Veritas Rex

I, Too, Have a Dream

 The Best Wishes Series

Guest Blogger:  Seth Drayer, regular on theundergroundyouth.

Best Wishes:  Mr. & Mrs. McCann, I pray your union will be one which challenges others to love as deeply and serve as fully our Lord!  Congratulations!   -Seth Drayer

2009 January 19:  I, Too, Have a Dream

Our nation stands upon the brink of change. "Hope" is the cliché which drives the many. "Yes, We Can!" is the battle cry. And in the wake of a new leader, years of marching, defending, and carefully crafting legislation may soon be swept aside. The freedom to choose to kill pre-born children could soon be so cemented into the infrastructure of the United States of America that to dare to dream of an end to the injustice would seem futile.

The great champion of social justice, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. dared to dream. Yet, he did not allow the seemingly unattainable state of equality to remain a shallow hope in his mind. His message was not boiled down to empty words stamped upon t-shirts and plastic trinkets. His theme was sound, his conviction sturdy enough to propel him on to lead the charge, the marching. His dream fueled action, and thereby inspired the many.

It is in his tradition that we ought to dream.

I, too, dream that "one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.'" I dream that we would eschew myopia and finally realize that this declaration must be extended to all members of humanity—from the Caucasian to the African-American, from the elderly to the young. We have learned somewhat to defend the rights of those before our eyes, but we condemn defense of those we cannot yet see and touch: the pre-born children.

I have a dream that one day humanity will no longer be discriminated into the categories of those we may kill without cause—pre-born children and those who’ve lost their use to society—and those we may not. I have a dream that the proper definition of humanity will be restored, that is the revealed truth that man is made in the image of God, and that definitions based upon color and function would become the content of dusty history textbooks.

Read more...

 

A Call to Unite: Our American Roots

 

To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes

the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors

 is sinful and tyrannical.

-Thomas Jefferson

The Powers that Be

 The Best Wishes Series

Note to readers:  Conservatives are feeling anxious these days - we're on the brink of the most liberal policies our country has ever seen.  Below is an older blog which applies still today.

Guest blogger:  Brian McCrorie, Bowing Down

Best Wishes:  Ryan, congrats on your marriage; be blessed and rejoice in your wife while being ever vigilant to protect this vitally important union against all that will try to drive it apart in the years to come.  -Pastor Brian McCrorie

2006 November 8: The Powers that Be

As many of my readers know, I am an active participant in the political process.  I do spend a great deal of time during election seasons campaigning for the candidates I support.  This season was no different.  In fact, for the first time in my life, as I looked at the touchscreen in front of me in the polling booth, I was pleasantly surprised to realize that I knew each of the candidates personally for whom I was about to vote.  They have become my friends.

The election season gives opportunities for citizens to interact with leaders in their community who are striving for political office.  Most of these extraordinary people do not know Christ as Savior.  This election, two of my “friends” were born-again Christians which made the fellowship extra special.  I try as hard as I can to show Christ through my words and my life to these friends.

Sometimes, there are opportunities to interact with really extraordinary people.  My family had such an experience last Saturday when we were able to be up-close-and-personal with the President of the United States!  It was a thrill to expose my children to a man I believe to be a great leader in our country.  Even my three-year-old Jason (pictured above) enjoyed shaking President Bush’s hand!

Then came Tuesday.

In a few short hours, the men with whom I had toiled in the last several months began to lose, one-by-one.  I felt their pain.  They were remarkably gracious in their concession speeches, considering the level of negative advertising in recent days.  They move on.

So must we.

Paul must have dreaded Roman elections.  It seems from a historical perspective that quite a long string of Caesars held tremendous opposition to the Christians and their way of life and worship.  He would, in fact, die at the hands of such a ruler.  And yet, he gives us a remarkable exhortation:

Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.

I have to admit: I don’t like thinking of Nancy Pelosi as a minister of God.

Read more...

No Friend of Freedom

 The Best Wishes Series

Guest Blogger:  Peter Heck, peterheck.com

Best Wishes:  Marrying a girl with Kokomo roots is a risky move...but through Christ all things are possible!  God bless you guys!  -Peter Heck

2009 June 28:  No Friend of Freedom - Part I

As the United States prepares to celebrate its 233rd year of independence, we are forced to take note of this dismaying reality: our new president is no friend of freedom.  This isn't intended to be unfair, unproductive Barack-bashing.  Instead, it is simply the culminating, irrefutable conclusion any observer comes to after evaluating his first six months in office.  Allow me to explain.
 
American greatness was achieved through the unrelenting power of a free people pursuing their dreams.  Whether it was Pilgrims in a hostile new world, teachers and farmers armed with muskets, pioneers facing a treacherous wilderness, inventors enduring setbacks, volunteers storming beaches, or citizens rushing into smoldering towers to save their fellow countrymen, the glory of America has never been defined by its government, but rather its people.
 
The American people have cured diseases, constructed skyscrapers, explored the ocean depths, and walked on the moon.  And we did these things because we were free - free to create, free to innovate, and free to pursue goals once thought unimaginable by man.  That is what has set this civilization apart.
 
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Left Behind?

 The Best Wishes Series

Guest Blogger:  Seth Drayer, regular on theundergroundyouth

Best Wishes:  Mr. & Mrs. McCann, I pray your union will be one which challenges others to love as deeply and serve as fully our Lord!  Congratulations!  -Seth Drayer

2009 March 30:  Left Behind?

Last week, I received a copy of The Case for Life, the new pro-life apologetic text from Scott Klusendorf, President of Life Training Institute.

It is not at all surprising that a work from this master bio-ethicist would provide both compelling evidence and insightful commentary. However, I did not expect to find one of my favorite quotes (thus far) in the introduction of the text. Klusendorf writes,

Admittedly, a book about pro-life apologetics may not appeal to some lay Christians. It seems many believers would rather focus on end times rather than these times. That's a mistake. Humans who ignore questions about truth and human value may soon learn what it really means to be left behind.

For anyone who's observed the cyclical fad of end-times fever---whether it be Lindsey's The Late Great Planet Earth, LaHaye/Jenkins' Left Behind, or the relatively new Rosenberg novels---this Klusendorf quote rings all too true.

We are excited by tales of the apocalypse, but we have far less fervor for the quotidian tasks we've been given by God as stewards of this earth.

What mark are we, twenty-first century American Christians leaving upon our world? Are the stacks of apocalyptic novels and accompanying merchandise shielding our eyes from the blood of pre-born children, the desecration of marriage?

Read more...

Waxman-Markey

 The Best Wishes Series

Guest Blogger:  Glen Asbury,  Ramblings: Politics & Religion-among other things 

Best Wishes:  Congratulations and all of our best wishes for many years of happiness to Ryan and Mrs. McCann, two valiant advocates for marriage and the family.  - Glen Asbury

2009 June 29: Waxman-Markey

This is now 3-day-old news, but I have had no chance to comment via the blog due to extreme busyness with 4 overlapping courses. Of course, by this point, everyone knows that Cap & Trade squeaked by in the House, 219-212. Eight Republicans voted for it, with 44 Democrats voting against. I was all prepared to congratulate the Democrats who stood on principle until I found out from Dick Morris that a number of them begged Pelosi to let them vote "No" since she knew she had the votes she needed for passage. Still, I am quite sure that some Democrats never planned to vote for it anyway, so I trust that Indiana's own Joe Donnelly, Pete Visclosky (from Lake County, up by Chicago, which really surprised me) and Brad Ellsworth voted "No" out of conviction that Waxman-Markey (the Cap & Trade bill, named for its sponsors, Henry Waxman from California and Ed Markey from Massachusetts) was deeply flawed.

Andre Carson, Indianapolis' Congressman, did not surprise me, let's just say, in his support of this bill. Baron Hill, on the other hand, comes from the Bloomington district and should know better, but then again, the home town of Indiana University has become a liberal enclave. I'd love to sign up to help Mike Sodrel defeat him next year.

