ISI Conference Part Three: More British Than the British!

November 16, 2009 | Filed Under Britain, Christianity, Conservatives, Constitution, Democrats/Leftists, Education, Government, Corruption, History, Liberals, Patriotism, President, Religion, Rights, Society/Culture, State Government, The Law, Warner Todd Huston, Western Civilization | 1 Comment

-By Warner Todd Huston

This is the final installment my three part report on the Intercollegiate Studies Institute’s one day conference on The Roots of American Order. So here is part two of mine titled Lift a Glass to the Past: America Rooted in Tradition or a New Covenant? (Click for parts one and two)

After a break for lunch, Mark C. Henrie took up America’s Britishness. Henrie wrote the ISI’s A Student’s Guide to the Core Curriculum that explains the value of a traditional core of studies in Western civilization and his session reflected that study.

Capitalizing on Birzer’s citation of Edmund Burke who praised the colonist’s essential Britishness, Henrie made the point that America is best understood not as a break from tradition but as the culmination of a long series of continuous ideals that range back through Western history, specifically through England.

Henrie says that we get four essentials from England.

  • The English language and literature
  • The common law and a respect for the rule of law
  • A desire for self government
  • Manners and a social order

One of the questions that researchers have often wondered is why American English and British English are essentially the same? Why didn’t America reinvent English for its own purposes in the same way the Dutch altered German, for instance? Henrie says that the reason is that the focal point of language in the colonies was contained in the King James Bible and that pervasive reliance on a single source of language arrested any development of a widely diverging American version of English. We Americans inherited the English language through the Bible.
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ISI Conference Part Two: Christ in Our Soul

November 16, 2009 | Filed Under Britain, Christianity, Conservatives, Constitution, Democrats/Leftists, Education, Freedom, Government, Corruption, Liberals, Patriotism, President, Religion, Rights, Society/Culture, State Government, The Law, Warner Todd Huston, Western Civilization | 4 Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

This is part two of my three part report on the Intercollegiate Studies Institute’s one day conference on The Roots of American Order. So here is part two of mine titled Lift a Glass to the Past: America Rooted in Tradition or a New Covenant? (Part one can be seen here)

The second speaker of the day was Brad Birzer who regaled us on America’s Judeo-Christian History.

Bizer began his session by noting that historian Donald Lutz discovered that the founders used Christian references in their pre-war writing far more than any other source. St. Paul was the most referenced New Testament figure with Micah 4:4 being the most referenced Old Testament verse.

But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the LORD of hosts hath spoken it.

On this Lutz quotation, though, I want to clarify something. Many have bandied about the claim that Donald Lutz said that 34 percent of the founder’s writing contain direct Biblical citations. This claim is not altogether true. On the other hand, it is not something to quickly dismiss as fans of the Enlightenment influence want to do, either.
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Lift a Glass to the Past: America Rooted in Tradition or a New Covenant?

November 16, 2009 | Filed Under Britain, Chicago, Christianity, Conservatives, Constitution, Democrats/Leftists, Education, Government, Corruption, History, Liberals, Patriotism, Religion, Rights, Society/Culture, The Law, War on Terror, Warner Todd Huston, Western Civilization | 8 Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

Is the United States a grand experiment, a new covenant invented out of whole cloth by the fertile minds of the founders from never before seen ideas or is it a nation spawned from deeply rooted traditions of western thought? This was the question posited in a one-day-long conference on classicism in America’s founding sponsored by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI) and held in Skokie, Illinois, a near northern suburb of Chicago.

The short answer is that the liberal mindset that holds that we should invent the USA anew with each succeeding generation is an erroneous conception of what the United States was meant to be when it was founded. Sure America has some ideas never before seen by political man, but at heart, America is rationalism informed by tradition, not some amorphous mélange of constantly changing ideas.

The founders created a new nation based heavily on Western ideas through British tradition, not one based solely on rationalist thinking. As they struggled to set their new nation on its new Constitutional course, for instance, the words of Founder John Dickinson of Delaware served as their benchmark.

Let experience be our only guide. Reason may lead us astray.

An intimate crowd of 60 some participants enjoyed four separate addresses by lecturers associated with ISI. Appearing behind the lectern were Bruce Thornton, Professor of Classics at Fresno State University; Brad Birzer, Professor of History at Hillsdale College; Mark C. Henrie, Senior VP and Chief Academic Officer of ISI; and E. Christian Kopff, Professor of Classics at the University of Colorado, Boulder.

