This past Independence Day, North Korea shocked the world by launching at least six missiles, including a long-range Taepodong. In the Fall of 2002, North Korea both revealed that they had broken the 1994 agreement to not development weaponry, and nevertheless promised a moratorium on missile testing. I guess one deception begets another. The occurrence of these military exercises on the 4th of July was a clear attempt to gain one-on-one dialogue with the USA. President Bush, holding a press conference in Chicago yesterday, was asked about the developments in North Korea. One reporter … [Read more...] about North Korea & Appeasement
Culture
Good news on the health of David Powlison
David Wayne, aka "the Jollyblogger," provides a good report on the health of David Powlison. Having benefited tremendously by Dr. Powlison's writing, I was delighted to hear the good news. An excerpt: "He said that for five years he had been living with an undiagnosed sleep disorder. He was never able to enter deep sleep. Now that he has been properly diagnosed and is being treated he is starting to feel like his old self again. He mentioned that one of the great things about this is that, for five years he has been pulling back from involvement and activity and now he is in a place … [Read more...] about Good news on the health of David Powlison
While Europe Slept
Tim Challies posts a fantastic review on what appears to be a very important book on a concerning issue: An excerpt: While Europe Slept documents the mounting evidence indicating that radical Islam is destroying the West from within. Massive Islamic immigration to Europe has changed the face of the continent, leading to the likelihood that the Europe of the future will bear no resemblance to the Europe of the past. He [the author] found throughout Europe rapidly-expanding Muslim enclaves in which "women were oppressed and abused, homosexuals persecuted and killed, 'infidels' threatened and … [Read more...] about While Europe Slept
City Church of San Francisco to Leave the PCA
When I lived in Berkeley, CA (1999-2004), I made a few visits to worship with City Church, a vibrant body of 800 or so attendees (as of 2003) in the heart of the city. An affiliate of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York, NY, City Church sought to reach out to San Francisco with a theologically Reformed framework and methodological winsomeness akin to that of Tim Keller. One of the tenets of the PCA is the belief that the ecclesiastical offices of the church (elders and deacons) are open only to qualified males. Sadly, City Church is now leaving the PCA over that particular issue. CBMW … [Read more...] about City Church of San Francisco to Leave the PCA
US House slaps NYTs coverage of Swift
The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday approved (227-183) a resolution condemning news organizations for revealing a covert government program to track terrorist financing, saying the disclosure had "placed the lives of Americans in danger." According to CNN and The Washington Post, the House resolution went after the New York Times in particular. As Justin Taylor notes, the WSJ has written a piece differentiating their publication of the Swift operation from that of the NYT. Basically, the government did not object to the WSJ publishing a less sensationalized version of the … [Read more...] about US House slaps NYTs coverage of Swift
Jesus: Republican or Democrat?
Joe Carter offers a scathing rebuke of Randall Balmer's recent article in The Chronicle of Higher Education. Here's a partial outline of Carter's analysis: 1. Balmer claims to be an evangelical is suspect because, to him, religion is essentially a private matter and imposes no particular constraint from tradition, the historic church, or the Bible. 2. Balmer suggests that evangelicals oppose abortion and homosexuality simply because of their allegiance to the GOP. This is silly, since their is ample biblical data on both matters. 3. Balmer claims the best way to limit abortion is … [Read more...] about Jesus: Republican or Democrat?