logos redux

“It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.”

So begins Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.

…from John Piper.

“A mere recital of the economic policies of governments all over the world is calculated to cause any serious student of economics to throw up his hands in despair.”

Henry Hazlitt

The people who look at things have had it all their own way; the people who look along things have simply been brow-beaten. It has even come to be taken for granted that the external account of a thing somehow refutes or ‘debunks’ the account given from the inside.

This kind of thing is the reason I absolutely cannot understand a Christian voting for this man. Reversing the ban on federal funding for organizations that provide abortions abroad was one of his first actions as President. His comments included,

“For the past eight years, (the restrictions) have undermined efforts to promote safe and effective voluntary family planning in developing countries.”

And by ‘family planning’ he means ‘planning’ to eliminate unwanted members. He went on to say,

“It is right for us to rescind this policy and restore critical efforts to protect and empower women and promote global economic development.”

Talk about lacking a moral compass. He’s turned the thing exactly on its head calling right wrong and wrong right and a nation just nods somberly if they notice at all. We would do well to remember the words of the Prophet Isaiah:

“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!
Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes,
and shrewd in their own sight!
…who acquit the guilty for a bribe,
and deprive the innocent of his right!

Therefore, as the tongue of fire devours the stubble,
and as dry grass sinks down in the flame,
so their root will be as rottenness,
and their blossom go up like dust;
for they have rejected the law of the LORD of hosts,
and have despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.

Is. 5. 20-21, 22-24

The Reuters story concludes, “In contrast to his executive order to close the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, which he signed in a ceremony before journalists, the president issued this order quietly and the White House released a statement at 7 p.m. EST/2400 GMT.”

What irony. Guantanamo Bay must be closed immediately because of concerns about the treatment and illegal detention of suspects whose native countries are refusing to take them back, but at the same time we’ve got to act quickly to do the right thing and give money to child murderers around the globe.

Planned parenthood is thrilled.

Woe to those who decree iniquitous decrees,
and the writers who keep writing oppression,
to turn aside the needy from justice
and to rob the poor of my people of their right,
that widows may be their spoil,
and that they may make the fatherless their prey!
What will you do on the day of punishment,
in the ruin that will come from afar?
To whom will you flee for help,
and where will you leave your wealth?
Nothing remains but to crouch among the prisoners
or fall among the slain.
For all this his anger has not turned away,
and his hand is stretched out still.

Is. 10. 1-4

I came up with a baste for grilled chicken breasts the other day that Alicia and I really like. I basically just modified and simplified something I found in the Joy of Cooking. All you do is:

…then heat that in a saucepan on the stove being careful not to scorch the garlic. All you’re really trying to do is get the oil and lemon juice to mix and draw the flavors out of the garlic and herbs, so just keep stirring it until it starts to steam a bit and gets to a consistent tannish green color.

You can then baste this generously right onto your chicken breasts before putting them on the grill. I usually add a little more about 1/2 way through the grilling process just to keep them moist. One of the nice things about this stuff is that the lemon keeps it from being very flammable so you don’t get flare-ups.

(I’ve also used this with the George Foreman with good results for those of you wondering why I’m posting a grill recipe in January.)

“When Mr. Bilbo Baggins of Bag End announced that he would shortly be celebrating his eleventy-first birthday with a party of special magnificence, there was much talk and excitement in Hobbiton.”

So begins J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings.

…at Christ the King Church (CREC) in Springfield two Sundays ago. If you’re interested the sermon can be listened to here. The text is Psalm 32.

“Nearly all the wisdom we possess, that is to say, true and sound wisdom, consists in two parts: the knowledge of God and of ourselves.”

So begins John Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion.