Published in the New Castle Courier-Times, April 10, 2010
April 20th marks the eleventh anniversary of the warning sign of Columbine. Do you remember the shock following that day of horror? Everyone was seeking answers that at first glance appeared elusive, but could be found in what the Founding Fathers called Natural Law.
Scripture lays the foundation for Natural Law: ". . . since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities — his eternal power and divine nature — have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse." Rom 1:19-20 (NIV)
C. S. Lewis talked about it in "The Abolition of Man". Lewis maintained that every culture has a basic understanding of right and wrong. His book was a response to an effort by some educators to undermine a belief in Natural Law and to establish a secular understanding of morality.
Lewis believed that Natural Law should be taught to every generation so that these 'first principles' could enlighten the intellect, and restrain the animal nature of a person. Much of what Lewis wrote echoed our Founders.
"I lament that we waste so much time and money in punishing crimes and take so little pains to prevent them. We profess to be republicans, and yet we neglect the only means of establishing and perpetuating our republican forms of government; that is, the universal education of our youth in the principles of Christianity by means of the Bible; for this divine book, above all others, favors that equality among mankind, that respect for just laws . . ." Benjamin Rush - signer of the Declaration of Independence.
"Why then, if these books for children must be retained, as they will be, should not the bible regain the place it once held as a school book ? Its morals are pure, its examples captivating and noble. The reverence for the sacred book, that is thus early impressed, lasts long; and, probably, if not impressed in infancy, never takes firm hold of the mind." Fischer Ames - suggested the wording for the First Amendment.
"The moral principles and precepts contained in the Scripture ought to form the basis of all our civil constitutions and laws. All the miseries and evil [that] men suffer from vice, crime, ambition, injustice, oppression, slavery, and war, proceed from their despising or neglecting the precepts contained in the Bible." Noah Webster - the Father of American Scholarship and Education.
Amazingly, in the wake of Columbine, most people ignored the conclusions of the Colorado State Board of Education:
"Finally, we must remember, respect, and unashamedly take pride in the fact that our schools, like our country, found their origin and draw their strength from the faith-based morality that is at the heart of our national character . . . Today our schools have become so fearful of affirming one religion or one value over another that they have banished them all. In doing so they have abdicated their historic role in the moral formation of youth and thereby alienated themselves from our people's deep spiritual sensibilities. To leave this disconnection between society and its schools unaddressed is an open invitation to further divisiveness and decline."
Natural Law is just as real as the laws of physics and we ignore them both at our own peril. The inalienable rights described in the Declaration of Independence are based on a belief in the Laws of Nature and Nature's God. If Natural Law is rejected, then our rights disappear as well. If Natural Law is discarded, rights could be granted or removed at the whim of whoever holds political power.
Ideas have consequences. This nation was birthed because of a common understanding of Natural Law and an acknowledgement of a Creator. If we abandon Natural Law and reject the idea of a Creator, there will be consequences as well. If we fail to teach the laws of Nature and Nature's God, we will continue to experience events like Columbine. But do we really need another warning sign?
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Showing posts with label Columbine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Columbine. Show all posts
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
It’s Time to Pray – Two Years Later
Christian Perspectives Article – Courier-Times – September 22, 2007
It’s time to pray. It’s always been time to pray. This time it’s the youth’s turn.
That’s how I started my article two years ago. Not much has changed.
On Wednesday, September 26, 2007 students all across the country will gather again outside their school around the flagpole to pray for their school, their teachers, their principals, their fellow students, as well as the nation.
At first glance, our nation appears to be experiencing an extended period of peace. It’s been six years since terrorists have launched an attack on this land. It’s been eight and one-half years since the Columbine shootings. And the war in Iraq has not directly impacted most of the country. We don’t feel like we’re at war.
But a closer look still reveals several raging battles with new battle lines being formed every day.
The drug abuse problem in Henry County is still destroying families, causing financial heartache, and robbing the future of too many of our young people. Alcohol abuse on our high school and college campuses is so pervasive that many college freshmen think that “keggers” are one of the most significant parts of college life.
Modern media outlets, including movies, television, and popular music still promote a sexually experimental lifestyle that threatens our students with Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) and emotional abandonment. Entertainers are now open hostile toward Christ and the church and receive praise for their verbal attacks.
