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A La Carte (2/17)
- 02/17/09
- 17
20 Qualities of Good Listeners
Here’s a good roundup of qualities that make a person a good listener. For example, “Good listeners recall their own subjectivity and finitude as a listener. They make evaluations with the humility that corresponds to seeing parts, not the whole. They consider the angle and point of view from which they are listening.”
The Age of Designer Babies
Dr. Mohler says that the age of designer babies is upon us. “Until very recently, genetic technologies related to the screening of embryos were entirely negative. In other words, these tests screened for the genetic markers for certain diseases. Now, at least some fertility clinics promise to offer testing that will allow parents to choose positive, non-medical traits for their children.”
Frank Schaeffer’s Letter to Obama
Last week Frank Schaeffer wrote an open letter to President Obama. “As you showed us again at your press conference of Feb 9, you are a brilliant, articulate and decent man. Your Republican opponents are not decent people but ideologues bent on destroying you. To quote the biblical adage sir, don’t cast your pearls before swine. ”
Historical Character Studies
Colin has a round-up of some historical character studies that look well worth the download.
How America Decreased Its Abortion Rate
“Marvin Olasky shares some key findings from his book, Abortion Rites: A Social History of Abortion in America (Crossway) in the current issue of World magazine.”
The Central Problem of Our Age
Rick Pearcey quotes Francis Schaeffer on the central problem of our age. “The real problem is this: the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, individually or corporately, tending to do the Lord’s work in the power of the flesh rather than of the Spirit. The central problem is always in the midst of the people of God, not in the circumstances surrounding them.”
Here’s a good roundup of qualities that make a person a good listener. For example, “Good listeners recall their own subjectivity and finitude as a listener. They make evaluations with the humility that corresponds to seeing parts, not the whole. They consider the angle and point of view from which they are listening.”
The Age of Designer Babies
Dr. Mohler says that the age of designer babies is upon us. “Until very recently, genetic technologies related to the screening of embryos were entirely negative. In other words, these tests screened for the genetic markers for certain diseases. Now, at least some fertility clinics promise to offer testing that will allow parents to choose positive, non-medical traits for their children.”
Frank Schaeffer’s Letter to Obama
Last week Frank Schaeffer wrote an open letter to President Obama. “As you showed us again at your press conference of Feb 9, you are a brilliant, articulate and decent man. Your Republican opponents are not decent people but ideologues bent on destroying you. To quote the biblical adage sir, don’t cast your pearls before swine. ”
Historical Character Studies
Colin has a round-up of some historical character studies that look well worth the download.
How America Decreased Its Abortion Rate
“Marvin Olasky shares some key findings from his book, Abortion Rites: A Social History of Abortion in America (Crossway) in the current issue of World magazine.”
The Central Problem of Our Age
Rick Pearcey quotes Francis Schaeffer on the central problem of our age. “The real problem is this: the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, individually or corporately, tending to do the Lord’s work in the power of the flesh rather than of the Spirit. The central problem is always in the midst of the people of God, not in the circumstances surrounding them.”
I am a follower of Jesus Christ, a husband to Aileen and a father to three young children. I worship and serve as a pastor at 
Releasing on April 1, The Next
Published in 2008, this book
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Comments (17)
Well, Mr. Schaeffer’s letter certainly illustrates that there is some serious ideological polarity going on in the country. I don’t quite understand, however, why someone would go on Huffpo and exude an impassioned polemic when they are trying to make the point that R’s are unreasonable in their impassioned polemics. Oh well.
Man, what a packed A La Carte!
I had the same question, JP (only I would not have been nearly so articulate to make it).
A very intriguing thought from (Wittmer’s piece on) Olasky:
“So why have the laws in the first place? Olasky argues that anti-abortion laws educated the people. They ‘did send a message of right and wrong. They forced abortionists to advertise in code, bribe policemen and politicians, and hire lawyers. Laws could not end abortion but it could reduce the butcher’s bill, just as laws against drunken driving today cannot end the practice but can save lives. Today, it’s still worthwhile to pass laws restricting abortion, but time and money spent on providing and promoting compassionate alternatives saves more lives.’”
The Schaeffer thing is a joke right? Can he be that self-aggrandizing? Me, me, me. That’s all I read.He’s riding his dad’s coat-tails, but in a very degenerate way. Sad.
I’m sorry to say that I don’t know anything about Frank Schaeffer. Can someone point me somewhere that explains what happened?
It’s sad to see such anger and bitterness in the son of one who had such love for the Lord…
The Schaeffer article, while sad, does point up the broad brush of generalization that has painted evangelical Christianity since the rise of the Religious Right. Because Christians of some name and reputation (Dobson, Robertson, Warren, et. al.) have abandoned the cause of the gospel and traded it for political activism they have become nothing more than a lobby, and unfortunately the public face of evangelical Christianity. Now terms like “fundamentalist Christian” and “evangelical” have become pejoratives, and while the historical meaning behind these terms is good and right, the nuance they have gained in our post-modern, secular culture requires a significant bit of re-definition if we wish to describe ourselves by these terms in the marketplace.
Mr Schaeffer, Ray Bolger is holding on line 2.
Ian, he’s riding his father’s coat-tails in the sense that it’s easier to kick someone’s tail if you’re already on their coat tails.
Brance, although this doesn’t give the full story of how Frank lost his mind, here’s some background/thoughts on his latest book.
Tim, the juxtaposition of your two entries - Franky’s letter to Obama against Rick Pearcey’s comment from the father - is nothing short of shocking.
Francis senior should have sold LaBri and bought a a small house next to a ballpark and played with his son a lot, lot more.
I wish Olasky’s book would get more press. His historical perspective on the abortion issue is something most pro-life folks are wholly unaware of. Current abortion rates are usually portrayed as a “new” thing, as resulting from abortion being made legal, and as a consequence of a modern society that is drastically less respecting of life than, say, the American society of the 1850s. And yet, that’s not what we see. There is nothing new under the sun.
Franky never did like baseball. Francis did the right thing.
Brendt - that’s the second time i’ve seen you say “Ray Bolger is holding on line 2” …LOL.. since i don’t know who that is, i wiki’d him, but i still don’t get it! (doh!)
(fyi -first time was on the bp throwing driscoll under the bus conversation)
I don’t agree with all Franky has written but I wonder whether there is some truth in what he’s says about the kind of hate mail he has received and no doubt President Obama would have received from the hands of right wing Christians.
Having grown up around dictatorial reformed control freak elders (who hide their sins so very well) I know how he became warped bitter and twisted in his view of his fathers ministry.
Historical Character Studies would be interesting to listen to. Alas, they’re in Real Audio format!
I heard Frank Schaeffer’s interview on NPR a few weeks/months ago, and couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I don’t doubt that much of what he’s reporting is accurate, because I’ve certainly heard right wingers say some pretty disturbingly nasty things about whole groups of people, for which they should be ashamed, but what in the world are his intentions if not to settle some score, ruin reputations, and publicly accuse the brethren? Too bad he’s not using his inside knowledge to help solve the problem instead of undermine the Name. Not exactly the ministry of reconciliation we’re called to.
Let’s remember not to fall into the same trap, though. Prayers should be going up for this one who has apparently lost his way. His ranting sounds much more like wounded bitterness and/or self-righteousness than it sounds like godly sorrow for his brothers’ actions.
By the way - that first posting (of the two identical ones) I hit “preview” — only hit “submit” on the second one. So - yes, there would appear to be some bugs in the comments software!
One angle Al Mohler didn’t mention in his piece on designer babies is the money angle. It’s a sure bet that the designer baby folks will prey on public ignorance of what’s actually possible with PGD (which is to say, not much is possible at this point) and people will spend massive sums of cash on “scientific” promises that cannot be kept. Science has been overreaching for quite some time now, and this is one area where people are willing to go along, simply for the thought that immortality is within reach.
On the Frank Shaeffer issue, Os Guinness has some first-hand insights into the situation: http://www.christianitytoday.com/bc/2008/marapr/1.32.html