Month: September 2008

Joe Biden: Confused, dazed and dead wrong

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Joe Biden betrays himself with his words.
Joe Biden betrays himself with his words.

Joe Biden, the man chosen by Barack Obama to serve as his vice presidential running mate, is a man who is not afraid to let his mouth run and say what’s on his mind. And, to be honest, when you hear what’s on his mind it’s not just amusing but more often disturbing.

Of course there is plenty of talk about his gaffes (like referring to FDR going on TV after the 1929 stock market crash), but his thinking about an issue like abortion reveals not just muddled thinking but a man who wants to have it both ways.

John F. Cullinan, in an article on National Review Online, says Biden has often referred to himself as an “Irish Catholic kid from Scranton” as a way of ingratiating himself with voters who hold moral issues highly. But, because of his lack of discipline concerning his tongue, he often betrays himself as a person who holds views that are in fact in opposition. Cullinan gives an example:

One moment he’s wearing his Catholic faith on his sleeve, the next he’s thumbing his nose at basic Catholic teaching. For Biden, faith has long served as sword and shield: “The next Republican that tells me I’m not religious,” he once vowed, “I’m going to shove my rosary down their throat.”

Such calculated bravado has long helped Biden to obscure the radical inconsistency between what he says and what he does, especially regarding the basic human right to life. “My position is that I am personally opposed to abortion,” Biden wrote in his 2007 autobiography, “but I don’t think that I have the right to impose my views on the rest of society.”

Never mind that Biden has otherwise shown no such reluctance to impose his views; that his personally opposed, publicly supportive dodge applies solely to life issues; or that this intellectual and moral muddle is wholly inexplicable other than by political expediency and political partisanship.

While there is talk about Obama somehow replacing Biden on the Democratic ticket, the truth is that Biden’s faux religion serves the purpose of somehow softening Obama’s extreme liberal views. The problem is, however, that Biden continues to put his foot in his mouth and thus makes his religious ruse all too obvious. More people, hopefully, are paying attention.

Interview with John Piper

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Mark Driscoll, pastor at Mars Hill Church in Seattle, sat down for an interview with John Piper. Driscoll in unabashed in his appreciation for Piper (the post is entitled “Why I Love John Piper,” so that should give you a pretty good idea!) and asks a wide range of questions in the 49-minute talk.

Mark Driscoll (right) recently interviewed John Piper on a wide array of topics.
Mark Driscoll (right) recently interviewed John Piper on a wide array of topics.

God’s chief goal is not my self-esteem

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As I looked at the post I linked to yesterday and the then the responses to that person’s post, I came across a warning from one person that the video and accompanying post presents a too man-centered view and is just as fallible as the medieval church and its harrassment of people like Galileo and Copernicus. Well, since we are only able to see the universe from this perspective, how else would we be able to interpret such a remarkable thing as the universe.

In one respect, yes, we are the center of God’s creation. If you look at Genesis, man was the crowning creation of his work. He made man, called it good, and then rested. But we fool ourselves greatly and risk great danger for our lives if we think that God is all about how good we feel about ourselves. I have heard people — often children, but adults as well — say that the reason God created this world or man was because he was lonely. While it sounds innocent enough, it also implies that we supply something that God was lacking and thus works to elevate us and lower God in stature.

We were not created to have our deepest joys come from ourselves through the boosting of our self-esteem. Rather, we were created to get our deepest joy from God, who created us. John Piper explains:

We are all bent to believe that we are central in the universe. How shall we be cured of this joy-destroying disease? Perhaps by hearing afresh how radically God-centered reality is according to the Bible.

Both the Old and New Testament tell us that God’s loving us is a means to our glorifying him. “Christ became a servant … in order that the nations might glorify God for his mercy” (Romans 15:8-9). God has been merciful to us so that we would magnify him. We see it again in the words, “In love [God] destined us to adoption … to the praise of the glory of His grace” (Ephesians 1:4-6). In other words, the goal of God’s loving us is that we might praise him. One more illustration from Psalm 86:12-13: “I will glorify your name forever. For your lovingkindness toward me is great.” God’s love is the ground. His glory is the goal.

