40 years ago: The death of humanistic psychologist Abraham Maslow

Abraham Maslow died on June 8, 1970 at the age of 62. Dr. Maslow was one of the seminal figures in the branch of psychotherapy known as humanistic psychology, which emphasizes man's capacity for goodness, creativity, and freedom--without God. In contrast to the theorists who emphasized abnormal or neurotic personalities, Dr. Maslow's research was along the lines of what made well-adjusted people well-adjusted. He was famous for his "hierarchy of needs:" People begin with the desire to satisfy physiologic needs (e.g., hunger, thirst), then move up through safety needs (e.g., avoidance of pain or anxiety; desire for security); Belongingness and love needs (e.g., affection, intimacy); esteem needs (self-respect, adequacy, mastery, competence); and finally, the need for self-actualization (to realize one's full potential).

By his own admission, Dr. Maslow met very few people who he believed had become self-actualized. The Maslow hierarchy of needs is exactly the opposite of the words of the Lord Jesus Christ: Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you (Matthew 6:33). Christian apologist Rabi Maharaj put it well when he quoted Isaiah 14:14b--"I will be like the most High"--and said that Satan was the first being to get into self-actualization. It's been said that at the end of his life Dr. Maslow was heading in the direction of what today would be called New Age beliefs; given his belief in human potential, that sounds like a logical progression.

Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.

And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.
I and my Father are one. John 10:28-30

Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints. Psalm 116:15

For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. Philippians 1:21

Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words. I Thessalonians 4:13-18 (NIV)

It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart.
Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better.
The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth. Ecclesiastes 7:2-4

I’ve lost a few brothers and sisters in the Lord recently, and I take great comfort from these passages of scripture. I like the way Pastor Al Runge puts it in his book A Brooklyn Jew Meets Jesus (2001): "I am looking forward to that day when He will come for me. I don’t have to find heaven on my own." (p. 205). Just one question, Chief: Where do atheists go in such a situation? They have to face the same things, and "Imagine there’s no heaven" doesn’t sound very comforting--in fact, the thought leads me to despair (see Francis Schaeffer’s book Escape From Reason (1968) for a solid biblical analysis of such thinking).

While I’m sad that the people I’m thinking about now are no longer with us, I’m glad that they’re now with the Lord. Of those whose recent deaths come to mind, most died of the kind of illness that’s likely to affect many people if they live long enough. Another was a lady who lived her entire life with a serious disability and spent her last few years breathing with the help of a ventilator. She knew how precarious her life was, and asked the Lord to give her a smooth ride when her time came to go; He graciously granted her request. Physical infirmity eventually defeated them on this side of life, but couldn't keep them out of heaven. I miss having these people around on Earth, but I rejoice that they’re in the presence of God, no longer suffering, and awaiting their immortal bodies. I look forward to joining them when the Lord decides that it’s time.

30 years ago: European Economic Community supports Palestinians, criticizes Israel

The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. Ecclesiastes 1:9

From the "some things never change" department: On June 13, 1980 the European Economic Community began a two-day meeting in Venice. One might think that the EEC would be concerning itself with European economic matters. However, then, as now, the EEC was obsessed with Israel.

On June 13 the European Economic Community backed the self-determination of the Palestinian people and suggested that the Palestine Liberation Organization be "associated with" negotiations for a peaceful settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict. The U.S.A. and Israel had refused to accept the PLO as a negotiating partner in talks on the future of the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza. Negotiations over Palestinian autonomy resulting from the 1979 Camp David accord between Israel and Egypt had been suspended on May 15 by Egyptian President Anwar Sadat when it became clear for the first time that the Israeli government of Prime Minister Menachem Begin was determined to push a bill through the Knesset approving all of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and rejecting Arab claims to East Jerusalem. The suspension of negotiations thus left the ultimate status of Palestinian residents of the West Bank and Gaza Strip uncertain.

On June 14 the EEC concluded its meeting in Venice by issuing an 11-point statement, which included a declaration that Israel must "put an end to the terrorist occupation" of the West Bank and Gaza Strip and that the EEC would not accept any unilateral initiative to change the status of Jerusalem. What Israel's stance on Jerusalem or the Palestinians had to do with the European Economic Community, or what right the EEC had to say what it would or would not "accept," is unclear--at least, to this blogger.

It should be mentioned that the European Economic Community had nine members in 1980: Belgium; Denmark; France; West Germany; Ireland; Italy; Luxembourg; the Netherlands; and the United Kingdom. Greece's membership had been approved in 1979, to take effect on January 1, 1981. Spain and Portugal had applied for membership in 1977 and were still awaiting approval.

As for the bill affirming all of Jerusalem as Israel's capital, it passed the Knesset by a vote of 69-15 on July 30. The bill's passage was probably aided by Israeli resentment over the passage on July 29 of an Arab-sponsored resolution in the United Nations General Assembly calling for the establishment of a Palestinian state and Israeli withdrawal from all occupied lands, including East Jerusalem, by November 15.

The prayers of saints are precious to God

When He had taken the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each one holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. Revelation 5:8 (NASB)

The thought that the prayers of saints are kept in golden bowls and have the aroma of incense is too wonderful for my limited imagination to comprehend--but it's an encouragement to keep praying.

HT: Ed Major

Edinburgh 2010: The ecumenical movement observes its 100th anniversary

And even things without life giving sound, whether pipe or harp, except they give a distinction in the sounds, how shall it be known what is piped or harped?
For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?
So likewise ye, except ye utter by the tongue words easy to be understood, how shall it be known what is spoken? for ye shall speak into the air. I Corinthians 14:7-9

A conference to mark the centenary of the World Missionary Conference was held in Edinburgh from June 2-6, 2010. The conference organizers acknowledge that

the 1910 Edinburgh Conference is considered the starting point of the contemporary ecumenical movement, due to its insistence on the importance of unity and cooperation in worldwide mission.

The participants in 1910 were Protestant churches and missionary organizations, but the 2010 conference includes Pentecostals, Roman Catholics, Orthodox churches, and even Seventh-Day Adventists, which may lead one to wonder what gospel will be proclaimed. Pope Benedict XVI sent a formal greeting:

‘I send my greetings to those gathered during these days in Scotland for the centennial of the first Edinburgh Missionary Conference, which is now acknowledged to have given birth to the modern ecumenical movement. May we all renew our commitment to work humbly and patiently, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, to live again together our common apostolic heritage.’

Those interested in the liberal slant of Edinburgh 2010 should go to the conference’s website and click on the various links. I’ll quote a few paragraphs from their Common Call, issued on June 6:

1. Trusting in the triune God and with a renewed sense of urgency, we are called to incarnate and proclaim the good news of salvation, of forgiveness of sin, of life in abundance, and of liberation for all poor and oppressed. We are challenged to witness and evangelism in such a way that we are a living demonstration of the love, righteousness and justice that God intends for the whole world.

2. Remembering Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross and his resurrection for the world’s salvation, and empowered by the Holy Spirit, we are called to authentic dialogue, respectful engagement and humble witness among people of other faiths--and no faith--to the uniqueness of Christ. Our approach is marked with bold confidence in the gospel message; it builds friendship, seeks reconciliation and practises hospitality.

3. Knowing the Holy Spirit who blows over the world at will, reconnecting creation and bringing authentic life, we are called to become communities of compassion and healing, where young people are actively participating in mission, and women and men share power and responsibilities fairly, where there is a zeal for justice, peace and the protection of the environment, and renewed liturgy reflecting the beauties of the Creator and creation.

4. Disturbed by the asymmetries and imbalances of power that divide and trouble us in church and world, we are called to repentance, to critical reflection on systems of power, and to accountable use of power structures. We are called to find practical ways to live as members of One Body in full awareness that God resists the proud, Christ welcomes and empowers the poor and afflicted, and the power of the Holy Spirit is manifested in our vulnerability.
...
6. Recognising the need to shape a new generation of leaders with authenticity for mission in a world of diversities in the twenty-first century, we are called to work together in new forms of theological education. Because we are all made in the image of God, these will draw on one another’s unique charisms, challenge each other to grow in faith and understanding, share resources equitably worldwide, involve the entire human being and the whole family of God, and respect the wisdom of our elders while also fostering the participation of children.

My reaction to most of the statements in the Common Call was "whatever that means." The paragraphs seem to be worded in such a way that those who are more conservative in their beliefs than others will be hoodwinked into going along with a liberal agenda while thinking that they’re following a biblical agenda. Whatever obfuscation is present in the Common Call, the social gospel slant is there. Liberation theologians, for instance, can invoke "liberation for all poor and oppressed" in support of their views.

