund of the United States where the gasoline taxes were deposited with other taxes of a general nature. Thus, taxes from the general fund were used to finance a local or particular project within an individual State. This is unconstitutional. The project was not for the [general] welfare of the States in their united capacity. This is unconstitutional. Since building bicycle trails in the States is “not authorised in the Constitution, either expressly or by fair implication,” the appropriation failed this test and is unconstitutional. In other words, Congress cannot impose a general tax throughout the United States, put the money in the general fund of the United States, appropriate money from the general fund of the United States, and then spend the money for a local or particular project. (from the Tenth Amendment Center http://www.tenthamendmentcenter.com/2009/08/04/congress-a-wealth-eating-virus/ )
Conclusion
In summary, Congress can only tax and spend in order to: (1) pay the debt, (2) provide for the common defense of the Nation, or (3) for the general Welfare of the nation; and if for the general Welfare, then it must be governed by BOTH the following:
a. Authorized in the Constitution.
b. Be general and apply to all; not for local or particular projects.
Since every spending bill passed by Congress for the general Welfare of the nation must meet both of these requirements to be constitutional, and very few of the spending bills by the central government can meet these standards, then members of Congress have usurped their authority.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Miley Cyrus and trampy teen idols
http://worldviewtimes.com/article.php/articleid-5283/Brannon-Howse/Rebecca-Hagelin
By Rebecca Hagelin
Moms everywhere are aghast at teen idol Miley Cyrus' recent pole dancing and exaltation of Britney Spears as her hero.
The "Hannah Montana" superstar morphed overnight from a bubbly starlet into just another trashy singer, leaving moms feeling betrayed. Many thought they had finally found a " Hollywood type" their daughters could look up to. I visited a friend last year and marveled at the wall-to-wall posters of Hannah Montana that adorned her ten-year-old daughter's room. Like millions of other little girls, Hannah was her hero. From her clothes, music, and dance moves to her hairstyle, this little girl (and her mom) were really "into" Hannah.
Then came the photo of Miley sprawled across a boy, her bright green bra in clear view. Next, the 15-year-old posed in nothing but a sheet for the cover of Vanity Fair. After a public outcry, the teen and her superstar dad Billy Ray apologized saying they had been tricked by the photographer. Right. The sorrow only came when parents protested en masse. Given that moms are desperate for role models for their daughters, we quickly forgave, only to be let down again this week when Miley pole danced her way as the heir apparent of the cute-girl-gone-trashy super star phenomenon. Left in her wake? Millions of pre-teen girls who are left thinking they have to be sex objects to "make it" in life.
Face the facts: There is a pattern here and it will not change as long as we don't recognize that our little girls are being used.
The mass marketers of Hollywood hype know that today's youth spend some 200 billion dollars a year of their own money on trinkets, music and all the accessories that go with it. They also know that pre-teen girls are easily manipulated and that more than anything else, want to be popular as they grow into young adults. So, they discover cute, talented young girls, make them superstars by playing on your daughter's dreams of glitz, and morph the "wholesome" starlets into trampy sex stars as they grow older, hoping to take the dollars of your girls with them. They aren't just turning the star into a tramp; their goal is to take your daughter too.
The transition happens at lightning speed - after all, there are only four years between the innocence of 12 and the sultriness needed by 16 to keep the big bucks flowing. History repeats itself. You know what happened to teen idol Britney Spears. America's little girls and their moms swooned and spent millions on Britney fashions. However, just as the Britney wannabes reached critical mass, the star's light started to short circuit. Her sexy ways quickly turned into bizarre behavior, drug problems and a raunchy attitude.
Not to worry, High School Musical's Vanessa Hudgens was there to take her place. But just as Vanessa hit her zenith in the eyes of our little girls, nude photos and other sexual revelations about her captured the headlines. Down came Vanessa and up went the posters of the twinkling, sparkly Miley Cyrus.
Now Miley has made the transition to tramp too. And millions of preteen girls have, once again, been manipulated into believing that being trampy is not only normal, but is the only way to succeed.
It's time for moms to wake up and protect our little girls from being used. Find other moms who are sick of the abuse - it only takes a few friends to create your own sub-culture within the madness of the crazy pop culture. Finding allies is one of the most effective ways to fight back and win. My book, "30 Ways in 30 Days to Save Your Family" is designed to help you do just that. Find out more at www.HowToSaveYourFamily.com .