In these three installments, I will lay out what we talked about at this interesting one-day conference.

Part One: How it all Began
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The Moral Argument For God

November 9, 2009 | Filed Under Christianity, Frederick Meekins, History, Religion, Society/Culture | No Comments

-By Frederick Meekins

The early 21st century stands as a period of profound moral confusion. On the one hand, mothers and doctors are permitted to crack open the skulls and suck out the brains of nearly-born babies with government sanction under the banner of partial birth abortion. Should these very same people hike into the woods and crack open a bald eagle egg, they could face serious prison time.

It would therefore seem that contemporary society is marked by two seemingly contradictory extremes — that of extreme license and that of excessive control. However, upon closer inspection it could be concluded that these conditions are not as contradictory as the situation might originally appear. Rather, it would seem each is the result of the systematic removal of the ethical balance provided within the Judeo-Christian tradition with its emphasis upon transcendent standards provided by an infinitely just and loving God.

With the increasing complexity of knowledge and technology, those trained in the acquisition and use of this complex body of thought (those broadly referred to as “intellectuals”) have taken on increased levels of influence and responsibility throughout society. No longer does agriculture or manufacturing dominate society to the degree it once did.
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Pretending to Speak for an Entire Culture

November 4, 2009 | Filed Under Barack Obama, Christianity, Democrats/Leftists, Foreign Policy, Frank Salvato, Free Speech, Government, Corruption, Hillary Clinton, Iran, Islam, Islamofascism, Israel, Liberals, Security/Safety, Society/Culture, Terrorism, War on Terror, Western Civilization | No Comments

-By Frank Salvato

One of the things that brings me to the boiling point is when I hear elected officials tell me what “Americans want” or what “Americans think.” To believe that today’s federally elected politicians understand – or care – what their constituents want, never mind Americans on the whole, after they belittled town hall attendees and ignored the citizenry’s opposition to government-run healthcare is to exist in fantasyland. No, federally elected politicians (and in many cases local politicians, as well) only invoke the wants and thoughts of “Americans” when they want to bolster their political positions and those have more to do with special interest groups and ideology than what Americans really think and want.

How many times have you heard Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, President Obama or any number of their surrogates – and to be fair and honest, it does happen on both sides of the aisle – begin a sentence with, “What Americans really want…” or “The Average American thinks that…” It is an insult to the intelligence of the citizenry, no matter how dumbed-down the American populace has become.

Another facet to this intellectual arrogance is when an elected official or public figure uses a “broad brush” to address an entire group or demographic, regardless of whether it is favorably or unfavorably.

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What’s So Happy About Halloween This Year?

October 29, 2009 | Filed Under Ann "Babe" Huggett, Barack Obama, Children, Christianity, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Education, Family, Fashion, Government, Corruption, History, Liberals, Society/Culture | No Comments

-By Ann “Babe” Huggett

The terror of ghoulies and ghosties and long-legged beasties and things that go “Bump” in the night hasn’t got anything on the real life fright Americans are experiencing nine months into the Obama Administration. One could look at the title of this article and substitute Thanksgiving and/or Christmas too because it is only going to get worse if Obamacare is passed.

The “Pedophile Protection Act” just got signed into law as a rider to a defense spending bill. Our men are dropping like flies in Afghanistan as Obama dithers around on the golf course. US workers are losing their jobs, their homes, their currency, their privacy and if Obama unconstitutionally signs that Globalist climate control Treaty of Copenhagen in December, their sovereignty and freedom to a one world government predicated on massive redistribution of wealth to Third World countries, anarcho-tryanny through demonization of native First World populations if they fight against unrestricted immigration from hostile and aggressive foreign cultures and peoples and grotesquely criminal governmental corruption paid for by the fiscal enslavement of producing workers for generations to come.

The American Dream is turning into a nightmare but, hey, First Lady Michele Obama is on the December cover of Glamour Magazine, sans her usual boob belt, and inside chirping on about how “cute” doesn’t make it in the long haul. In light of the utter hash her husband is making of the US Presidency, perhaps we need to revisit Thomas Paine’s comment that, “These are the times that try men’s souls.” because what Barack Obama is doing to this country isn’t cute either although it has long haul repercussions.
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Where the Marxist “Social Gospel” and the Bible Part Company

October 27, 2009 | Filed Under Anti-Americanism, Barack Obama, Christianity, Communism, Conservatives, Democrats/Leftists, Foreign Policy, Government, Corruption, Liberals, Marie Jon, President, Religion, Socialism, Society/Culture, Western Civilization | No Comments

-By Marie Jon

It is said that history always repeats itself one way or another. Nothing could be truer.