In paragraph 2 we read, "we are called to authentic dialogue, respectful engagement and humble witness among people of other faiths--and no faith..." This is where I use the old Mad magazine method of analysis: "What they say--and what they really mean." "Authentic dialogue" and "humble witness" = "refusing to proclaim that the gospel of salvation through trusting only in the work of Jesus Christ on the cross is true, and other ways are false." "Respectful engagement" = "appeasement" or "capitulation."

In paragraph 3 we read, "women and men share power and responsibilities fairly..." Does this mean women in positions of leadership in the church? None of the terms are defined, but a liberal could certainly read it that way. Then we have "a zeal for justice, peace and the protection of the environment, and renewed liturgy reflecting the beauties of the Creator and creation." "Justice" and "peace" aren’t defined, and I don’t think "protection of the environment" was a priority for those attending the conference in 1910. As for the "renewed liturgy," I suspect that this opens the door for more worship of nature, I.e., paganism.

Paragraph 4 begins with "Disturbed by the asymmetries and imbalances of power that divide and trouble us in church and world, we are called to repentance, to critical reflection on systems of power, and to accountable use of power structures." Whatever that means--although I suspect that liberation theologians and feminists would probably interpret this in a way favourable to their views. In paragraph 6 we have the phrase "share resources equitably worldwide"--I have no doubt that the typical liberal at that conference would read that as support for socialism.

Bob DeWaay’s 2009 book The Emergent Church is subtitled Undefining Christianity. Pastor DeWaay does an excellent job of pointing out (citing, among other works, Francis Schaeffer’s book Escape From Reason (1968)) that those of Emergent views deliberately leave terms undefined. As Mr. Schaeffer pointed out in his book, the New Theology (1960s existentialist-style) used what he called connotation words, such as "resurrection, "crucifixion," "Christ," "Jesus"--words with a connotation in popular memory. However, the New Theologians, like the Emergents today, have removed all meaning from these words. As far as I can tell, the same is true for Edinburgh 2010--terms are thrown around but are undefined, as if the terms are used in a Gnostic sense, being properly understood only by a select elite. For all of Edinburgh 2010’s emphasis on "mission" (and my "spidey senses" always detect liberalism when I see the word "mission" used instead of "missions"), I don’t see a clear definition of the gospel of Christ. As the ecumenical movement has become increasingly liberal and unbiblical in the 100 years since the first World Missionary Conference, so you can expect the movement to continue in that direction.

100 years ago: The modern ecumenical movement begins with the World Missionary Conference

From June 14-23, 1910 the World Missionary Conference took place in Edinburgh. At the time the conference was seen as the culmination of the 19th Century missionary movement, but it is now largely regarded as the beginning of the modern ecumenical movement. 1,200 delegates from major Protestant churches and missionary organizations, mainly from North America and western Europe, gathered in the Assembly Hall of the United Free Church of Scotland, as well as 100 extra delegates appointed by the executive committees.

Thorough research had been done in preparation for the conference: eight assigned commissions of twenty members each had conducted research on their assigned topic. Each commission produced a one-volume report, which as given to each delegate to be studied before heading to Scotland. The proceedings of the conference were compiled and later issued as the ninth volume.

Lord Balfour, a former British cabinet minister and a member of the Church of Scotland, was the president of the conference, while the main organizer was Joseph Oldham, a leader in the British Student Christian Movement. The individual with the most significant involvement with the conference, however, was John R. Mott, who served as the conference chairman. Mr. Mott (1865-1955) was an American Methodist layman and leader of both the Student Volunteer Movement for Foreign Missions and the World Student Christian Federation. He founded the WSCF in 1895 and served as its General Secretary from 1895-1920 and as Chairman from 1920-1928. The WSCF is a federation of national Student Christian Movements (SCMs) that represent the ecumenical movement on university campuses. Those who wish to see the extent of WSCF's liberalism should check their website and its various links. The Wikipedia entry on WSCF contains a partial list of famous members; discerning and knowledgeable Christians will recognize at least some of the names.

If ye were of the world, the world would love his own... John 15:19a

Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets. Luke 6:26

Mr. Mott was a co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1946 for his work in establishing and strengthening international Protestant Christian organizations that worked to promote peace. He was closely involved with the creation of the World Council of Churches in 1948, and the WCC made him a lifetime honourary president. He was famous for the slogan (Mott's motto?) "the evangelization of the world in this generation," which strikes a familiar note to those of us who were involved with Campus Crusade for Christ in the 1980s. I occasionally heard Mr. Mott mentioned as the leader of the Student Volunteer Movement, but CCC never mentioned Mr. Mott's fellowship with the WCC or his relationships with worldly leaders such as the Rockefellers. For details on Mr. Mott's shady connections, read the article about him at Seek God.

A vote was carried at the conference to establish a Continuation Committee. The committee's work, under the leadership of Mr. Mott was interrupted by World War I, but served as the basis for the establishment of the International Missionary Council in 1921.

One of those in attendance at the World Missionary Conference was Charles Clayton Morrison, editor of the Christian Century. His firsthand account of the conference may be found here.

40 years ago: Faith healer and prosperity preacher A.A. Allen drinks himself to death

Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. I Corinthians 6:10

June 11, 2010 marks the 40th anniversary of the death of American faith healer and prosperity preacher A.A. Allen. Asa Alonso Allen was an Assemblies of God pastor who decided to become a revivalist after attending an Oral Roberts tent meeting in Dallas in 1949. Mr. Allen was one of the first televangelists and attracted a large following for performing "healings." He was defrocked in 1956 after being arrested for drunk driving in Tennessee. In 1958, a wealthy admirer donated ranchland in Arizona that Mr. Allen used as his headquarters; it became known as Miracle Valley. Mr. Allen added prosperity preaching to his act, selling "prosperity cloths" in exchange for donations of $100 and $1000.

On June 11, 1970 A.A. Allen died at the Jack Tar Hotel in San Francisco at the age of 59 after a heavy drinking binge. According to reports, his associate (and successor) Don Stewart, attempted to clean up evidence of Mr. Allen’s drinking before police arrived, but they found the room strewn with pills and empty vodka bottles. After an investigation, the coroner’s report attributed Mr. Allen’s death to liver failure brought on by acute alcoholism. His blood alcohol level was a staggering (coma-inducing, actually--he was well past the point of staggering) .36. It was reported that the radio broadcasts of Mr. Allen that aired during the week of his death consisted largely of him denying that he was dead. Don Stewart took over the "ministry," renaming it from Miracle Life Fellowship International to the Don Stewart Evangelistic Association, eventually the Don Stewart Association.

Like his mentor, Mr. Stewart has had a career which might charitably be termed "colourful" (and might uncharitably, although accurately, be termed "scandalous"). Mr. Allen’s ranch headquarters at Miracle Valley, Arizona has changed hands several times since his death, and is currently in foreclosure. G. Richard Fisher of Personal Freedom Outreach has written an article about Mr. Stewart and Mr. Allen, which can be found here.

A search on YouTube will turn up many video clips of A.A. Allen. Most of the comments below the videos provide ample evidence of the lack of discernment in much of modern evangelicalism. Here’s a typical example of the man at work, where he uses the old leg-lengthening trick:

Not "fools for Christ's sake"--just fools

A church from the hopelessly apostate United Church of Canada placed this item in the Edmonton Journal's Religion Calendar for June 5, 2010 (bold in original):

Worship in Whiteface Service, June 13 at 10:30 a.m. at McClure United Church, 13708 74th St.; part of the clown ministry, being fools for Christ's sake (1 Cor. 4:10); symbolic and non-verbal liturgy, transforming the irrational into understanding.

Unfortunately, such nonsense is no longer to be found just in mainline churches.

40 years ago: Southern Baptist Convention delegates demand the withdrawal of a liberal SBC Bible commentary

On June 3, 1970 delegates to the Southern Baptist Convention's annual convention in Denver (a Convention convention?) succeeded in passing a motion that the first volume of Broadman Bible Commentary be withdrawn and the section on Genesis be rewritten by a Bible-believing author. A detailed explanation of the controversy is found in James Patterson's article Alternative Theological Education in the Southern Baptist Convention: A Case Study of Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary, which appeared in The Journal of Baptist Studies in 2007:

...a whole new crisis developed in 1969 with the publication of the first volume of the Broadman Bible Commentary. This volume included a section on Genesis written by G. Henton Davies, an English Baptist from Oxford. Davies, like Elliott before him*, employed higher critical methods and reached predictable conclusions. He shocked SBC conservatives by questioning whether God ever commanded Abraham to sacrifice Isaac (Genesis 22). Following Elliott’s neoorthodox approach, he generally argued that religious "truth" could be maintained apart from historical fact.

