Nightmare on Sesame Street: Elmo Assaulted

It's hard not to laugh about someone sucker punching a big, furry version of a Sesame Street character, but the guy inside the suit was real, and so was the flake who assaulted him. My own opinion is that as soon as "Elmo" left his work area, he should have removed his costume because it hampered visibility and movement.

He should have done this, not just for tactical advantage, but as a general safety measure to enhance alertness. Reduced visibility increases the danger of tripping, bumping into objects, etc.

Also, note that he says that after he removed his impediments, the attacker charged him, and he was able to divert the attacker's momentum into a stationary object. Headlong charges don't happen every day, but when they do, think, "Bullfight!" (Ole!)

Here's a news clip of the incident:

Unprofitable Home Defense, 4

Continued from "Unprofitable Home Defense, 3"

Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. (Pro 22:6)

Parents can do everything right, and their kids still turn out wrong. (Host of a Christian talk radio show)

According to people like the above-quoted radio personality, the Christian parent's protection of a child's heart will have no ultimate effect on the child's adult faith, values and attitudes.

I have heard others say essentially the same as the talk show host. This position sometimes provides leverage to parents who enroll their children in the public school system. The clincher is that no one does everything right, so there is no way anyone can hold parents responsible for what the youngsters become when they grow up.

If the parent never bears a responsibility for the final product, then the question of Christian vs. humanist education becomes moot.

So, what do people who use this argument do with Proverbs 22:6. Well, there are two great dump-holes that "conservative" Christians have for Scripture passages that make them uncomfortable. One is the that's-just-a generalization-not-an-absolute-truth dump hole. This disposal method works especially well for verses in Proverbs, but in a pinch, can be pressed into service for passages from other books, as well.

(The other is the that's-just-cultural dump hole. The intent is that if something addresses the culture of the day in which it was written, it's not normative. This method ignores the fact that "Thou shalt not murder; thou shalt not commit adultery; thou shalt not steal" along with most of the rest of the Bible speak to culture in a historical context. Those pronouncements are nevertheless normative.)

There are two problems with dismissing Proverbs 22:6 as "just a generalization":

1. Even if it's just a "general rule" rather than a hard and fast truth, it's still saying that how a child is trained makes a difference -- this should not be ignored:
2. If this verse is not to be taken as an absolute rule of life, then Genesis 18:19 makes no sense -- why does God Himself declare that how Abraham's children turn out will result precisely from how he trains them? (In spite of the fact that Abraham was a sinful human being, who presumably did not "do everything right".)

My own Reformed theological circles have their own excuse for not assigning full faith and credit to Proverbs 22:6. They will say that how the child turns out is ultimately in God's hands. Your child may or may not be a beneficiary of God's sovereign election, so even if you do everything right, your child may turn out wrong.

I will consider that objection in another post.

Unprofitable Home Defense, 3

Continued from "Unprofitable Home Defense, 2)

I am continuing my discussion of the theme that it is vain to protect our children physically, if at the same time we cede the molding of their souls to godless, humanist educators. I would like to organize this post around three Scripture passages.

The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts.(Psalm 10:4)

That Scripture distills the essence of the public schools' stance toward God in theory and practice. By law and judicial decree, public education may not introduce God into any of its studies of His world -- language, art, science, history, economics, government. Mention of God must not enter into the curriculum, in any way that recognizes Him as the sovereign Creator, sustainer and ultimate judge of man's thoughts, knowledge and actions.

When I taught English to Christian school students, I began with John 1:1. "In the beginning was the Word . . . ." I told them that not only was language a gift from God, but that Word (logos, idea, rational discourse, message, word) is how God describes the second Person of the Trinity. He is God's communication to us (Hebrews 1:1, ff).

Thus, to learn proper and effective language and communication skills is a privilege and a responsibility for Christians. Our Lord is sovereign over language and judges every word man speaks.(Matthew 12:36)

Are these truths relevant to language and our attitude toward it as Christians? You bet. Do they hear this in the public school? No way.

It's not that they teach false doctrines about God. They don't. They don't even say that He's irrelevant. They communicate His irrelevance by not mentioning Him at all.

