Mitt Romney's "Big Speech" on His Religion

Today, as you may have heard, Gov. Mitt Romney gave a speech on his religion and faith. As a Mormon running for president as a Republican, he undoubtedly thought it important that Americans had an understanding of where he stood on these matters, and how they would (potentially) impact his decisions as president.

The text of the speech can be accessed here.

This speech is brimming with blog-worthy observations. More will be coming in the days ahead.

Observations from 1 Kings, #2

And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged; and they feared the king: for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him, to do judgment. (1 Kings 3:28)

This verse is the conclusion of the story about the two women who both had babies and one had died; when Solomon proposed using a sword to divide the remaining living child between them, the true mother was easy to identify.

It is the people's reaction that is interesting: The people "feared the king" because he had "the wisdom of God...in him, to do judgment." This is, in this way, similar to the concept of the "fear of the Lord," which in part exists because God, as the Holy Judge of the universe, will judge His created beings. Therefore, we fear Him. Likewise, it is proper for children to have a small but healthy degree of "fear" of their parents, as they should recognize that (1) the parents are wise and (2) the parents are God's instruments of judgment, should the children sin.

This idea of fear (of God, or of parents) is not based in the ability of the superior/stronger to inflict pain and suffering—it must be based in the idea that the superior/stronger can administer righteous judgment: Judgment based on the true and righteous Word of God. It is an unpopular idea today that sin (which we all commit) merits judgment, and just as unpopular that God may even allow human beings, such as parents, teachers, or law enforcement, to be the "bearers of judgment."

And as all good Christian parenting books teach, judgment must be based in love. God loves us—obviously, a more popular sermon topic today than His judgment—and likewise, parents must love their children. (For that matter, teachers should love students, police should love the residents of their community, etc.)

At least in the early years of his reign, I think that Solomon did love the people of Israel; and we know that he had wisdom, as God gave him much. Therefore, the people's reaction, as described in this verse, is appropriate.

Observations from 1 Kings, #1

1 Now the days of David drew nigh that he should die; and he charged Solomon his son, saying,
2 I go the way of all the earth: be thou strong therefore, and shew thyself a man;
3 And keep the charge of the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself: (1 Kings 2:1-3)

It is my hope, that if I die before my children, and especially before my son; and if I have an opportunity to express my last wishes to them regarding their lives before God, that I will use that opportunity to exhort them as David did.

David certainly gives "practical" advice to his son, King Solomon (continuing reading 1 Kings 2—some of it may seem a bit morbid by today's standards!). All fathers should give wise advice to their children. But the main focus, I think, is that Solomon do what God wants him to do. That is what really matters. Whether or not my children spend their lives doing what I want them to do is insignificant, compared to whether or not my children spend their lives doing what God wants them to do.

A Grandmother at age 29?

In this article from the Quad City Times, we are introduced to Celia, age 15, and her 1-day-old little boy, Russell. Celia's mother, Leticia, gave birth at the even-younger age of 13, while in the 7th grade.

The happier side of this story is that there exists an entity in Davenport, IA, called the Brighter Futures Maternity Home. Celia spent the last six months of her pregnancy there (in part because of her mother's anger) and developed beneficial relationships with the staff. Thankfully, she did not choose to abort her son.

The harsh reality is that she is a 15-year-old single mother, and Leticia is a grandmother at 29—with three younger children below the age of ten. Neither is married to the father of her child, and statistically, it is highly unlikely that this will ever occur. Leticia stays home with the younger children. Celia has returned to high school and wants to play basketball.

There are so many family issues here that I will not even try to list or analyze them, but one fact stood out to me in this article....Leticia "always urged Celia to tell her if she was having sex so she could arrange birth control for her." [Celia didn't tell her until she became pregnant.] This is the wrong approach. Leticia's responsibility can be summed up in two things:

1. Model sexual purity to her daughter.
2. Teach the inestimable value of sexual purity to her daughter.

She clearly did neither. Her husband (if there ever was a husband) is not mentioned in the article, and yet her youngest child is a year older than her grandson.

The alert Christian recognizes that a mother's teaching responsibility extends further than those two points, and includes prayer for her children.

ALPHA THETA wins Turkey Bowl!!......An Update

As reported earlier on this blog....Alpha Theta Pi defeated Alpha Omega Delta in the annual 2007 Bob Jones University Turkey Bowl, by a score of 1-0.

Here is a link to the article in the official BJU campus newspaper about the game.

This is Alpha Theta's second Turkey Bowl championship; the first was three years ago. I misspoke in an earlier entry about this.

Hymn of the Week: Glory Be to the Father

"Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,
Unto Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.” Ephesians 3:20-21

Glory Be To The Father

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
World without end. Amen, Amen.

Congratulations to Mr. & Mrs. Chad Groover!!

On Friday, November 30, our friend Chad and his lovely bride Gwen were married! We were able to travel to SC for the wedding. It went very well, as did the reception; few weddings I have been to have gone so well and been done so tastefully.

We wish them many years of blessings and bliss...especially since they waited so long to get started!

Sonny's BBQ: A Real Treat!

Last Sunday at lunchtime, on my trip back from Chad's wedding (see post above this one, once it's written), we stopped for lunch at the one and only Sonny's BBQ we saw along the route, in Corbin, KY. For those of us who live outside the deep south, it is a rare treat to enjoy food like this.

Not only was the food very good, so too was the service. Our waitress was a young, sweet, innocent-looking girl named Melissa...and she was the very essence of everything called "southern hospitality." She was friendly, generous, and kind to the kids. If she were getting a grade, it would be an A+. Her manager should promote her to some sort of mentor status.

Good service is not always easy to find for a family of six on a budget eating out. Congratulations to one young lady who epitomized it.

Be a Republican--It's Better for your Mental Health!

This article from foxnews.com says it so well, I'll just quote it below:

Don't worry, be happy: If you're a Republican, those words should be easy to follow.
A roundup of Gallup health polls over the past four years finds that Republicans are far more likely than Democrats to report having excellent mental health.
The survey found that 58 percent of Republicans polled reported having excellent mental health. Only 38 percent of Democrats and 43 percent of Independents reported the same.
The study concluded it was unclear why there was such a strong correlation, but the relationship between party affiliation and mental health was virtually constant even within categories of income, age, gender and other factors.
"The reason the relationship exists between being a Republican and more positive mental health is unknown, and one cannot say whether something about being a Republican causes a person to be more mentally healthy or whether something about being mentally healthy causes a person to choose to become a Republican," the study said.
The study speculated that the fact that Republicans have on average higher incomes than members of others parties could play a factor. But in the study, even Republicans making less than $50,000 a year reported having excellent health far more than Democrats earning the same.
The study was based on interviews with 4,014 American adults who were at least 18 years old, conducted from November 2004 through 2007. The margin of error was 2 percent.