For instance, look at what is taking place in our country today. Most Americans know that President Barack Obama and his czars are greatly influenced by the long-discredited teachings of Karl Marx. — View YouTube

The United States is being undermined and frighteningly transformed before our eyes. We’re not going to like what’s in store for us if we fail to stop the madness. As of now, only a few brave legislators are speaking up. House Minority Leader John Boehner has accused the president of subverting and circumventing the Constitution by appointing so-called czars who are not subject to Senate confirmation or scrutiny.

The mainstream media has gone rogue and is no longer doing its job. It is merely a reflection of President Obama. Both are continuously working to destroy America in every way imaginable. Our liberties and freedoms are disappearing — View YouTube

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Obama’s Muslim Advisor Says Sharia Law ‘Misunderstood’

October 9, 2009 | Filed Under Anti-Americanism, Barack Obama, Christianity, Democrats/Leftists, Foreign Policy, Government, Corruption, Islam, Islamofascism, Liberals, Military, Palestinians, President, Religion, Society/Culture, Terrorism, War on Terror, Warner Todd Huston, Western Civilization | No Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

It has been used to excuse the chopping off of hands and feet, it has been used as an excuse to stone women that have been victims of rape, and it has been used as an excuse to jail women merely for wearing a pair of pants, driving a car, or smoking a cigarette, but Barack Obama’s Muslim advisor told a British TV audience that Shariah Law has just been “misunderstood.”

Obama Muslim affairs advisor Dalia Mogahed (pictured) was a guest on a London-based TV show hosted by a member of the extremist Hizb ut Tahir al-Islami party (Islamic Party of Liberation), Ibtihal Bsis.

Hizb ut Tahir al-Islami seeks to eliminate western democracy and replace it with an extremist view of Islam which includes the creation of a world Islamic caliphate.

On the TV broadcast, Obama advisor Mogahed sat quiet while other guests and the host said that women should not be allowed to hold positions in government and that western democratic tradition was a “lethal cocktail of liberty and capitalism.”

But worse than not speaking up to these anti-woman and anti-western sentiments was what she herself added to the conversation. Speaking on the barbaric practice of Sharia law, Mogahed said:
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He is giving us plenty of warning signs — Christ is coming again

October 4, 2009 | Filed Under Barack Obama, Christianity, Democrats/Leftists, Family, Government, Corruption, Liberals, Society/Culture, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

-By Marie Jon

“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.” — Matthew 24:42

While trying to make sense of our world’s current political and social disarray, many are led to believe that something extraordinary is about to happen. We could use some good news for a change.

The Second Coming of our Savior is imminent. The signs are all around us. America’s life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are quickly eroding. It makes people tremble in righteous indignation. Our country is being transformed by those who wish her ill.

Read the headlines. Take note of the times we live in. We’ve become a weakened nation and have forsaken many of our allies such as Israel, Poland, and the Czech Republic. All we hear are discouraging, distorted words about the land that we love. There is no way to express the needless stress that this president and his administration have heaped upon America and its people. He is negligent when it comes to his reckless foreign and domestic polices.

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Brit Hasn’t a Clue About U.S. Politics

September 18, 2009 | Filed Under Anti-Americanism, Barack Obama, Britain, Business, Capitalism, Christianity, Congress, Conservatives, Constitution, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Education, Europe, Free Trade, Freedom, Government, Corruption, Journalism, Liberals, Media Bias, Military, President, Race, Religion, Republicans, Security/Safety, Socialism, Society/Culture, Taxes, Terrorism, War on Terror, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

Many elitist American leftists like to go about claiming that it is only Americans that are dunces on foreign matters. There is some truth to the accusation that Americans are not knowledgeable about the rest of the world but if a column in the UK Telegraph is any indication it isn’t much better for Britain’s understanding of American politics. Worse, it is plain that even a British journalist hasn’t a clue what he’s on about when attempting to discuss the differences between a Democrat and Republican in today’s climate.

At issue is the incredibly garbled take on American Democrats and Republicans as posted by U.K. Telegraph writer David Lindsay, who claims himself to be a “freelance writer and tutor at Durham University.” One wonders why he doesn’t get a real job.

In “Why real American conservatives should register as Democrats,” Lindsay’s main point seems to be that Republicans really support what the Democratic Party supports and so GOP voters should resign from their party and join the left side of the aisle. But Lindsay’s reasons prove that he doesn’t know a thing about what he’s talking about.
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Will Obamacare Put Abortion Providers in Schools?