Debate about Davies’s handling of Genesis reached the floor of the Denver Convention in 1970. Gwin Turner of California brought a motion asking that the first volume of the Broadman commentary be withdrawn and "rewritten with due consideration of the conservative viewpoint."

...The Turner resolution passed by an overwhelming majority. At the 1971 Convention in St. Louis, a motion was approved to instruct the Sunday School Board that the Genesis commentary be redone by a different writer, and subsequently Clyde Francisco of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary was enlisted for the task. (pp. 4-5)

*In 1961 Broadman Press, the publishing arm of the Baptist Sunday School Board, had published The Message of Genesis by Ralph H. Elliott, a professor of Old Testament at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City. Mr. Elliott accepted German higher critical beliefs (e.g., multiple authors of the Pentateuch, no universal flood, etc.) while spouting the neo-orthodox view that Genesis communicated religious "truth." (see Patterson, p. 3)

In 1970 it was ordinary pastors, not "big names" or denominational leaders, who had enough discernment to lead the opposition to this example of liberalism in the SBC. Would the same be true today? In his last book, The Great Evangelical Disaster, Francis Schaeffer warned that the Southern Baptist Convention was in the same shape then (1984) that the mainline churches were in during the 1920s and '30s. 26 years have gone by since brother Schaeffer issued that warning.

Pornographic perversion prevents parole for disgraced ex-pastor

..and be sure your sin will find you out. Numbers 32:23b

When I see stories such as this one, it makes me wonder how someone could become a pastor and continue in that position when his life doesn’t measure up to the biblical qualifications (e.g., I Timothy 3:1-7). Some people seem to be very good at keeping sin secret--until God allows their sin to find them out.

The Province June 2, 2010

A former Surrey pastor who made a video inciting viewers to sexually assault a teen girl has had his bid for parole denied.

Larry Robert Collins, a former pastor at the Church of Nazarene, is serving a 15-month jail sentence after pleading guilty to possession of child pornography late last year.

Collins first came to police attention in June 2008 when local authorities were contacted by police in another province about an online video involving a B.C. teen.

The video included a montage of girls in pornographic acts interspersed with photos of the victim, taken from her Facebook page. Collins wrote messages on top of the photos inciting viewers to sexually assault the girl, then created online accounts impersonating her and encouraging people to watch the video.

Police said Collins knew the girl through a church function and seemed to have a "fascination" with her.

In a written decision released late last week, the parole board noted Collins led a "double life" for many years before making the video. He "struggled" with pornography, spending four to five hours per day viewing it and, at one point, called it a "friend."...

...The parole board denied Collins' bid for parole because he had not yet completed the [sex-offender] program, in addition to concerns about his lengthy pornography addiction and a "demonstrated . . . capacity over many years to engage in deception."

Collins was immediately dismissed from his job as pastor in 2008 after his crimes came to light.

The teen was physically unharmed but, according to the parole board, "remains concerned" for her safety and "notes these images will never go away and could resurface at any time . . . "

A new documentary film takes a skeptical look at Transcendental Meditation

The accumulation of wealth by Eastern religious leaders shouldn't surprise anyone. Remember, they live on a spiritual plane above and beyond the material world that the rest of us inhabit, which leaves them free to amass as much wealth as possible. Since material wealth doesn't mean anything to them (insert wink here), they're free to enjoy it without feeling burdened by it.

Some of us remember the Natural Law Party--the political wing of TM--spending a huge amount of money in an attempt to elect candidates in the 1993 Canadian federal election. Their meditation--and money--had about as much influence on voters in Canada as it had had on voters in other countries' elections, and it worked about as well as "yogic flying" worked in defying the law of gravity.

According to this review in Maclean's by Brian D. Johnson:

He was the original guru pop star. Made famous by the Beatles in the 1960s, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi was the godfather of the Transcendental Meditation movement, known as TM. He inspired such acolytes as author Deepak Chopra and filmmaker David Lynch, and remained TM’s figurehead until his death in 2008 at the age of 94. The Maharishi was once dubbed "the giggling guru." But now it appears he may have been giggling all the way to the bank. David Wants to Fly, a new documentary shown last week at Toronto’s Hot Docs festival, offers compelling evidence that the Maharishi’s empire of enlightenment is more devoted to shaking down its followers and amassing wealth than transcending the material world.

Australia expels Israeli embassy official

As reported in The Sydney Morning Herald of May 24, 2010:

Australia said Monday it would expel an official from the Israeli embassy after finding the Jewish state was behind fake Australian passports linked to the killing of a Hamas operative.

Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said Australia remained a "firm friend" of Israel but no government could tolerate the abuse of its passports.

"The government has asked that a member of the Israeli embassy in Canberra be withdrawn from Australia," Smith told parliament, without identifying the official. "I have asked that the withdrawal be effected within a week."

An investigation into how four Australian passports were used by the team that carried out the January killing of Hamas operative Mahmud al-Mabhuh in a luxury Dubai hotel found the documents were forgeries, Smith said.

He said the high quality of the forged passports pointed to the involvement of a state intelligence service.

"These investigations and advice have left the government in no doubt that Israel was responsible for the abuse and counterfeiting of these passports," he said.

Smith said this was not the first time that Israel had misused Australian passports, but he declined to comment on the other occasions.

"This is not what we expect from a nation with whom we have had such a close, supportive relationship," he said. "These are not the actions of a friend."

"The government takes this step much more in sorrow than in anger," he added.

Polish Roman Catholic priest living in Brazil is charged with running perverted dungeon of teenage boys

Yet another one, as reported by Agence France-Presse, May 21, 2010:

RIO DE JANEIRO - A Polish priest living in Brazil has been arrested on charges of pedophilia and of turning his home into an "erotic dungeon" where he organized orgies with teenagers, Brazilian media reported Friday.

The cleric, identified only by his initials MMS, is "a person compulsively attached to sex with adolescents," the judge overseeing the case, Alexandre Abrahao Teixeira, said in his decision to issue a preventive detention order.

The priest ran a church in the west of Rio de Janeiro state and used his spiritual authority over the youths to prey on them, the judge said.

The priest's house was transformed into "a sort of erotic dungeon where these youths were thrown into orgies," he said.

60 years ago: Calgary gives Very Reverend Hewlett Johnson, "Red" Dean of Canterbury, the reception he so richly deserves

Very Reverend Hewlett Johnson (1874-1966), Dean of Canterbury, was a well-known apologist for the Soviet Union in the mid-20th Century who looked like a thinner version of the great English comic actor Alastair Sim. Lloyd Billingsley, in his book The Generation that Knew Not Josef (1985), devotes a chapter to the "Red Dean." According to Mr. Billingsley (p.55):

Prototalitarian clergymen are a decidedly modern phenomenon. The early Christians, with all their glaring faults, never produced anyone capable of seeing in Alaric, the Visigoth king who sacked Rome, the coming savior of the world. Modern tyrants, however, compared to whom Alaric was a bumbling and squeamish amateur, have had many enthusiastic supporters in the pulpit. If some sort of hall of fame were to be constructed for these clergy, the Very Reverend Hewlett Johnson, Dean of Canterbury, would surely be inducted on the first ballot.

On May 22, 1950, Very Reverend Hewlett Johnson, Dean of Canterbury was nearing the end of a tour of Canada, and was scheduled to speak that evening in Calgary at United Ukrainian Hall (209--4th Avenue East) at a meeting sponsored by the Calgary Peace Council, a Communist front organization. The purpose of the dean’s tour, according to The Calgary Herald of May 22, "is peace, the abolition of all weapons of mass destruction and renewed approaches between east and west." Dr. Johnson claimed to be following the advice of Winston Churchill, who was promoting new multinational peace negotiations.

Anglican clergymen in Calgary, interviewed by the Herald on Sunday, May 21, made it clear that the Dean of Canterbury did not speak for them or the Church. Rt. Rev. H.R. Ragg, Anglican Bishop of Calgary, stated, "He does not speak for the church, but only for himself, a right which belongs to every citizen in our free, democratic British Empire."

Canon W.H.H. Crump of Christ Church, Elbow Park, went further, saying that the Dean of Canterbury was causing "great grief and embarrassment" to the Anglican communion:

His views are not shared by his church, his government or the government of Canada. While he will be completely ignored by the church in this city, many including myself, will feel that if he insists on taking advantage of the freedom of speech which we all uphold, he should in fact become a private citizen and resign his deanery of Canterbury.