By Rebecca Hagelin
Moms everywhere are aghast at teen idol Miley Cyrus' recent pole dancing and exaltation of Britney Spears as her hero.
The "Hannah Montana" superstar morphed overnight from a bubbly starlet into just another trashy singer, leaving moms feeling betrayed. Many thought they had finally found a " Hollywood type" their daughters could look up to. I visited a friend last year and marveled at the wall-to-wall posters of Hannah Montana that adorned her ten-year-old daughter's room. Like millions of other little girls, Hannah was her hero. From her clothes, music, and dance moves to her hairstyle, this little girl (and her mom) were really "into" Hannah.
Then came the photo of Miley sprawled across a boy, her bright green bra in clear view. Next, the 15-year-old posed in nothing but a sheet for the cover of Vanity Fair. After a public outcry, the teen and her superstar dad Billy Ray apologized saying they had been tricked by the photographer. Right. The sorrow only came when parents protested en masse. Given that moms are desperate for role models for their daughters, we quickly forgave, only to be let down again this week when Miley pole danced her way as the heir apparent of the cute-girl-gone-trashy super star phenomenon. Left in her wake? Millions of pre-teen girls who are left thinking they have to be sex objects to "make it" in life.
Face the facts: There is a pattern here and it will not change as long as we don't recognize that our little girls are being used.
The mass marketers of Hollywood hype know that today's youth spend some 200 billion dollars a year of their own money on trinkets, music and all the accessories that go with it. They also know that pre-teen girls are easily manipulated and that more than anything else, want to be popular as they grow into young adults. So, they discover cute, talented young girls, make them superstars by playing on your daughter's dreams of glitz, and morph the "wholesome" starlets into trampy sex stars as they grow older, hoping to take the dollars of your girls with them. They aren't just turning the star into a tramp; their goal is to take your daughter too.
The transition happens at lightning speed - after all, there are only four years between the innocence of 12 and the sultriness needed by 16 to keep the big bucks flowing. History repeats itself. You know what happened to teen idol Britney Spears. America's little girls and their moms swooned and spent millions on Britney fashions. However, just as the Britney wannabes reached critical mass, the star's light started to short circuit. Her sexy ways quickly turned into bizarre behavior, drug problems and a raunchy attitude.
Not to worry, High School Musical's Vanessa Hudgens was there to take her place. But just as Vanessa hit her zenith in the eyes of our little girls, nude photos and other sexual revelations about her captured the headlines. Down came Vanessa and up went the posters of the twinkling, sparkly Miley Cyrus.
Now Miley has made the transition to tramp too. And millions of preteen girls have, once again, been manipulated into believing that being trampy is not only normal, but is the only way to succeed.
It's time for moms to wake up and protect our little girls from being used. Find other moms who are sick of the abuse - it only takes a few friends to create your own sub-culture within the madness of the crazy pop culture. Finding allies is one of the most effective ways to fight back and win. My book, "30 Ways in 30 Days to Save Your Family" is designed to help you do just that. Find out more at www.HowToSaveYourFamily.com .
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
New Nationwide Study Confirms Homeschool Academic Achievement
New Nationwide Study Confirms Homeschool Academic AchievementIan Slatter
Director of Media Relations
August 10, 2009
Each year, the homeschool movement graduates at least 100,000 students. Due to the fact that both the United States government and homeschool advocates agree that homeschooling has been growing at around 7% per annum for the past decade, it is not surprising that homeschooling is gaining increased attention. Consequently, many people have been asking questions about homeschooling, usually with a focus on either the academic or social abilities of homeschool graduates.
As an organization advocating on behalf of homeschoolers, Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) long ago committed itself to demonstrating that homeschooling should be viewed as a mainstream educational alternative.
We strongly believe that homeschooling is a thriving education movement capable of producing millions of academically and socially able students who will have a tremendously positive effect on society.
Despite much resistance from outside the homeschool movement, whether from teachers unions, politicians, school administrators, judges, social service workers, or even family members, over the past few decades homeschoolers have slowly but surely won acceptance as a mainstream education alternative. This has been due in part to the commissioning of research which demonstrates the academic success of the average homeschooler.