God is not in all his thoughts.

That's how God describes the wicked. Therefore, I have to conclude that the public school curriculum is wicked. Not just because it teaches evolution (which is bad) or that homosexuality is a valid lifestyle choice (which is bad), but because they build into our children a whole system of thought that simply leaves out the only One who can give it all meaning and sense.

The next Scripture I'd like to consider is this:

Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. (Psalm 1:1)

God counts the man blessed who does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly. One who does not take advice from the wicked.

Now, if you are an adult with some experience and training in Scripture, you can probably discern ungodly counsel and steer clear of it. Of course, many adults lack this discernment, because they, themselves came up in an environment saturated with ungodly counsel (the public schools).

I'm reminded of an incident some 20 years ago. I was working at a hospital to support my family while I ministered at a small rural church. Another worker -- a Christian -- and I became good friends, and I began to give him material to read that described the Biblical worldview as it related to ecomonics, law, government, etc.

One day, he expressed his appreciation for what he had been reading. He said, "Up to now, I've been a humanist and didn't even know it." In other words, he had swallowed the counsel of the ungodly hook, line and sinker.

He had the grace and wisdom to acknowledge and correct his error. Most adult graduates of the public schools do not -- even among Christians -- so they end up sending their own children into the indoctrination centers to receive the counsel of the ungodly.

Then when the young ones get a little older and sit in the seat of the scornful, they wonder what went wrong.

An old adage applies here: An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Here's the third Scripture for today's discussion:


And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition [counsel] of the Lord. (Ephesians 6:4)

It's not enough just to pull your child out of the environment of ungodly counsel. You must see that your student learns to look at all of life in terms of godly counsel.

Not all Christian schools have godly standards; not all teach their curriculum from a consistently Biblical worldview. Not all parent home-educators have enough of a Scriptural worldview to impart to their offspring.

This means that, whatever alternative you choose to the ungodly education system, you must do your homework. You must educate yourself in terms of how Scripture relates to the various school subjects, and you must investigate curriculum and standards for whatever alternative you settle on.

One place you might start is R.J. Rushdoony's Philosophy of the Christian Curriculum. If you're really interested in home education, drop me a line, and I'll advise you as best I can. My wife & I started home education in 1983, and continued until our youngest graduated in 2009.

You don't have to turn your children over to the pagan indoctrinators. I hope it's obvious from the three Scriptures I used today, that God will hold you responsible if you do.

This topic continued here

Five Ways of Attack

This is a brand new video by Keith Pascal (his first, actually) that gives some JKD theory on the five ways of attack.

Unprofitable Home Defense, 2

Continued from "Unprofitable Home Defense"

What would you think of a church missionary society that sent 100 missionaries to India, and over half of them converted to Hinduism? If they actually lost more missionaries to paganism than they gained in converts?

Is it possible that there might be something wrong with their missionary candidate selection process?

What would you think of that mission agency if they pointed to their missionaries who did not convert as proof of their program's success? Can you say, "Delusional"?

Incredibly, some Christians still use the argument that we should send our children into the public school system as missionaries and evangelists. Some will even justify their argument by pointing at this or that child who graduated from public school and is "still okay."

Never mind the 60% to 70% of young people who just disappear from church rolls after high school. (see Barna study; see Lifeway study) Can you say, "Absolutely delusional"?

Let me get this straight: The best program you can come up with for winning our society to Christ is to send five- and six-year-olds out among professionally trained humanist indoctrinators.

Although the great majority of Christians send their children to the public schools, there is a growing minority who who educate their youngsters at home. Compare their success to the average.

The National Home Education Research Institute conducted a survey of over 7,000 home school graduates. Here is one result of that poll:

94% strongly agreed or agreed to the statement, “My religious beliefs are basically the same as those of my parents.”


Am I so radical as to think that the way a child is educated has a major influence on that how that child believes and behaves as an adult? No doubt in my mind.


AND I believe that if you make every provision for your child's physical safety and neglect his/her spiritual protection, then you have failed as a Christian Martialist.