Just this week a State Senator in Nebraska filed a lawsuit against God for terroristic threats and untold damages from natural disasters. And because our courts have lost their way with regard to abortion, there are over forty-eight-million fewer citizens of the United States who are thirty years and under. In this war, we have had enough infant casualties to fill more than forty-eight cities the size of Indianapolis.
Two years of “recovery” from the damage caused by Katrina still reveals racial and class divisions that are deep and growing deeper. A friend of mine from Louisiana believes that racial hatred is strong in New Castle. Is he right?
Our political system has been reduced to deceptive power plays and character assassination. We no longer look for the best candidate or nominee, but the person what will do our biding. There are few statesmen, and precious little leaders with personal or professional integrity. Gone are the days where we can have honest debates over the facts and refrain from personal attacks. Negative attack ads and “October political surprises” are the norm.
Even the church is showing signs of moral failure and battle fatigue. National religious leaders continue to be caught in scandals, whole denominations are rejecting the authority of the Word of God, and faith statements are now being used as political tools. Have we forgotten that St. Anne’s Catholic Church was burned on the morning before Easter Sunday? Are you aware of the spiritual crisis that many churches in Henry County are experiencing?
I want to believe that our youth know what is required in times like these, but the unity we experienced two years ago is waning. Many of them led the way that summer with Project 4.12 when they spent one week working to make our community a better place to live. They invested hundreds of work-hours cleaning, painting, raking, and ministering. They set an example that few adults have followed; and now I fear the youth themselves have become jaded.
This Wednesday morning they will again have the opportunity to lead the way by gathering across denominational boundaries and praying for our community. Many will sing songs of praise with fellow students who worship weekly in different buildings with distinct liturgies. Some will shed tears for friends and teachers as they intercede for them before a Holy God. School administrators will be lifted up in prayer, as well as city, state, and national governmental leaders.
If you know of a student in the school system, encourage him or her to discover more information about See You at the Pole and how it will be observed at their school. If no student in your school has begun planning for this year, it’s not too late. Go to www.syatp.com to find out how your student can organize a morning prayer time around the flag pole.
Is there any reason to petition God to intervene on behalf of this nation? Do we need to pray for this community? Are we too busy to talk to God about our youth?
It’s time to pray. It’s always been time to pray. The See You at the Pole event starts at 7:00 am at your local school flagpole. Parents and other interested individuals are encouraged to gather off school property and participate in their own prayer time.
It’s time to pray. It’s always been time to pray. This time it’s the youth’s turn.
That’s how I started my article two years ago. Not much has changed.
On Wednesday, September 26, 2007 students all across the country will gather again outside their school around the flagpole to pray for their school, their teachers, their principals, their fellow students, as well as the nation.
At first glance, our nation appears to be experiencing an extended period of peace. It’s been six years since terrorists have launched an attack on this land. It’s been eight and one-half years since the Columbine shootings. And the war in Iraq has not directly impacted most of the country. We don’t feel like we’re at war.
But a closer look still reveals several raging battles with new battle lines being formed every day.
The drug abuse problem in Henry County is still destroying families, causing financial heartache, and robbing the future of too many of our young people. Alcohol abuse on our high school and college campuses is so pervasive that many college freshmen think that “keggers” are one of the most significant parts of college life.
Modern media outlets, including movies, television, and popular music still promote a sexually experimental lifestyle that threatens our students with Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) and emotional abandonment. Entertainers are now open hostile toward Christ and the church and receive praise for their verbal attacks.
Just this week a State Senator in Nebraska filed a lawsuit against God for terroristic threats and untold damages from natural disasters. And because our courts have lost their way with regard to abortion, there are over forty-eight-million fewer citizens of the United States who are thirty years and under. In this war, we have had enough infant casualties to fill more than forty-eight cities the size of Indianapolis.
Two years of “recovery” from the damage caused by Katrina still reveals racial and class divisions that are deep and growing deeper. A friend of mine from Louisiana believes that racial hatred is strong in New Castle. Is he right?