September 11, 2009 | Filed Under Abortion, Anti-Americanism, Barack Obama, Budget, Children, Christianity, Communism, Congress, Democrats/Leftists, Economy/Finances, Education, Family, Free Trade, Freedom, Government, Corruption, Health, Liberals, President, Socialism, Society/Culture, Warner Todd Huston | No Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

In a section innocuously titled “School-Based Health Clinics,” the House bill, H.R. 3200, seems to set up Democrats to invite groups like Planned Parenthood into our schools to serve as a school “health clinic.” (‘Sec. 399Z-1. School-Based Health Clinics.)

And even more insidiously the bill provides for these “clinics” to be initiated immediately — effective date to be July 1, 2010 — whereas much of the rest of H.R. 3200 does not take effect until 2013. Why the rush? If one were cynical, one might think that the fast tracking of these “clinics” was meant to catch critics off guard. After all, if these “clinics” are slipped into our schools before anyone is aware of them, it will be harder to get them out or to protest the whole deal beforehand.

Here is how Sec. 399Z-1 begins:
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A Christian Analysis Of Atheism, Part 1

September 1, 2009 | Filed Under Anti-Americanism, Anti-Semitism, Christianity, Communism, Democrats/Leftists, Family, Frederick Meekins, Freedom, Gay Marriage, Government, Corruption, Liberals, Religion, Socialism, Society/Culture | No Comments

-By Frederick Meekins

If the Middle Ages are to stand in history books as the Age of Faith, it could be equally asserted that the nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first centuries will no doubt be remembered as the Era of Unbelief. Whereas unbelievers in the Middle Ages were careful in how they expressed their theological doubts for fear of befalling persecution, theists (be they Protestant, Catholic, or Orthodox Jew) have today learned selectivity in how they go about expressing challenges to the prevailing lack of belief impacting fundamental cultural institutions such as government, academia, and the scientific establishment. And like the Catholic Church of the Middle Ages, the atheistic establishment of today seeks to foster a worldview influencing all aspects of society and binds all individuals whether they wish to be or not. Such an assertion will become more obvious in the following analysis which identifies significant atheistic thinkers, clarifies why some chose to adhere to this particular belief system, and critiques this worldview and contrasts it with Christian monotheism.

As an intellectual tradition, atheism has captured the minds of some of history’s most formidable thinkers. Creation science apologist Ken Ham of Answers In Genesis has astutely pointed out that social issues and public policies rest upon a foundation of thought and belief. Keeping with this analogy, atheism proceeds from a theoretical base up through a practical program designed to influence various spheres of culture such as politics and education with prominent luminaries within the movement solidifying this mental edifice along the way.

As stated elsewhere within these introductory comments, atheism did not suddenly appear on the doorstep of the twentieth and twenty-first century fully formed demanding things like the removal of school prayer and the enshrinement of evolution as biological dogma. Rather like a weed strangling the other plants around it, today’s culture of unbelief sprang from the soil in which it was planted. While atheism can trace its pedigree back throughout much of human history, a number of modern thinkers have ensured this system a place of prominence within the cultural consciousness.
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A Christian Analysis Of Atheism, Part 2

August 25, 2009 | Filed Under Christianity, Democrats/Leftists, Family, Frederick Meekins, Freedom, Religion, Society/Culture | No Comments

-By Frederick Meekins

Try as the atheist might to manipulate objective data to fit their hypothesis with some evolutionists going so far as to invoke the law in order to suppress perspectives conflicting with their origins account, the assumptions of atheism fail to square with the facts of nature and with the revelation of nature’s God. At one time earlier in the modern era, it was quite common for the atheist to portray himself as the true friend and ally of science. However, as impartial observational science has probed deeper onto the macroscopic realm of cosmic space as well as the microscopic world of the subatomic particle, this relationship once prided by the atheist turned out not to be as solid as originally thought.

The scientific establishment and the philosophical elites once derided the so-called “theistic proofs” for the existence of God as the outdated wisdom of a less-enlightened era. It turns out, however, that these time-honored arguments may be as relevant as the latest academic journals.

The cosmological argument, perhaps the best known, states that all finite realities and structures have a cause. Therefore, ultimately there must be an uncaused cause complete in itself in order to get the proverbial billiard ball rolling; this the theist declared to be God.
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Help the Soldiers!



"Governments are instituted among men,deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed." Declaration of Independence July 4, 1776




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