IndoctriNation Trailer from IndoctriNation on Vimeo.
Topic continued here

Unprofitable Home Defense

For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? (Mark 8:36)

And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me. But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea. ( The word "offend" in this passage means "cause to stumble" Mat 18:5-6)

You can train until you're a master warrior. You can turn your house into an impenetrable fortress. You can maintain a veritable arsenal close at hand . . .

... But what benefit is all that you do to protect the lives of your family, if their souls are forfeit? I did not found this  platform to promote Christian Martialism so that you might become a protector of your covenant child's body while the public school system steals away his/her heart and mind hour by hour, day by day.


The following comes from a review of "The Promise of Jonadab" in "Faith for All of Life":

The case against public education cannot be put too strongly; it’s hard to put it strongly enough. One hour of Sunday school can hardly compete with five school days a week devoted to systematically anti-Christian teachings. It’s asking too much to expect a child to keep his Christianity in such a determinedly hostile environment: the fact that some of them do is no excuse.Facts and figures? Yes, the Moores have them. “Christian children and youth today do not routinely follow the faith of their fathers” (p. 97), as a number of polls and surveys clearly show. Pew Forum research in 2007 showed only 15 percent of church youth—don’t even ask about the kids who are not in church—to be “deeply committed” Christians (p. 88). But by comparison, a 2004 survey of some 7,000 homeschooled children found that 93 percent of them “continued in the Christian faith and practices of their parents through their early adult years. (p. 99)


Continued here!

Homegrown Terrorism

According to a onenewsnow.com article, a report issued by the former heads of the 9/11 Commission says that President Obama is weak on homegrown terrorism. Actually, under the current administration, the terrorizing of American citizens by various branches of our Federal Gov't has continued unabated, as in former administrations (Republican and Democrat). That's the homegrown terrorism that concerns me the most, but I don't think it's what the report meant.

(I won't even mention the administration's siding with drug cartels and a foreign government against the citizens of
Arizona.)

The problem is, that the administration may just use a report like this as an excuse to further crack down on Christians and other conservatives who pose no real terrorist threat. The actual terrorists shoot up army bases and plant explosives in metropolitan areas, and peaceful-but-politically-incorrect citizens take the heat.

The article quotes Robert Spencer of Jihad watch in a similar vein:

The Obama administration is trying to pretend that domestic terrorism is primarily a problem of 'right-wing' terrorists," Spencer contends. "So you have, for example, Mayor Bloomberg, who, of course, is not the Obama administration, but he reflects the same point of view, saying at the time of the Times Square car bombing before Faisal Shahzad was apprehended...that he thought this was probably somebody who was angry about ObamaCare. And this is the theme that the Obama administration wants to put forward in regard to terrorism domestically.

There is an old Chinese curse: "May you live in interesting times." Well, it looks as though politically, economically and socially, things are getting more and more interesting.

For Your Entertainment

The Bible tells us that a merry heart does good like a medicine. I hope this brightens your day.

On my back decompression blog, I get a load of spammed comments from people who have obviously neither read nor even visited the page. I received one this morning that plainly came from someone whose first language is not English:

This is my first time i visit here. I create so innumerable provocative baggage in your blog unusually its discussion. From the tons of comments on your articles, I postulate I am not the one one having all the enjoyment here! board up the good work.


Until next time, I urge you to keep smiling . . . and "board up the good work."

Cognitive "Enhancement" for Soldiers

The U.S. military is funding a project to produce an electronic device that will fit in a standard ballistic helmet and  "control a soldier's psychiatric status". So, will public school children be next?


Here's a link to the Worldnet Daily article about this ominous device:

U.S. soldiers to be subjected to 'mind control'

9/11: A Solemn Remembrance

Nine years ago on this date, my wife and I watched people leap to their deaths, and then we saw the collapse of the Twin Towers. I wept openly and unashamedly at the tragic losses.

Today, to commemorate the events of that day, we watched The Reflecting Pool. It's a movie about a man who lost his daughter in the attacks of 9/11 and whose investigations led him and a Russian immigrant journalist to the many discrepancies in the official account of those events.

