LEGATO...

Modernism Eternal truths exist inherent in the universe and can be known through autonomous reason, or reason unaided by God. Eternal truths apply to all cultures/nations/societies. Postmodernism “Truth” is only what is true for each culture. Therefore what people “value” is only the product of the surrounding culture, nothing more, nothing less. Value systems can only be understood through the medium of language appropriate to each individual culture. Language is therefore a prisoner of culture. The very notion of universal truth is therefore rejected. Christianity God is “truth.” He has revealed both specific and general standards for conduct. (These standards are revealed in nature and especially in the Bible). Specific standard = “Thou shalt not murder.” General standard = “Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth.” Who determines the unwholesome word? Culture. Who determines the nature of what is unwholesome? God. Why is something unwholesome? It is inconsistent with the...

from First Care Family Resources... I know many of you are enjoying your summer vacations; however, there is something very ugly brewing in Washington that we need to be aware of. We need to take action IMMEDIATLEY! You have heard a lot on the news recently about the new health care bill. It is troubling on many levels. Most disturbing is that the wholesale provision of abortion is embedded in this proposal. In a nutshell - the new health care bill seeks to define abortion as mandatory health care. More than once, this bill was referred to as FOCA (Freedom of Choice Act) by stealth. Since there has been so much public opposition to this act, the new health care bill would effectively slip into the bill some of the cornerstones of FOCA. The result would be: 1. The biggest expansion of abortion since Roe v Wade. 2. All tax payers forced to pay for abortions through our tax dollars. 3. All private health plans mandated to provide abortion coverage. This means that all employers wou...

“We are half-hearted creatures, fooling around with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.” C.S. Lewis from “The Weight of Glory”

Given that I had rotator cuff surgery just 3 weeks ago, yet am typing this letter to the editor with one hand, must mean that the article by George Chauncey on “Gay at Yale” truly motivated me to respond. After reading the author’s claim that Yale has “changed for the better” regarding LGBT, I silently mused, “According to whom?” According to LGBT folks and their straight supporters at Yale? Isn’t that a circular argument? It reminds me of the football player who made himself the referee. You guessed right. His team won. It’s no wonder, then, that Yale has become “an exceptionally hospitable and exciting place to be gay.” I’ll bet. In fact I’ll wager that it’s become even more exciting than it was 25 years ago when I was a straight, conservative student at the Divinity School. Those were the days when a gay man knocked on the door of my dorm-room and flashed the center-fold of a gay magazine in my face and then left chuckling – all to let me know what he thought of my “bigotry.” Then t...

Ok, let me be more specific. If Adam's orginal cultural mandate from God was not to transform a fallen creation, but to build from the creation a godly civilization, what does a uniquely Christian civilization look like? Could it be that such an expression is to be found in the Church, the Body of Christ? Taking the question further, are the Quakers right? I'm not saying yes or no to these questions, but asking.

MANY OF US SPEAK OF THE NEED TO TRANSFORM CULTURE FOR CHRIST. BUT THE 'CULTURAL MANDATE' WAS GIVEN PRIOR TO THE FALL OF MAN (GEN. 1:26-28), WHEN THERE WAS NOTHING TO TRANSFORM. HOW OUGHT CHRISTIANS INTERPRET THE CULTURAL MANDATE TODAY ACCORDING TO ITS ORIGINAL CONTEXT? COMMENTS WELCOME...