Our political system has been reduced to deceptive power plays and character assassination. We no longer look for the best candidate or nominee, but the person what will do our biding. There are few statesmen, and precious little leaders with personal or professional integrity. Gone are the days where we can have honest debates over the facts and refrain from personal attacks. Negative attack ads and “October political surprises” are the norm.
Even the church is showing signs of moral failure and battle fatigue. National religious leaders continue to be caught in scandals, whole denominations are rejecting the authority of the Word of God, and faith statements are now being used as political tools. Have we forgotten that St. Anne’s Catholic Church was burned on the morning before Easter Sunday? Are you aware of the spiritual crisis that many churches in Henry County are experiencing?
I want to believe that our youth know what is required in times like these, but the unity we experienced two years ago is waning. Many of them led the way that summer with Project 4.12 when they spent one week working to make our community a better place to live. They invested hundreds of work-hours cleaning, painting, raking, and ministering. They set an example that few adults have followed; and now I fear the youth themselves have become jaded.
This Wednesday morning they will again have the opportunity to lead the way by gathering across denominational boundaries and praying for our community. Many will sing songs of praise with fellow students who worship weekly in different buildings with distinct liturgies. Some will shed tears for friends and teachers as they intercede for them before a Holy God. School administrators will be lifted up in prayer, as well as city, state, and national governmental leaders.
If you know of a student in the school system, encourage him or her to discover more information about See You at the Pole and how it will be observed at their school. If no student in your school has begun planning for this year, it’s not too late. Go to www.syatp.com to find out how your student can organize a morning prayer time around the flag pole.
Is there any reason to petition God to intervene on behalf of this nation? Do we need to pray for this community? Are we too busy to talk to God about our youth?
It’s time to pray. It’s always been time to pray. The See You at the Pole event starts at 7:00 am at your local school flagpole. Parents and other interested individuals are encouraged to gather off school property and participate in their own prayer time.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
A Week Of Questions About Life And Death
Courier-Times Article for Saturday, April 21, 2007
Monday, April 16th, 2007 is a day that many will not soon forget. It was a day of unimagined tragedy on a university campus in Virginia. It was a day of several heroes and at least one coward who took the lives of 32 other people rather than deal honestly with the pain in his own life. It was a day of death and dying.
It was also a day of life and living. On Monday, I became an uncle again. My brother and his wife brought an 8-pound, 20-1/2 inch bundle of joy into the world; her name is Jessica. In a hospital in Michigan it was a day of unimaginable possibilities. It was a day of hope and excitement.
The questions that are being asked today in Virginia are the same we ones being asked after 9-11 and Columbine. They are the same questions that were being asked on Sunday morning, December 7, 1941 in Pearl Harbor and in the concentration camps in Germany. They are the same questions that were asked after the Galveston Hurricane of 1900 where at least 8000 people lost their lives. Why did it happen? Could it have been prevented? If God is a loving God why did He let this happen?
These are valid questions. And it is important to wrestle with these questions. In the days following these tragedies many got tired of answering these questions and turned to entertainment. We needed a distraction because we didn’t want to deal with the questions. But we must wrestle with these questions until we understand who God is and who we are.
There is a character in the bible named Jacob who wrestled with God. It was only recently that I’ve come to see what that wrestling match was all about. When I was younger, it just seemed like a weird story about God wrestling with Jacob, Jacob not letting go of God until God blessed him, and Jacob being injured in the wrestling match resulting in a life-long limp. The key to this story is God’s question to Jacob, “What is your name?”
When God asks a question, it’s not because He doesn’t know the answer. God knew who Jacob was; He wanted to know if Jacob would be honest about who he was.
The last time Jacob was asked that question was also the last time Jacob was seeking a blessing from his father Isaac. When Isaac asked Jacob who he was, Jacob lied and said he was Esau, Jacob’s older brother. Jacob was seeking a blessing that wasn’t rightfully his; it belonged to his brother Esau. Jacob’s deception with Isaac resulted in a time of wandering, loneliness, and wrestling.
When we wrestle with God about issues, the only way to be blessed is to deal honestly with who we are and who God is. It might be painful, but it is the only way to be released from the time of wrestling.