Although the story is fiction, the facts that it uses, including some actual TV footage come from mainline news sources. The story is not an action flick, and it may unfold a little slowly for some, but if you can follow mystery stories with the way investigators unfold evidence, then you will probably find this movie intriguing.

I recommend it with the following caveats. Two warnings about this movie:

1. There is some occasional foul language in the movie, including my count of four instances of irreverent usage of the name of the Lord Jesus;
2. If you are comfortable with the idea that the US government is always open, honest and aboveboard and always acts on behalf of the interests of its citizens, then you will probably not want to watch this film.

I put this under the label of terrorism not because of the hijackers, but because the worst terrorists are those who coldly traffic in human life for political and economic advantage.

Man Arrested for Defending Home & Family

The video below tells the story of George Grier who fired four warning shots into his lawn when a gang of about two dozen men threatened to kill him & his family. Long Island police arrested him for reckless endangerment.

The video makes the point that you are only allowed to use force against force. Since none of the gang were brandishing weapons, I suppose the law would require him to put his rifle down & take on the gang empty-handed.

This is the foolishness a nation embraces that rejects the King and His Royal Law of Liberty.

Developing Alertness/Awareness

I call it your DEW (Distant Early Warning) line. My barber calls it situational awareness. Gavin De Becker calls it The Gift of Fear. Jeff Cooper (Principles of Personal Defense) simply calls it alerness.

It's based on the God-given, inborn ability each of us has that warns us when something's not right. But you can enhance and develop that ability once you teach yourself to listen to it.

Developing situational awareness is what David Morris's free lesson in urban survival is all about. Of course I disagree with what he says about luck at the beginning of the lesson -- I believe in and affirm God's overriding providence in all things. Nevertheless, the author's advice on thinking like a mugger in order to develop awareness is good.

It's similar to the advice Marc MacYoung gives in his video Safe in the Street (A DVD I highly recommend).

Anyway, read the PDF for what you can gain from it.Note:  I don't know anything about the rest of David Morris's course, so this is not necessarily a recommendation.)

Machete: The Movie Hits Theaters

A few months ago, I gave a preview/warning about the movie Machete. The film is now in theaters, and it apparently lives down to its reputation.

Here is a brief review from Movieguide:

MACHETE is an ultra violent, extremely lewd and bloody exploitation movie about a Mexican immigrant who, working with left-wing revolutionaries, violently stops a conspiracy involving a corrupt white businessman secretly in cahoots with a Mexican drug lord who’s manipulating white vigilantes killing illegal immigrants. MACHETE is one of the worst movies ever – an ultra violent, bloody mess with extremely lewd content and a hateful, offensive, racist, Anti-American worldview.

Movieguide rates it "heavy" for violence, language, sex and nudity. They go on to say, "If it had not been preceded by ANTICHRIST, MACHETE probably would be the worst movie ever made."

It will not surprise me if the strong racist bias coupled with the extreme violence in Machete lead illegal aliens and their supporters to further violence against white Americans.

I will not be wasting my money nor my time to go see this film. I sincerely believe I would be worse rather than better off for seeing it.

Peacemakers

In 2003 there was a short-lived television Western called Peacemakers which starred Tom Berenger as a town marshal in Colorado. I think the series did not last because those responsible never decided what they wanted it to be.

On the surface, it's CSI set in the Old West: an interesting perspective that chronicles the birth of some of the technologies that made forensic science possible. The characters are also interesting and easy to identify with (whom!).

You can see a lot of promise in the pilot which is available to watch on Hulu -- Click here to view

.Sadly, the second, third and fourth episodes use the series as a vehicle to deliver -- in a heavy-handed manner -- a series of "politically correct" messages. Then came the fifth episode.

Episode five, "Legend of the Gun" I found to fall more into the category of traditional Western, supported by the forensic premise and the cast of interesting characters. Yes, it's a bit formulaic and therefore predictable, but I found it enjoyable, nonetheless.

I'm posting it here for you to watch, because it addresses the issue of taking human life against the backdrop of justice, revenge & ego. I hope you find it worthwhile.