This is shocking. The love of God is not God’s making much of us, but God’s saving us from self-centeredness so that we can enjoy making much of him forever. And our love to others is not our making much of them, but helping them to find satisfaction in making much of God. True love aims at satisfying people in the glory of God. Any love that terminates on man is eventually destructive. It does not lead people to the only lasting joy, namely, God. Love must be God-centered, or it is not true love; it leaves people without their final hope of joy.

I agree totally with this. But it is a never-ending battle against the god of myself and my constant desire to boost my own ego for my own sake. And it is everywhere. How often have we heard that it is important to love yourself before you can love someone else? It is as if we didn’t have a natural-born love already hardwired into us. Love of myself doesn’t motivate me to love others, but love of God motivates me to love others and be much more happy as a result.

Barack Obama: Not looking out for the little guy

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UPDATE: So now Barack Obama is attacking Gianna Jessen for what his campaign is calling “sleazy ads” that are “anti-choice.” Jessen responds:

“Mr. Obama is clearly blinded by political ambition given his attack on me this week. All I asked of him was to do the right thing: support medical care and protection for babies who survive abortion – as I did 31 years ago. He voted against such protection and care four times even though the U.S. Senate voted 98-0 in favor of a bill identical to the one Obama opposed. In the words of his own false and misleading ad, his position is downright vile. Mr. Obama said at the recent Saddleback Forum that the question of when babies should get human rights was above his pay grade. Such vacillation and cowardice would have left me to die if his policies were in place when I was born. Thank God they were not.”

Jill Stanek also weighs in:

“It is despicable, repulsive and beneath contempt that Barack Obama would attack Gianna Jessen. She is a courageous abortion survivor and living miracle who would not be with us today if Obama’s policies had been in place when she was born. Mr. Obama continues to mislead the American peopleon this issue, he voted four times against medical care and protection for babies who survive abortions in the Illinois State Senate, while the U.S. Senate was voting 98-0 to pass an identical bill. Mr. Obama needs to come forward and tell the American people that he understands people like Gianna Jessen, and that he will support and enforce Born Alive Infant protections — that these are living, breathing human beings who have come into our world and deserve protection in the law and should receive medical care at health care facilities. These babies have the same rights as the rest of us.”

Here is Obama’s ad:

HT: Michelle Malkin

Gianna Jessen, who I highlighted on this blog in June, is doing an ad for BornAliveTruth.org, a 527 organization that will be highlighting Barack Obama’s extreme views when it comes to abortion. The National Review Online interviewed Jill Stanek recently about the ad and why the group put it together. Stanek, a former nurse at Christ Hospital in Illinois, watched children left to die after surviving botched abortions. Her testimony led to the legislation in the Illinois statehouse that Obama passionately argued against.

Read the interview with Stanek and then watch the ad with Jessen below.

Obama calls out McCain on abortion

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Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! — Isaiah 5:20

The Associated Press is reporting that Barack Obama is attacking John McCain for being too adamantly pro-life:

Obama is calling out McCain in ads that say the GOP nominee takes an “extreme position on choice” and “will make abortion illegal.” He is spreading his message through low-profile radio ads and campaign mailings, though, hoping to avoid being tagged as too liberal on a woman’s right to choose to end a pregnancy.

The article, written by the AP’s Liz Sodoti, says that each of the candidates are dancing around perceived “extreme” views in order to woo voters. But, if you listen to the candidates, I would disagree. In fact, the only “dancing” I’ve heard this election season is Obama’s “it’s above my pay grade” and Sen. Joe Biden’s “good people disagree” statements. McCain has been clear about what he believes, and we know where Gov. Sarah Palin stands. Let’s be clear here: McCain is pro-life and has voted that way. Obama is not and has voted that way. I’m not sure what a “moderate” position on abortion is just like I’m not sure what a “moderate” position on murder is. Honestly, I will give both candidates credit for not trying to occupy that ridiculous ground.