Canon E.H. Maddocks, rector of St. Stephen’s, was equally blunt:

His message as coming from a professed Christian minister I utterly fail to comprehend. In the Communist empire of Russia, which is so warmly commended by the dean, the state is laying claim to the whole soul and body of its citizens. To such a theory the church cannot but offer unyielding, uncompromising opposition." Canon Maddocks called modern Russian a vast "slave camp," and declared "in this darkness the Dean of Canterbury professes to find the closest approximation to the Kingdom of God on earth. Anyone holding such views ceases to command the respect of the followers of the Christ of the New Testament.

Coincidentally, newspapers on May 22 carried an Associated Press dispatch stating that John C. Allum, the Mayor of Auckland, New Zealand, had said that he’d written to Archbishop of Canterbury Geoffrey Fisher asking him to define the Church of England’s position toward the Dean of Canterbury so that the city authorities would know how to receive him. According to Mr. Allum, Archbishop Fisher replied:

My advice to Anglican churches overseas is that they should completely ignore a visit of Dean Canterbury.
It is unfortunately true that Dean Canterbury so conducts himself as to create embarrassment and difficulty wherever he goes, not as Dean Canterbury or as an ecclesiastic, but purely as an individual who desires to declare his belief on certain political matters. There is no obligation on civic authorities to take any notice of him. He is completely unrepresentative of the Church of England and this country.

The AP dispatch went on to say that the Church of England had disavowed Dean Johnson’s pro-Soviet sentiments, but explained that he could not be removed from office because he had not made himself liable to charges in either a civil or ecclesiastical court.

Dean Johnson entered the hall through the front door; the door was hit by a tomato as soon as it closed behind him. The meeting of the Calgary Peace Council began with the United Nations song, followed by another song titled I’m Gonna Put My Name Down. Very Reverend Hewlett Johnson, Dean of Canterbury, was introduced at 8:50 P.M. by Arthur Wray, Member of the Legislative Assembly for Banff-Cochrane, who was currently sitting as an "independent Social Credit." The Red Dean declared that the U.S.S.R. was using atomic power for peaceful purposes, and deplored western nations’ rejection of Soviet leader Josef Stalin’s peace offers. Said the dean, "War to a planned economy is an intolerable nuisance. It is essential to an unplanned economy." Dean Johnson charged the United States with military expansionism for putting military bases near Russia, and urged audiences "to see that you get control of your press."

While 1,200 people were inside United Ukrainian Hall to hear the Red Dean, there were 500 outside, mostly boys of high school age, who, about five minutes after the beginning of the dean’s speech, began throwing eggs, firecrackers, and rocks at the building. A window was broken, and three youths were arrested. Some of the protesters shouted "Where’s Endicott?," referring to pro-Soviet United Church of Canada missionary James Endicott, chairman of the Canadian Peace Council. Mr. Endicott was in Edmonton that night, but was scheduled to be in Calgary in June. Towards the end of the protest some of the crowd outside began singing the song of the Volga Boatman. Very Reverend Hewlett Johnson, Dean of Canterbury, who had entered United Ukrainian Hall through the front door, escaped out the back door and climbed over a fence in order to reach his getaway car in the back alley.

The Calgary Herald commented on the Red Dean's appearance, and the resultant riot, in an editorial on May 25:

The Dean and The Mob

The rioting outside the hall where the Dean of Canterbury spoke on Monday was a shameful disgrace to Calgary. Most of it appears to have been the work of a bunch of teenagers, for whom the proper treatment would be a prolonged session in the woodshed with their fathers.

Breaking windows solves nothing, and if these high-school students have not yet learned anything about tolerance, then something is seriously wrong with the school system in this city. This kind of hoodlumism is vicious and unpardnonable, no matter what its motives: and we hope there will be no tendency on anyone’s part to excuse the rioters on the grounds that Dr. Hewlett Johnson’s strange opinions are calculated to arouse that kind of violence.

What is shocking about this uncivilized outburst of mob violence is that the youths taking part in it probably had only the sketchiest notion of the issues raised by the speeches which the Dean has been delivering. In any event, they did not hear him speak and therefore could not argue that his words had aroused them to frenzy. They displayed the same kind of goon-like intolerance which we used to expect from the Hitler Youth. They have no excuse.

* * *

Inside the hall, the fanatic figure in the black robes of the Church seemed to enjoy his incipient martyrdom. If Dr. Johnson visualizes himself as a lonely voice crying in the wilderness, then these young mobsters did their best to encourage his fantastic dream. He will now be able to go around the world preaching about the intolerance he found in Canada and using the fact as an argument to support his familiar contention that the Western nations are engaged in some murky capitalist plot to victimize the innocent Russians.

We must confess that we have revised our opinion of this man. Not long ago, we urged our readers to regard him as a misguided zealot who, unfortunately for himself and the great Church which he represents, did not know any better. Having heard him speak on Monday, we are convinced that our earlier estimate was wholly wrong.

The Dean of Canterbury is not a senile babbler with more sincerity than good sense. He is a vicious and vindictive old man who gives every appearance of enjoying himself as he recalls what happened at Hiroshima and mutters dark threats about what the Russians are preparing for use in the next war. (He knows, he explained on Monday, because he numbers many Russian scientists among his friends.)

He gloats openly over the fact that Frederic Joliot-Curie, the French Communist recently removed from his job as head of France’s atomic energy establishment, is a skilled scientist who has almost certainly told everything he knows to his friends in Moscow. He says he was well aware, some time ago, that it would not be more than two or three years before the Russians had the bomb "and," he added with what can be described only as a leer, "I know they aren’t stopping there."

The Dean of Canterbury, in other words, is going around the world rattling the sabre: not on behalf of his own country or his country’s allies, but on behalf of Russia. He carries on this evil work in the costume of a high prelate of the Church of England; he delivers his blood-curdling speeches while fondling a jewelled Crucifix (a present from the leader of the Orthodox Church in Russia) in a manner which comes perilously close to blasphemy.

He speaks as a man of God. He uses his position as head of the chapter at Canterbury Cathedral for the purpose of decrying his own country abroad and strengthening his country’s enemies. Do not let us be misled into supposing that Dr. Johnson’s speeches can be separated from his position in the Church. If he were plain Mr. Johnson, a civil engineer, nobody would pay any attention to him. It is because he wears the robes of sanctity and speaks from behind the image of the Cross that he is able to draw audiences wherever he chooses to go.

* * *

But his words are a denial of the faith of which he is supposed to be a principal exponent. He claims to preach peace and loving-kindness; in fact, he preaches a virulent brand of hatred, stirring up his hearers to hate the mysterious "interests" which, he says, deliberately foment war for their own purposes.

He is openly allied with a movement personifying everything which most Christians associate with the darkest evils of Anti-Christ. His position is not so much discreditable as dishonorable: if we were at war, it would be open treason, and could be punished as such. Because we’re technically at peace, the Dean of Canterbury must be allowed to speak, and our ancient traditions demand that he not only be allowed to speak but that mobs refrain from breaking windows while he is doing so.

We have thought it right to set down our changed views about this sinister man because it seems to us that many people have probably thought as we did until last Monday--that he is a well-meaning and rather pathetic figure. We are now convinced that he is no such thing; he is a grave danger to our way of life, and it is best that we should know exactly how we stand.

The other Calgary paper, The Albertan, published an editorial on May 26, which said, in part:

Peace Plus Tyranny

The "peace" appeal of the Dean of Canterbury made in Calgary this week was strictly phony, as far as we are concerned, although he himself was obviously quite sincere. The dean and his like want peace plus a large measure of communism. They minimize Russian dictatorship and tyranny. They don’t say "in spite of all the terrible faults of Russian we sincerely hope a way can be found for communism and western democracy to live together in peace." Rather they insist that Russia’s sins are virtues, that if one hates the Russian system he is a war-monger. They preach surrender, surrender either now to the triumphant supremacy of the Soviet system, or later to the terrible might of Soviet arms. Resistance to communism is both foolish and futile.

That such a traitorous doctrine should masquerade as "peace" is one of the great tragedies of the age, When the world is so war-weary and yet on the brink of atomic destruction, and when at he same time so much of it is in the bonds of slavery and oppression, peace is a holy word, and to defile it in the manner of the Dean of Canterbury is devilish sacrilege.

This wasn't the first time that the "Red Dean" had received an unfriendly welcome in Canada. As reported by Canadian Press and published in The Albertan, November 6, 1948:

Hamilton, Nov. 5--Very Rev. Hewlett Johnson, the "Red Dean" of Canterbury, said Friday the spread of an idea such as communism--in which everyone is given according to his need--will help speed the coming of God.

He spoke to nearly 1,400 people in the first public address of his current Canadian tour.

He said his recent 12-week tour of Russia and eastern Europe convinced him that these countries are primarily interested in peaceful construction.