If we are honest we will see that God is good, all the time; He is good in Virginia Tech and He is good in a hospital in Michigan. If we are candid we will also understand that we are imperfect; Cho Seung-Hui was imperfect and baby Jessica is imperfect. Also, if we are transparent with God, we will realize that we will all die just as we were all given life on the day of our birth. We may never know all of the reasons behind the tragedies in Virginia Tech, Columbine, Pearl Harbor, Dachau, or any of a thousand other heartrending locations. The question today is, will we discover the reasons for God giving us life?
The question about why God gave us birth is even greater than the questions about why God allowed “unexpected” deaths. As we wrestle with the life and death events of this past week, including the United States Supreme Court decision to uphold a ban on partial-birth abortions, remember the example of Jacob and how his honesty with God resulted in the birth of a nation. That nation bears Jacob’s new name even today, the name that God gave him after their wrestling match – Israel.
Why did God give you life? For what reason did God bring you into this world? You’ll only find out if you deal honestly with God even in the dark days. My prayer is that my new niece will discover the “whys” behind her birth and will choose to fulfill God’s plan for her life.
Monday, April 16th, 2007 is a day that many will not soon forget. It was a day of unimagined tragedy on a university campus in Virginia. It was a day of several heroes and at least one coward who took the lives of 32 other people rather than deal honestly with the pain in his own life. It was a day of death and dying.
It was also a day of life and living. On Monday, I became an uncle again. My brother and his wife brought an 8-pound, 20-1/2 inch bundle of joy into the world; her name is Jessica. In a hospital in Michigan it was a day of unimaginable possibilities. It was a day of hope and excitement.
The questions that are being asked today in Virginia are the same we ones being asked after 9-11 and Columbine. They are the same questions that were being asked on Sunday morning, December 7, 1941 in Pearl Harbor and in the concentration camps in Germany. They are the same questions that were asked after the Galveston Hurricane of 1900 where at least 8000 people lost their lives. Why did it happen? Could it have been prevented? If God is a loving God why did He let this happen?
These are valid questions. And it is important to wrestle with these questions. In the days following these tragedies many got tired of answering these questions and turned to entertainment. We needed a distraction because we didn’t want to deal with the questions. But we must wrestle with these questions until we understand who God is and who we are.
There is a character in the bible named Jacob who wrestled with God. It was only recently that I’ve come to see what that wrestling match was all about. When I was younger, it just seemed like a weird story about God wrestling with Jacob, Jacob not letting go of God until God blessed him, and Jacob being injured in the wrestling match resulting in a life-long limp. The key to this story is God’s question to Jacob, “What is your name?”
When God asks a question, it’s not because He doesn’t know the answer. God knew who Jacob was; He wanted to know if Jacob would be honest about who he was.
The last time Jacob was asked that question was also the last time Jacob was seeking a blessing from his father Isaac. When Isaac asked Jacob who he was, Jacob lied and said he was Esau, Jacob’s older brother. Jacob was seeking a blessing that wasn’t rightfully his; it belonged to his brother Esau. Jacob’s deception with Isaac resulted in a time of wandering, loneliness, and wrestling.
When we wrestle with God about issues, the only way to be blessed is to deal honestly with who we are and who God is. It might be painful, but it is the only way to be released from the time of wrestling.
If we are honest we will see that God is good, all the time; He is good in Virginia Tech and He is good in a hospital in Michigan. If we are candid we will also understand that we are imperfect; Cho Seung-Hui was imperfect and baby Jessica is imperfect. Also, if we are transparent with God, we will realize that we will all die just as we were all given life on the day of our birth. We may never know all of the reasons behind the tragedies in Virginia Tech, Columbine, Pearl Harbor, Dachau, or any of a thousand other heartrending locations. The question today is, will we discover the reasons for God giving us life?
The question about why God gave us birth is even greater than the questions about why God allowed “unexpected” deaths. As we wrestle with the life and death events of this past week, including the United States Supreme Court decision to uphold a ban on partial-birth abortions, remember the example of Jacob and how his honesty with God resulted in the birth of a nation. That nation bears Jacob’s new name even today, the name that God gave him after their wrestling match – Israel.
Why did God give you life? For what reason did God bring you into this world? You’ll only find out if you deal honestly with God even in the dark days. My prayer is that my new niece will discover the “whys” behind her birth and will choose to fulfill God’s plan for her life.
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