Waxman-Markey now goes to the Senate, where I believe it has a good chance of languishing and eventually, suffering a richly deserved demise. Claire McCaskill, D-Missouri, has already voiced significant concerns about it, and I can't believe that Montana's two Democrat Senators, Jon Tester and Max Baucus, or Ben Nelson of Nebraska are thrilled about it, either. I have no idea about Bob Casey of Pennsylvania. We shall see.

I must say how proud I was of House Minority Leader John Boehner, for making an hourlong speech on the House floor on Friday evening, denouncing the slippery tactics of the majority in forcing a vote on yet another 1,000+ page bill, with a 300+ page amendment squeezed in at the last minute by Waxman. Waxman tried to interrupt Boehner at one point, spluttering about how maybe Boehner was going on a bit long when they needed to vote; Boehner let him have it, with the rejoinder that the effects of this bill would be felt for years, so perhaps it was appropriate to discuss it for a few hours.

In the end, we lost, but we fought a good fight, and I believe we will win the war.

Marriage - a Stimulus AND a Health Plan

The Best Wishes Series

 

Excerpt from a 4-part series:  God's Design for Marriage

at  Focus on the Family

Why Marriage Matters for Adults
Is marriage an old-fashioned, outmoded institution? Is it merely a piece of paper, having no real impact on our lives?  By Glenn T. Stanton

Researchers are finding that marriage has a much greater impact in our lives than many have assumed. This is especially true in the area of adult health and well-being. Sociologist Linda Waite and researcher Maggie Gallagher explain, "The evidence from four decades of research is surprisingly clear: a good marriage is both men's and women's best bet for living a long and healthy life."1   Men and women who are in their first marriages, on average, enjoy significantly higher levels of physical and mental health than those who are either single, divorced or living together. The research on this is very strong.

Leading social scientist, James Q. Wilson, explains:

"Married people are happier than unmarried ones of the same age, not only in the United States, but in at least seventeen other countries where similar inquiries have been made. And there seems to be good reasons for that happiness. People who are married not only have higher incomes and enjoy greater emotional support, they tend to be healthier. Married people live longer than unmarried ones, not only in the United States but abroad."2

Read more...

House Version Mandates Abortion Coverage Nationwide; Pro-Life Democrats Object

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- The House version of the governmental health   care bill, put together by three chairmen of key Congressional committees, is drawing more opposition. A top pro-life group has already issued a letter strongly opposing the measure and now leading pro-life Congressman Chris Smith has joined it. The bill numbers 850 pages and it is still under review by leading pro-life advocates. However, the current drat would result in mandated abortion coverage, paid for at taxpayer expense, nationwide. In addition, poor Americans would receive a taxpayer subsidy to purchase health care plans that pay for abortions. Under the proposed House bill, all Americans will be required to have a plan that provides government defined minimum health benefits coverage. Such coverage is defined in very broad terms in the legislation and a “Benefits Advisory Committee,” in conjunction with pro-abortion Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, would further define the benefits under the plan. Pro-life advocates are concerned that the federal government, or the courts, would define abortion into the plan unless a clear exception is included. In a letter written to every member of the House, Smith explains the problem further. 'I am deeply disappointed that the health care reform package unveiled last week poses a grave threat to the unborn in our nation," he said. Full story at LifeNews.com.

Best Wishes from Veritas Rex!

 

Mr. and Mrs. Ryan McCann

Mazal tov!

The Indiana Family Institute is proud to announce the wedding of our key blogger, Ryan McCann, on Saturday, June 27th. 

We send the happy couple our most heartfelt pro-family congratulations!  We were  present to witness the beautiful ceremony and the couple’s strong commitment to their faith and to each other.  We stand alongside in support and prayer for a lifetime of service to family and community through the ever-deepening roots of the marital bond.

During the McCann holiday, Veritas Rex will be hosing a “reception” of sorts – the “Best Wishes Series”.  Think of it like filling out their guest book or making one of those videos at the reception with your comments to the happy couple.  Some old blogs, some new...some new guests, too.

The McCanns would appreciate the gift of great blogging and conversation.  We’ll post the blogs -- you be sure to weigh in, too, with your best wishes.