"The mass of the Russian people and the people of eastern Europe...have more cause to dread war than we," he said.

There were few interruptions.

One came near the end of his 90-minute speech when the dean said: "Let us try to understand the Russians. We can teach them many things. They can teach us many things."

"Yes, they can teach us mass murder," shouted a man from the balcony.

After shouts of "Throw him out" and "Shut up" had died down, the heckler reiterated: "That's what they can teach us."

During a question period, a woman asked Dr. Johnson if he knew Russia had concentration camps before Hitler came to power.

The Dean replied that these camps had been investigated by the British and found to be slave camps. But they were no worse than modern British prisons, he said.

Earlier, at Montreal, Dr. Johnson was cleared by immigration authorities after being "technically" detained by what he called an "over-zealous young official impressed by newspaper accounts."

Dr. Johnson arrived at Dorval airport early today from Britain but his passport was not stamped. He was allowed to go to a hotel for the night and appeared at the immigration office this morning.

"The immigration people were extremely courteous," he said, "and the difficulty as quickly cleared up."

As reported by Canadian Press and published in The Albertan, November 10, 1948:

Montreal, Nov. 9--Very Rev. Hewlett Johnson, the "Red Dean" of Canterbury, was sabotaged here tonight as he spoke to members of the McGill University Student Christian Movement. Somebody had cut the loudspeaker wires before his arrival.

As the S.C.M. has no large assembly room, students had rigged up a system of loudspeakers so the group could listen in rooms and halls on each floor.

Only those on the main floor could hear Dean Johnson as he told students that discourses for lasting peace would ultimately begin on the basis of the six points made by Henry Wallace, unsuccessful candidate for the United States presidency.

He said that in a recent interview with Marshal Tito, the Yugoslav leader had told him Soviet Russia "had a secret weapon even more powerful than the atomic bomb."

Woman gets caught cheating on her husband--and sues the phone company

...and be sure your sin will find you out. Numbers 32:23b

Another example of someone refusing to take responsibility for her own sin, as reported by The Toronto Star:

A Toronto woman says the billing practices of Rogers Wireless Inc. led to her husband discovering her extramarital affair.

Now the woman, whose husband walked out, is suing the communications giant for $600,000 for alleged invasion of privacy and breach of contract, the results of which she says have ruined her life.

In 2007, Gabriella Nagy had a cellphone account with Rogers which sent the monthly bill to her home address in her maiden name. Her husband was the account holder for the family's cable TV service at the same address. Around June 4, 2007, he called Rogers to add internet and home phone.

The following month, Rogers mailed a "global" invoice for all of its services to the matrimonial home that included an itemized bill for Nagy's cellular service, according to the statement of claim filed in Ontario Superior Court of Justice.

When Nagy’s husband opened the Rogers invoice, he saw several hour-long phone calls to a single phone number.

"Nobody does business this way and he's not stupid," says Nagy, who is in her 30s. He called the number, spoke to the "third party" who confirmed the affair, which had lasted only a few weeks, Nagy told the Star.

"My husband didn't tell me that's how he found out, he just left."

"The husband used the previously private and confidential information that the defendant unilaterally disclosed to the husband to inquire about the people that the plaintiff was telephoning and the nature of such calls," the statement of claim says.

The statement alleges Rogers "unilaterally terminated its cellular contract with the plaintiff that had been in her maiden name and included it in the husband’s account that was under his surname.

Floozies for Christ: Carrie Prejean

As a jewel of gold in a swine's snout, so is a fair woman which is without discretion. Proverbs 11:22

Carrie Prejean, for those who’ve forgotten, was the winner of Miss California USA in 2009 who attracted controversy in the national pageant when she answered a question about marriage by affirming the traditional view that marriage is between one man and one woman. She was subsequently presented as a heroine in certain sectors of the American evangelical community, such as Focus on the Family and Liberty University. The original title of her Focus on the Family broadcasts was to be, if I remember correctly, Carrie Prejean: A Modern Queen Esther. However, some (including me) thought this was going too far, and the broadcasts appeared under the title Carrie Prejean: Standing Firm. The broadcasts no longer appear to be available online, but if you contact Focus on the Family, you should be able to purchase the recordings (or maybe not--after what's happened in the months since, Focus on the Family may not want to admit that the broadcasts ever existed).

On June 10, 2009 Carrie Prejean was fired as Miss California USA. She alleged that she was fired because of her opposition to gay marriage, but pageant officials denied it. Pageant owner Donald Trump's comments were reported by TMZ:

Donald Trump just told TMZ he gave the green light to fire "biblically correct" Carrie Prejean's award-winning butt because she just wouldn't do the job and treated people badly.

Trump told us Carrie refused to appear at around 30 events on behalf of Miss California USA. He says Prejean was contractually bound to appear and she just wouldn't do it. He doesn't think her attitude has anything to do with her politics.

Trump said: "To me she was the sweetest thing. Everyone else -- she treated like s**t."

Keith Lewis, director of Miss California USA, went into greater detail:

Our problems with Carrie Prejean began before the controversial question at MISS USA. In early March, Carrie was advised in writing to re-read her contract because of conflicts that were ongoing for some time. Although our focus before MISS USA was on preparation, our focus after MISS USA is on brand building. Like anyone else who has a job, once you finish one assignment you go on to the next one. Unfortunately, Carrie had her own agenda. After signing on to appear at a press conference and to record a fundraising telemarketing message for the National Organization for Marriage, Carrie found a new voice that was not in keeping with ours. Although we attempted to put all the differences behind us at the press conference hosted by Mr. Trump when he instructed Carrie to bring herself back into contract compliance, that unfortunately did not happen.
Carrie’s contract in part states the following:

a) During the term of my reign as the State Pageant titleholder:

1) To cooperate fully with you and your affiliates, employees, agents, representatives, designees, sponsors, official charity affiliations and the like in carrying out their instructions in connection with the actions I will be performing under this agreement and in connection with my preparation for competition in the 2009 Miss USA Pageant. Without limiting the foregoing, I agree to follow and obey all rules, instructions, directions and requirements implemented by you in connection with my reign as the State Pageant titleholder, as they may be changed, modified or amended by you at any time.

2) To keep punctuality all appointments and appearances that require my presence.

3) You will have the exclusive right and control over all personal appearances which I may make or any services which I may render in the entertainment, literary and related fields. Without limiting the foregoing, I will not, without first obtaining your written consent, make any personal, television (both on scripted or unscripted television programming), motion picture, Internet/on-line or radio appearances or otherwise participate in, prepare or assist in the preparation of any written, audio or visual work that depicts, concerns, or relates in any way to me, including, without limitation, any motion picture, television program, commercials, music recordings, merchandising, screenplay, teleplay, print article, book, or Internet or web content. For the avoidance of doubt, I acknowledge and agree that the foregoing restrictions shall apply to all such appearances, services and works, regardless whether or not related to my reign as Miss California USA 2009 or the Miss California USA Pageant.

Although we could list multitudes of documented violations, for the purpose of taste and time we will attach a few as they relate to her allegations.

Her statement "I made every appearance" – We offered 53 appearances in writing, she was available for 1 and was either unwilling or unavailable for all the others.

That does not include the offer of Playboy or the reality show, I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here
Her statement, "They wanted me to do Playboy" not recommended but offered to her based upon her written request

Quoted from Carrie Prejean’s e-mail to us "I expect you to be forwarding me ALL email requests and interview requests to me. I know how you are and its (sic) not right if you are selecting things for me." Her statement "I did not make a book deal"

Quoted from an e-mail from Charles Limandri to Paula Shugart at Miss Universe, "As we discussed, Carrie has already started moving forward with the book deal. In fact, I now understand that she has already signed a contract with the publisher, that there are drafts of the content prepared, and that they expect to soon choose a writer to put it all together. Therefore, obviously as far as she is concerned, this project must go forward at this point."

Her statement "I have cooperated fully" Quoted from e-mails written to Keith Lewis from Carrie Prejean when he attempted to get details for her master calendar, "You do not cooperate with me, and you pick and chose the the things YOU want me to do. That is not happening anymore. Stop speaking for me. I have MY own voice. What are u gonna do fire me for volunteering for the special olympics hahaha ur crazy No I am doing this appearance. You do not need details. Its for the SPECIAL OLYMPICS!!! You just need to know I will be doing it alright. You will not facilitate this appearance." She was never told she could not go only to allow us to get the details Her statement, "I did not make appearances without their consent" There is currently a video that she taped for Shape magazine that was shot after MISS USA without our permission or involvement and is available online.

Her statement, "This is personal". We agree but not on our part. We believe it is personal on the part of Carrie Prejean and her lawyer who is General Council for NOM, the National Organization for Marriage, and their desire to continue to focus on their agenda around this issue.

The Miss California organization has a tradition of supporting strong-minded young women of all stripes. There is room in the Miss California family for titleholders of all points of view and we respect Carrie for having the courage and faith to stand by her convictions. We simply wish Carrie had been equally faithful to her contractual obligations, which she has not.

Copies of the email exchange between Carrie Prejean and pageant officials can be found here.

In reading the comments from both sides (and what has been revealed since then), there’s no doubt in my mind that Miss Prejean was fired as Miss California USA because of her attitude and behaviour, not because of her religious beliefs. However, some Christians insisted on believing otherwise. Here’s an amusing example from Learning, Loving, and Leading, the blog of Doug Brown, student pastor at Surrey Hills Baptist Church in Yukon, Oklahoma (link in original):

Politically correct police have won.
Carrie Prejean stripped of the Miss California crown. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,525716,00.html

If you haven't followed this story it is one worth catching up on. Miss California was in the top three in the recent Miss USA pageant when in the interview part of the pageant she was asked her opinion of same-sex marriage. She had the strength of character to state what she believes. She said, "...a marriage should be between a man and a woman."

Since that statement Miss Prejean was treated as if she was the second coming of Adolf Hitler. Her name and character has been drug through the mud. She has been ridiculed and called hypocritical. The way she was treated you would think she had called for the death of all living polar bear cubs in the world.

And finally yesterday the news, literally news, came out that she had been stripped of her current title. Miss Prejean heard about the move in the news a sign of true disrespect. The "official" reason for her being ousted as Miss California was, "contract violations". We could believe that if she had not been treated the way she was after her stance on same-sex marriage. Anyone with half a brain knows why she was stripped of her title.

The point of this story that I want to focus on is this: she was punished for her beliefs. In a day in which we are told there is no objective truth. We are told there is no right and wrong. It amazes me that in this setting someone can be punished for their beliefs. The true hypocrites in this story are those who mistreated Miss Prejean for her stance.

Pastor Doug’s defense of Miss Prejean can be excused on the grounds that by his own admission, he has only half a brain (maybe he’ll get a whole brain when he becomes a full pastor).

There have been some developments in the Carrie Prejean saga since June 2009. First, she filed a lawsuit against Miss California USA over her dismissal:

"Carrie Prejean is finally firing back at the people behind Miss California USA," said TMZ.com. The former Miss California USA crown bearer—who clashed with pageant judge/blogger Perez Hilton over same-sex marriage—just filed a lawsuit "claiming Shanna Moakler and other pageant officials forced her out because of her religious beliefs." Included in the suit are allegations of "religious discrimination, defamation, public disclosure of private facts, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and negligent infliction of emotional distress."

In November it was reported by Radar Online that Miss Prejean had posed for 30 nude photos and 8 sex tapes. She threw a temper tantrum during an appearance on Larry King Live on CNN. Her ex-boyfriend claimed that Miss Prejean had attempted to get him to lie about how old she was when one of the sex tapes was shot (she wanted him to say she was 17 at the time, he claimed she was 20). The revelation of the sex tapes reportedly led to a settlement of her lawsuit. Meanwhile, Keith Lewis added further comment:

In response to Carrie’s awkward appearance on "Larry King Live" and her ex-boyfriend saying he was told to lie about her age in her solo sex tape, Miss Cali Prez Keith Lewis tells TMZ:

"The public is finally getting a glimpse of the real Carrie Prejean who lives in her own delusional world.

The childish behavior, her negative attitude, the sarcasm and condescending tone, the disrespect and continual lying she is demonstrating now is only a fraction of what we endured during her reign and after.

Anyone who buys her book is supporting a woman who is actually the opposite of everything she claims to be.

I sincerely hope she is able to get the psychological help I believe she has shown to clearly need."

For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication. I Thessalonians 4:3

In February 2010 it was reported that Miss Prejean had become engaged to Kyle Boller, backup quarterback with the St. Louis Rams of the National Football League, and had moved in with him.

Carrie Prejean's legal problems aren't over yet. In March 2010 it was reported that she was being sued by A. Larry Ross Communications, an ostensibly Christian public relations firm, for not paying them for work that they had done on her behalf. According to Courthouse News:

A "Christian-focused" public relations firm gave former Miss California Carrie Prejean "interview tips and damage control" during a 2009 media controversy says the ousted beauty queen owes it $64,000. Larry Ross Communications, sued Prejean in Denton County Court, Texas, claiming she has not paid for the "hundreds of hours" it spent fielding media calls and doing other public relations work.

...Larry Ross Communications claims it represented Prejean throughout the brouhaha, providing "crucial information" to her attorney when Prejean sued the Miss California Pageant.
The company's Web site says it "assists Christian-focused organizations, associations, ministries and churches in telling their stories through the Christian and secular media in the context of traditional news values."
The company says it gave Prejean "intensive interview training," "brokered a conference call with Donald Trump ... and confirmed a joint press conference with Trump and the pageant officials."

Although A. Larry Ross Communications claims to be "Christian-focused," apparently nobody there has bothered to read what God has to say about Christians taking one another to court:

If any of you has a dispute with another, dare he take it before the ungodly for judgment instead of before the saints?
Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases?
Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life!
Therefore, if you have disputes about such matters, appoint as judges even men of little account in the church!
I say this to shame you. Is it possible that there is nobody among you wise enough to judge a dispute between believers?
But instead, one brother goes to law against another—and this in front of unbelievers!
The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means you have been completely defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated?
Instead, you yourselves cheat and do wrong, and you do this to your brothers. I Corinthians 6:1-8 (NIV)

It's my contention that the cause of Christ is harmed far more by the behaviour of professing Christians such as Carrie Prejean than by the mosquito attacks of so-called "new atheists" such as Richard Dawkins or Christopher Hitchens. To compare Miss Prejean to Queen Esther, is of course, absurd, as Esther was a virtuous woman (it's also worth noting that Esther's predecessor, Vashti, was deposed as queen because she refused to parade her beauty in front of a bunch of drunken men (Esther 1:10-12). As for Carrie Prejean's claim to be a Christian, I'll quote (out of context) Mark "Jacko" Jackson: "Well, prove it! And until [she does]...I'm gonna wait! Oi!"

For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: I Peter 4:17a

HT: Politics Daily

February 10, 2026 update: It seems that the woman now known as Carrie Prejean Boller is a Roman Catholic, and not a Bible-believing Christian. As reported by Gabby Deutch of Jewish Insider, February 9, 2026 (links in original):

When the White House Religious Liberty Commission gathered in Washington on Monday for the body’s first public hearing focused on antisemitism, attendees expected an informative if subdued meeting, meant to gather testimony from Jewish Americans who have faced antisemitism. The commission’s members are tasked with drafting a report with recommendations for President Donald Trump about how to promote religious liberty.

The speakers were mostly conservative, like the 13 members of the commission, which was created by Trump last year.

The conversation was largely friendly, barring one member of the commission, Catholic conservative activist and former Miss California Carrie Prejean Boller, who acted as more of an interrogator. She pushed back on witnesses’ testimony, arguing that they had defined antisemitism too broadly and questioning whether she would be considered an antisemite because she does not support Zionism and because she believes the Jews killed Jesus.

She also defended right-wing influencer Candace Owens from accusations of antisemitism.

“I listen to her daily,” said Prejean Boller, who appeared to be wearing a Palestinian flag pin. “I haven’t heard one thing out of her mouth that I would say is antisemitic.” In 2024, Owens was dropped from a Trump campaign event where she was slated to speak alongside Donald Trump Jr. after the campaign faced backlash for including Owens, who regularly shares antisemitic commentary in social media posts and on her podcast.

The first panel of speakers featured former UCLA law student Yitzy Frankel, who sued the university over its handling of antisemitism during the 2024 encampments; Yeshiva University President Ari Berman; Harvard alum Shabbos Kestenbaum; and former Auburn basketball coach Bruce Pearl. Each of them talked about their experiences of antisemitism — or combating it — in the United States after the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks in Israel.

After nearly an hour and a half, Prejean Boller revealed that she had been counting each mention of Israel in the course of the discussion.

“Since we’ve mentioned Israel a total of 17 times, are you willing to condemn what Israel has done in Gaza?” said Prejean Boller. “You won’t condemn that? Just on the record.”

Prejean Boller insisted that she opposes Israel because of her Catholic faith.

“Catholics do not embrace Zionism, just so you know. So are all Catholics antisemites?” Prejean Boller asked the panel, earning some boos from the audience, a mix of Jewish professionals, Christian activists and members of the Washington Jewish community. “I want to be clear on what the definition of antisemitism is. If I don’t support the political state of Israel, am I an antisemite, yes or no?”