The last piece of major research looking at homeschool academic achievement was completed in 1998 by Dr. Lawrence Rudner. Rudner, a professor at the ERIC Clearinghouse, which is part of the University of Maryland, surveyed over 20,000 homeschooled students. His study, titled Home Schooling Works, discovered that homeschoolers (on average) scored about 30 percentile points higher than the national average on standardized achievement tests.
This research and several other studies supporting the claims of homeschoolers have helped the homeschool cause tremendously. Today, you would be hard pressed to find an opponent of homeschooling who says that homeschoolers, on average, are poor academic achievers.
There is one problem, however. Rudner’s research was conducted over a decade ago. Without another look at the level of academic achievement among homeschooled students, critics could begin to say that research on homeschool achievement is outdated and no longer relevant.
Recognizing this problem, HSLDA commissioned Dr. Brian Ray, an internationally recognized scholar and president of the non-profit National Home Education Research Institute (NHERI), to collect data for the 2007–08 academic year for a new study which would build upon 25 years of homeschool academic scholarship conducted by Ray himself, Rudner, and many others.
Drawing from 15 independent testing services, the Progress Report 2009: Homeschool Academic Achievement and Demographics included 11,739 homeschooled students from all 50 states who took three well-known tests—California Achievement Test, Iowa Tests of Basic Skills, and Stanford Achievement Test for the 2007–08 academic year. The Progress Report is the most comprehensive homeschool academic study ever completed.
The Results
Overall the study showed significant advances in homeschool academic achievement as well as revealing that issues such as student gender, parents’ education level, and family income had little bearing on the results of homeschooled students.
National Average Percentile Scores
Subtest Homeschool Public School
Reading 89 50
Language 84 50
Math 84 50
Math 84 50
Science 86 50
Social Studies 84 50
Core a 88 50
Composite b 86 50
a. Core is a combination of Reading, Language, and Math.
Social Studies 84 50
Core a 88 50
Composite b 86 50
a. Core is a combination of Reading, Language, and Math.
b. Composite is a combination of all subtests that the student took on the test.
There was little difference between the results of homeschooled boys and girls on core scores.
Boys—87th percentile
Girls—88th percentile
Household income had little impact on the results of homeschooled students.
$34,999 or less—85th percentile
$35,000–$49,999—86th percentile
$50,000–$69,999—86th percentile
$70,000 or more—89th percentile
The education level of the parents made a noticeable difference, but the homeschooled children of non-college educated parents still scored in the 83rd percentile, which is well above the national average.
Neither parent has a college degree—83rd percentile
Neither parent has a college degree—83rd percentile
One parent has a college degree—86th percentile
Both parents have a college degree—90th percentile
Whether either parent was a certified teacher did not matter.
Certified (i.e., either parent ever certified)—87th percentile
Not certified (i.e., neither parent ever certified)—88th percentile
Parental spending on home education made little difference.
Spent $600 or more on the student—89th percentile
Spent under $600 on the student—86th percentile
The extent of government regulation on homeschoolers did not affect the results.
Low state regulation—87th percentile
Medium state regulation—88th percentile
High state regulation—87th percentile
HSLDA defines the extent of government regulation this way:
States with low regulation: No state requirement for parents to initiate any contact or State requires parental notification only.
States with moderate regulation: State requires parents to send notification, test scores, and/or professional evaluation of student progress.
State with high regulation: State requires parents to send notification or achievement test scores and/or professional evaluation, plus other requirements (e.g. curriculum approval by the state, teacher qualification of parents, or home visits by state officials).
The question HSLDA regularly puts before state legislatures is, “If government regulation does not improve the results of homeschoolers why is it necessary?”
In short, the results found in the new study are consistent with 25 years of research, which show that as a group homeschoolers consistently perform above average academically. The Progress Report also shows that, even as the numbers and diversity of homeschoolers have grown tremendously over the past 10 years, homeschoolers have actually increased the already sizeable gap in academic achievement between themselves and their public school counterparts-moving from about 30 percentile points higher in the Rudner study (1998) to 37 percentile points higher in the Progress Report (2009).
As mentioned earlier, the achievement gaps that are well-documented in public school between boys and girls, parents with lower incomes, and parents with lower levels of education are not found among homeschoolers. While it is not possible to draw a definitive conclusion, it does appear from all the existing research that homeschooling equalizes every student upwards. Homeschoolers are actually achieving every day what the public schools claim are their goals—to narrow achievement gaps and to educate each child to a high level.