At the end of the first panel, the Religious Liberty Commission’s sole Jewish member, Rabbi Meir Soloveichik of Congregation Shearith Israel in New York, offered a pointed response to Prejean Boller’s commentary about Catholics.

“This is an incredibly diverse country, and the one thing we should be careful about is speaking on behalf of all members of a religious community, even if one is a member of that religious community. I certainly wouldn’t claim to speak for all Jews on all subjects,” said Soloveichik. “We’re not known for agreeing on everything, and that certainly should be said for speaking about Catholics in America.”

Soloveichik then quoted Secretary of State Marco Rubio, “who also happens to be a very devout Catholic,” and who spoke about the Jewish people’s connection to the land of Israel during a visit to Jerusalem last year.

Prejean was a member of Trump’s campaign advisory board in 2020. The next year, she began using social media to rally against COVID-19 mask mandates. “You’re the next Rosa Parks. You’re the next Martin Luther King. This is so important that you stand,” she told a group of girls in 2021, urging them to go to school without masks, according to a video she posted on her Instagram.

At the time, she had 11,000 followers. Now she has 124,000 followers. She is also an advocate against transgender women and girls participating in female sports, and an opponent of same-sex marriage. Recently, she began regularly posting videos from Owens and Tucker Carlson, along with sharp criticism towards Israel. Her biography on the commission’s website lists only her beauty pageant title and a book she authored about it. A White House spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

“They mocked her. They censored her. They called her a ‘crazy conspiracy theorist’ simply for asking questions,” Prejean Boller wrote in a recent post about Owens. “I stand with Tucker,” she wrote in another post.

“I would really appreciate it if you would stop calling Candace Owens an antisemite,” Prejean Boller said at the hearing. “She’s not an antisemite. She just doesn’t support Zionism, and that really has to stop.”

Other commission members include Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the former Archbishop of New York; Pastor Paula White, a senior advisor to the White House Faith Office; and Pastor Franklin Graham, president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and of Samaritan’s Purse. It is chaired by Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.

The rest of the Monday hearing proceeded as planned: bureaucratic, genial, straightforward. The commission’s membership is mostly Christian, and much of the discussion of antisemitism presented it as a problem for those who believe in Judeo-Christian values, and an issue for Jews and Christians to combat together — with an understanding that the government should be in the business of supporting Americans’ freedom of religion. The event took place at the Museum of the Bible, a private institution established by the evangelical founder of Hobby Lobby.

“I want to thank everyone who is part of this fight,” Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner said at the start of the event. “It’s a battle that President Trump will continue to wage for Jewish Americans, for Christians, and for all Americans of all faiths whose First Amendment freedoms are under attack. I know it’s fitting that we’re here at the Museum of the Bible. The word of God is powerful, and it’s a powerful reminder of the importance of the First Amendment.”

As reported by World Israel News, February 10, 2026:

...Dillon retorted that Owens and Carlson are “the two most famous antisemites.”

“There you go again,” Prejean Boller responded. “I guess everyone’s an antisemite.”

Later, Prejean Boller asked whether the slogan “Christ is King” and Christian claims that Jews killed Jesus would be considered antisemitic.

Notably, Prejean Boller wore a pin on her lapel with the US flag alongside the Palestine Liberation Organization flag.

Following the hearing, Prejean Boller denounced what she described as “Zionist supremacy” in a post to her X account.

“I will continue to stand against Zionist supremacy in America. I’m a proud Catholic. I, in no way will be forced to embrace Zionism as a fulfillment of biblical prophesy [sic]. I am a free American. Not a slave to a foreign nation...”

...Prejean Boller...promoted Trump in his presidential bids.

Last year, President Trump appointed her to the newly formed Religious Liberty Commission.

Brannon Howse discussed the issue on his Worldview television and radio program, February 10, 2026:



February 11, 2026 update: As reported by Gabby Deutch of Jewish Insider, February 11, 2026:

Conservative activist Carrie Prejean Boller was removed from the White House’s Religious Liberty Commission, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, the chair of the commission, announced on Wednesday.

The news came two days after the commission held its first public hearing on antisemitism, which turned contentious when Prejean Boller minimized charges of antisemitism leveled against other public figures and pressed Jewish witnesses about whether they would consider her antisemitic for not being a Zionist and for believing Jews killed Jesus.

“No member of the Commission has the right to hijack a hearing for their own personal and political agenda on any issue,” Patrick wrote in a post on X. “This is clearly, without question, what happened Monday in our hearing on antisemitism in America. This was my decision...”

February 12, 2026 update: As reported by Gabby Deutch of Jewish Insider, February 12, 2026:

Prejean Boller found an ally who has stood by her this week and who remains on the commission’s advisory board: Sameerah Munshi, a Muslim activist who first gained a public profile in the summer of 2023, when she testified at a Montgomery County, Md., school board hearing against the inclusion of LGBTQ-related material in elementary school classes. The two women — both of whom were appointed by President Donald Trump — have now joined together as the anti-Israel wing of the commission. Both of them have publicly defended antisemitic commentator Candace Owens, who uses conspiracy-laden language to discuss Jews and Israel. In a shared Instagram post last week, Prejean Boller and Munshi pointed fingers at a shadowy cabal that they blame for both the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the alleged crimes of Jeffrey Epstein...

Floozies for Christ: Bristol Palin

But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not once be named among you, as becometh saints; Ephesians 5:3

For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: I Thessalonians 4:3

More evidence that you can’t be a satirist anymore: It used to be that people who charged speaking fees were those who had actually done something; in 2010, however, we have an agency called Single Source Speakers that has added Bristol Palin--19-year-old daughter of former Alaska Governor and failed U.S. vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin--to their roster of speakers. Single Source doesn’t say what she’ll be charging for her speeches, but Associated Press quoted family attorney Thomas Van Flein as citing a figure between $15,000-$30,000. Single Sources’ entry on Bristol Palin reads:

Bristol Palin
Fee: ????
Travels from: Alaska
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Bristol Palin, Sarah Palin's oldest daughter, took the country by storm practically overnight when she was introduced to Americans during the 2008 presidential campaign. Her teen pregnancy and the birth of her son Tripp, resulted in millions of Americans discussing the issues surrounding teen pregnancy. Bristol has since gone on to become a Teen Ambassador for the Candie's Foundation, and speaks about pregnancy prevention, abstinence, faith and life. She recently appeared on the ABC drama "The Secret Life of the American Teenager" and is working on her first book.

As for "working on her first book," I wonder what book she’s reading (or colouring); I find it hard to believe she’s writing one, given that she hasn’t done anything worth writing or reading about. Bristol Palin is someone whose main accomplishment has been to have a child out of wedlock, and whose name is known only because her mother is a famous politician. When it comes to speaking on pregnancy prevention and abstinence, as Winston Churchill would say, "Here, surely, is the world’s record in the domain of the ridiculous and the contemptible." Bristol seems to be following in her mother's footsteps when it comes to cashing in on celebrity. For those who’ve forgotten, Sarah Palin had almost a year and a half left in her term as Governor of Alaska when she up and quit, apparently because she was unaccustomed to and unwilling to put up with more of the criticism (warranted or unwarranted) that comes with being a national figure. She’s since gone on to the book and lecture circuit, instead of continuing to serve as governor.

Those who think they know what the positions of Bristol and Sarah Palin are on the issues of teenage fornication and pregnancy might be surprised. On February 16, 2009 they appeared on Greta Van Susteren’s program on Fox News. The best commentary I’ve read on this appearance comes from Ingrid Schlueter on her former blog, Slice of Laodicea, which is fortunately still online:

Quote of the Day

"Get beyond the ideal of abstinence," the 44 year old, new grandmother said. "Hey, life happens."

–Governor Sarah Palin to Greta Van Susteren on Fox News Channel, 2-16-09 in reference to her teen daughter Bristol’s pregnancy. Bristol told Fox that she has "no immediate plans to marry."

Bristol Palin: Teen Abstinence Not Realistic

Evangelical Governor Sarah Palin has become something of a conservative icon these days for Christians. Anyone who watched the Fox News interview last night with Governor Palin and her 18-year-old daughter, however, should be asking some hard questions.

Fornicating and then having a baby out of wedlock is apparently no longer viewed as sin among evangelical Christians. The word "sin" simply does not exist. Neither is marriage all that important to this "pro-family" leader. Her daughter and boyfriend are still unmarried after their child was born. Bristol is only now "engaged" to the high school drop-out who fathered her child. Sarah and Todd Palin are OK with this. As for Bristol, she says she has "no regrets", not even for her child who was born outside of the institution of marriage, and she thinks that abstinence is unrealistic. I would suggest that with a moral outlook devoid of God’s authoritative Word, she is correct. Bristol does not appear to begin to understand what she has done and what kind of an example she has been to other girls her age, many of whom will never have wealthy parents to pick up the pieces. Worse still, Governor Palin shrugs the situation off as not ideal, but says the family will "make the most of it."

...why would Todd and Sarah Palin allow Bristol on national television as some kind of celebrity for having a baby out of wedlock, her sole accomplishment thus far in life? What message are they sending her–that fornication pays with big media gigs?

If a daughter of a supposedly Christian home can go on national television with parental sanction and state that abstinence (moral purity) is unattainable, it says volumes about the values she has imbibed. Bristol appears to be the tragic product of completely secular thinking. God and His Word apparently have nothing to do with her world and life view.

As far as I’m concerned, anyone who believes that the grace of God (which is, in the title of a booklet by Dave Breese, The Wealth By Which We Live (1982)) is not "realistic" or sufficient for living a life of purity and holiness has no business claiming to be a Christian. Some may think I’m being too hard on a 19-year-old girl. However, she’s old enough to charge fees for public speeches, and people don’t charge fees for speaking unless they figure that they’re knowledgeable enough on something that people will pay to hear what they have to say. If Bristol Palin is going to publicly pose as someone possessing knowledge or wisdom that’s worth paying to hear, then she’s fair game for public criticism. I see no evidence that she has any such knowledge or wisdom, and I wouldn’t pay 15-30 cents to hear her speak, much less $15,000-$30,000. Especially do I not think that Bristol Palin has any wisdom to offer Christian young people.

Those who are anxious for Christian young people to hear a message about abstinence and purity would be better off hearing from someone who’s actually lived such a life. I was in the audience at Bartle Hall in Kansas City on December 30, 1983 when Elisabeth Elliot delivered a powerful message based on her experience. It gets replayed every so often on Focus on the Family, and the audio may be available on the Internet. If you can’t find it, look for her book Passion and Purity (1984).

July 15, 2010 update: Bristol Palin and the bum who fathered her child are back together and engaged, and fittingly, on the cover of Us magazine. It's quite apparent that he doesn't know Jesus Christ; I'd accuse Bristol of sinning by marrying an unbeliever, but I see no evidence that she's a Christian, either.

June 26, 2015 update: The engagement mentioned above broke up, and now another engagement has broken up, but Bristol Palin is pregnant--again, out of wedlock--again. As reported by Helena Andrews of the Washington Post, June 25, 2015:

Palin, whose recent engagement to former Marine and Medal of Honor awardee Dakota Meyer ended mysteriously and abruptly, broke the baby news on her personal blog Thursday.

“I wanted you guys to be the first to know that I am pregnant. Honestly, I’ve been trying my hardest to keep my chin up on this one,” wrote Palin.

“I know this has been, and will be, a huge disappointment to my family, to my close friends, and to many of you,” continued Palin, mother of 6-year-old Tripp with her first ex-fiance Levi Johnston. “But please respect Tripp’s and my privacy during this time. I do not want any lectures and I do not want any sympathy.”

Thus far, Meyer, who has more than 65,000 followers on Twitter and who Mama Palin once called “an American Hero,” has remained silent on the subject of Bristol’s baby.

There's no point giving Miss Palin any lectures, since it's apparent that she wouldn't listen, anyway. And I'm sick of people holding press conferences or making publicly available posts on blogs, asking that their privacy be respected. If you want your privacy respected, keep your privacy private. As for the silence of Miss Palin's latest ex-fiance, maybe he has doubts as to whether the child is his--but that's just my speculation.

June 3, 2023 update: Miss Palin married Mr. Meyer in June 2016; the couple had a child in 2017, and were divorced in 2018. As of February 2020, Bristol Palin was a realtor in Austin, Texas.

10 years ago: Vatican reveals the third secret of Fatima

On May 13, 2000, during a pilgrimage by Pope John Paul II to Fatima, Portugal, the Vatican reported the last of three prophecies, or "secrets," said to have been revealed in Fatima by the Virgin Mary in apparitions to three children, beginning on May 13, 1917. The first secret had been interpreted as forecasting the end of World War I and the beginning of World War II; the second secret supposedly forecast the rise and fall of Communism in Russia.

According to Vatican Secretary of State Angelo Sodano, the third secret foresaw the killing of a "bishop clothed in white;" this was interpreted as forecasting the assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II, which also occurred on May 13, in 1981. Two of the children died in childhood and were beatified by the pope during his pilgrimage; the third was still living.

However, the well-known priest and author Malachi Martin had a different view of the third secret (see his book The Keys of This Blood (1990), pp. 629-633). Mr. Martin asserted that the Virgin, according to the three secrets, mandated the pope who was in office in 1960 to consecrate Russia to her immaculate heart, and that the Russian orthodox church would then convert back to Roman Catholicism. If the mandate were not followed, devastating war in the world and destruction inside the Roman Catholic Church (The Great Apostasy) would follow. Mr. Martin claimed that he had stood outside the papal living quarters in 1960 while Pope John XXIII and Cardinal Bea and others were reading the document containing the third secret, and that in order to assure Russian cooperation at the approaching Second Vatican Council, the Pope decided against the mandate. Popes Paul VI and John Paul II also decided against it for various reasons. By the time the third secret was revealed by Mr. Sodano, Mr. Martin was no longer around to question the revelation; he had died on July 27, 1999 at the age of 78. He died in hospital in New York several days after suffering a brain hemorrhage, supposedly in an accidental fall at his apartment, but the timing of his death and the Vatican’s revelation of the third secret was very convenient--and very suspicious.

The Message distorts John 3:16-17

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. John 3:16-17, KJV

This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn't go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. John 3:16-17, The Message

Some Bereans, such as Dave Hunt and T.A. McMahon at The Berean Call, have commented about how Eugene Peterson in The Message alters the meaning of John 3:17. "That the world through him might be saved" is changed to "put the world right again," which makes Jesus Christ sound more a social reformer than a saviour.

However, it’s also worth taking a look at what Mr. Peterson does to John 3:16. This is perhaps the most beloved verse in the Bible, and one that directly led me to put my faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as my saviour. The word rendered as "everlasting" in the King James Version and "eternal" in most modern versions is the Greek word aionios. According to An Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words by W.E. Vine (1940), "...it is used of persons and things which are in their nature endless..." Which is to say, "everlasting" or "eternal" are correct renderings of the word. However, The Message changes "everlasting life" to "a whole and lasting life." "Whole and lasting" sounds a lot less impressive to me than "everlasting" or "eternal." It sounds as though Mr. Peterson is more interested in promoting a better life on Earth than in preparing people for eternity.

The reader will also note the absence of the word "begotten" from verse 16. I haven’t time to reprint it here, but Mr. Vine’s dictionary has a lengthy explanation of the phrase "only begotten," which is the Greek word monogenes. The phrase is unique to the writings of John, and is found five times (John 1:14; 1:18; 3:16; 3:18; and I John 4:9), always in reference to Christ as the Son of God. I’ve already posted on The Message’s refusal to use the phrases "Lord Jesus" and "Lord Jesus Christ," and I don’t understand how such a perverse paraphrase can be seriously regarded as a "Bible."

Is there a connection between a sulfur spring in the Canadian Arctic and possible life on Europa?

The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. Psalm 19:1

The LORD by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens. Proverbs 3:19

As reported by Canwest News Service:

A NASA satellite's detection of a faint yellow stain on an ancient glacier in the Canadian Arctic is being hailed as a major breakthrough in the search for life beyond Earth.

The yellowish tinge on a remote patch of the Great White North is caused by microbes interacting with a sulphur spring bubbling up from below the ice of the Borup Fiord Pass on Ellesmere Island, Canada's northernmost major land mass.

Scientists have long known about the one-of-a-kind feature, described by NASA as a place "like none other on Earth."

But the discovery by a Canada-U. S. research team that the sulphur spring can be pinpointed by infrared sensors -- housed in an orbiting spacecraft -- fuels hope that a probe sent to Jupiter could detect similar chemical signals on one of its moons, Europa.

The ice-covered sphere has dark regions that are suspected to be sulphur deposits and possible hotbeds of microbial activity -- in other words, alien life.

Located 600 million kilometres from Earth and smaller than our own moon, Europa is described by NASA as being "near the top of the short list of places in our solar system that might harbour extraterrestrial life."

That's because scientists believe the distant moon is covered in ice that "might conceal an ocean of liquid water," a prime prerequisite for life.