Of course, an education movement which consistently shows that children can be educated to a standard significantly above the average public school student at a fraction of the cost—the average spent by participants in the Progress Report was about $500 per child per year as opposed to the public school average of nearly $10,000 per child per year—will inevitably draw attention from the K-12 public education industry.
Answering the Critics
This particular study is the most comprehensive ever undertaken. It attempts to build upon and improve on the previous research. One criticism of the Rudner study was that it only drew students from one large testing service. Although there was no reason to believe that homeschoolers participating with that service were automatically non-representative of the broader homeschool community, HSLDA decided to answer this criticism by using 15 independent testing services for this new study. There can be no doubt that homeschoolers from all walks of life and backgrounds participated in the Progress Report.
While it is true that not every homeschooler in America was part of this study, it is also true that the Progress Report provides clear evidence of the success of homeschool programs.
The reason is that all social science studies are based on samples. The goal is to make the sample as representative as possible because then more confident conclusions can be drawn about the larger population. Those conclusions are then validated when other studies find the same or similar results.
Critics tend to focus on this narrow point and maintain that they will not be satisfied until every homeschooler is submitted to a test. This is not a reasonable request because not all homeschoolers take standardized achievement tests. In fact, while the majority of homeschool parents do indeed test their children simply to track their progress and also to provide them with the experience of test-taking, it is far from a comprehensive and universal practice among homeschoolers.
The best researchers can do is provide a sample of homeschooling families and compare the results of their children to those of public school students, in order to give the most accurate picture of how homeschoolers in general are faring academically.
The concern that the only families who chose to participate are the most successful homeschoolers can be alleviated by the fact that the overwhelming majority of parents did not know their children's test results before agreeing to participate in the study.
HSLDA believes that this study along with the several that have been done in the past are clear evidence that homeschoolers are succeeding academically.
Final Thought
Homeschooling is making great strides and hundreds of thousands of parents across America are showing every day what can be achieved when parents exercise their right to homeschool and make tremendous sacrifices to provide their children with the best education available.
Iran leaders pave way for messianic 'Mahdi'
[I watched a report on CNN about this believe and "messiah" a few years ago. Of course, I can't find it on their website now. Something to seriously think about.]
Iran leaders pave way for messianic 'Mahdi'
5th annual confab brings together politics, religion, apocalyptic endtimes visions
Posted: August 10, 2009
10:17 pm Eastern
© 2009 WorldNetDaily
Iran last week held a multi-day conference, bringing together politicians, mullahs, students – Shiite and Sunni alike – to plot what can be done on this earthly plane to hasten the coming of the anointed one, a messianic, endtimes personage known as the Mahdi.
It wasn't a conference covered by the western press.
But Joel Richardson, author of the new book, "The Islamic Antichrist," conducted interviews with participants of this year's conference, as well as previous conferences, which have been held for the last five years – all in a bid to lay the groundwork for an apocalyptic vision of the day Muslims will rule the world.
"For the past five years, the Iranian religious and political leaders have annually gathered together for two days in the city of Qom for what is called 'The International Conference of Mahdism Doctrine,' sponsored by the Bright Future Institute," explains Richardson in a WND commentary today. "The purpose of the Bright Future Institute is 'to introduce Imam Mahdi to the world' and 'to pave the ground for his reappearance' and as [President Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad stated at last year's conference, 'help bring all of humanity to the knowledge of the true savior of mankind, Imam al-Mahdi.'"
Each year a growing number of Sunni Muslims and Christians join the predominantly Shiite hosts. This year, 400 articles were presented and 40 were selected for presentation. After the completion of the conference each year, the conference papers are published in book form and also placed on the Bright Future website.
"The theme of the conference this year was 'the Society and government which prepares the ground for the appearance [of the Mahdi]: Missions and Strategies,' explains Richardson, whose controversial book has skyrocketed up the best-sellers list since it debuted last week. "Each year, a special tribute is also paid to 30 key individuals who are recognized as being particular bright lights in the ongoing effort to spread the knowledge of the Mahdi worldwide. These 30 are known as 'the Helpers of the Mahdi.'"
Says Savyon and Y. Mansharof, an Iranian scholar: "From the establishment of the Islamic Regime in 1979 to Ahmadinejad's rise to power in August 2005, Mahdism had been a religious doctrine and a tradition that had no political manifestation. The political system operated independently of this messianic belief and of the anticipation of the return of the Mahdi. It was only with Ahmadinejad's presidency that this religious doctrine has become a political philosophy and taken a central place in politics."
Mahdism is now increasingly being used as a political tool
by appealing to the religious and nationalistic tendencies of various Muslims groups," says Richardson, who believes the striking similarities between Quranic and traditional Muslim depictions of the Mahdi suggest he could well be one in the same as the one known in Christian circles as "the Antichrist."
A presenter at last year's conference, Dr. Mariam Tabar, asserted that the "military capabilities of the future Mahdist state depend on Islamic governments in the here and now acquiring abilities to stand against the enemies of the imam [al-Mahdi]." Iran, of course, is attempting to become a nuclear power.
While some involved in Mahdism see the figure as a peace-loving global world leader, others within the movement reveal another side.
Last year, for instance, Ali Larijani, the chairman and speaker of the Iranian Parliament quoted Imam Muhammad Baqir, a famous Muslim scholar, as saying, "there must be bloodshed and jihad to establish Imam Mahdi's rule." Ayatollah Ibrahim al Amini, professor at the Religious Learning Center at Qom affirms Larijani when he states, "The Mahdi will offer the religion of Islam to the Jews and Christians; if they accept it they will be spared, otherwise they will be killed."
In "The Islamic Antichrist," Richardson, a student of Islam, exposes Western Christians to the Muslim traditions. He says most Christians have no idea of the stunning similarities between biblical Antichrist and the "Islamic Mahdi."
Richardson's book stands in stark contrast to most other popular prophecy books of the last 40 years.
The student of the Middle East says that after decades of reading popular prophecy books and even best-selling fiction like the "Left Behind" series, millions of evangelical Christians around the world are expecting the Antichrist to emerge from a revived Roman Empire, which many have assumed is associated with the Roman Catholic Church and the European Union.
Not so, argues Richardson. His book makes the case that the biblical Antichrist is one and the same as the Quran's Muslim Mahdi.
"The Islamic Antichrist" is a book almost certain to be greeted in the Muslim world with the same enthusiasm as Salman Rushdie's "The Satanic Verses." The author, Joel Richardson, is prepared. He has written the book under a pseudonym to protect himself and his family.
"The Bible abounds with proofs that the Antichrist's empire will consist only of nations that are, today, Islamic," says Richardson. "Despite the numerous prevailing arguments for the emergence of a revived European Roman empire as the Antichrist's power base, the specific nations the Bible identifies as comprising his empire are today all Muslim."
Richardson believes the key error of many previous prophecy scholars involves the misinterpretation of a prediction by Daniel to Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel describes the rise and fall of empires of the future, leading to the endtimes. Western Christians have viewed one of those empires as Rome, when, claims Richardson, Rome never actually conquered Babylon and was thus disqualified as a possibility.
It had to be another empire that rose and fell and rose again that would lead to rule of this "man of sin," described in the Bible. That empire, he says, is the Islamic Empire, which did conquer Babylon and, in fact, rules over it even today.
Many evangelical Christians believe the Bible predicts a charismatic ruler, the Antichrist, will arise in the last days, before the return of Jesus. The Quran also predicts that a man, called the Mahdi, will rise up to lead the nations, pledging to usher in an era of peace. Richardson makes the case these two men are, in fact, one in the same.
Richardson is the co-author with Walid Shoebat of "God's War on Terror: Islam, Prophecy and the Bible" and co-editor of "Why We Left Islam: Former Muslims Speak Out." "The Islamic Antichrist" is published by WND Books and is available autographed in the WND Superstore.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Interesting Quotes to Consider about Education
"Give me four years to teach the children and the seed I have sown will never be uprooted."
- Vladimir Lenin
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"It is the absolute right of the State to supervise the formation of public opinion."
- Joseph Goebbels, Nazi Germany
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"Schools have not necessarily much to do with education... they are mainly institutions of control, where basic habits must be inculcated in the young. Education is quite different and has little place in school."
- Winston Churchill
- Vladimir Lenin
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"It is the absolute right of the State to supervise the formation of public opinion."
- Joseph Goebbels, Nazi Germany
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Schools have not necessarily much to do with education... they are mainly institutions of control, where basic habits must be inculcated in the young. Education is quite different and has little place in school."
- Winston Churchill
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