Why Should a PASTOR'S Wife be Political?!

How can a pastor's wife be so political? First, I come by it organically, my family is devotedly Republican, thus my roots. People I love and deeply respect have become involved politically, and they have made a difference. Real experience has not jaded my perspective.
But why me? Don't I fear being divisive and offending people at church? Sure, that is a concern. But I make no apologies any more. (Even though I don't "talk politics" at church. I AM careful.)
But again, why?
When we moved to California, I attended a few community Republican meetings, to 'take the temperature' and see what was being said and done in California. What I saw eventually prompted me to emerge from the back of the room where I had sat silently watching and learning, eventually taking a leadership role in the particular organization I joined.
Again, why?
When we first arrived, Gray Davis was on the verge of what ultimately became a recall. Then, when Arnold became governator it was exciting to be part of all that; but subtley and deliberately, the tone in the Republican Party began to change... they needed to be more "inclusive" (oh oh, that's bad - code-words, code-words!!!) You see, up to that point, the Republican Party had been the only highly visible civic organization that was pro-life....but then began the pressure to "reform" the party. This was wrong, and I decided not to sit silently and allow it. One person who speaks to the best convictions in the room can make a tremendous difference in the direction a political organization takes; in this particular case, in El Dorado County, California. Saying uncomfortable truth makes a difference, it emboldens the squeamish.
So, as long as abortion is at issue, I will speak out. Liberal Feminists along with most Democrats, (you may be the exception, but until now, throughout the past thirty years, you have been shoved under the rug politically) anyway, these groups have transformed the womb, once the most benevolent place on earth, into an execution chamber for ONE out of EVERY FOUR BABIES.
And now they're trying to kill the old and feeble.
So when that changes, I'll shut up. Until then, forget about it.

Michail Horton on Christless Christianity

From "The Deacon's Bench"

The first "Chinese" Olympic star
While the world watches in fascination the Olympics in Beijing, Asia News has taken a moment to remind us of the original Chinese champion, who gained fame more recently from the movie "Chariots of Fire."

Take a look:

Not everyone may know that the first "Chinese" athlete to win an Olympic medal was a Scotsman born in China. He was Eric Liddell, the son of Presbyterian missionaries, born in Tianjin in 1902. After his Olympic victory in 1924 in Paris - which inspired the film "Chariots of Fire" - Liddell (whose Chinese name is Li Airui) returned to China, where he worked as a Presbyterian missionary, until his death in a Japanese prison camp in 1945.

Liddell remained in China until the was five years old, then moved to Scotland, where he studied near Edinburg. He became a great athlete (cricket, rugby, and running), and participated in the Paris Olympics in 1924. But since the 100 meter race - in which he would have made his best time - was scheduled for a Sunday, he declined to participate, because of his strict and solid religious upbringing.

According to some witnesses, it seems that the king of England himself tried to convince him to compete, in the name of "national pride", but he declined because "the commandments of God come before national honor. I will not run on Sunday".

Liddell trained for the 400 meter race, which he won with a record time of 47.6 seconds, receiving the gold medal.

After his victory, he received a degree in science and returned to Tianjin as a teacher, first in the Anglo-Chinese school, and then in a school for the poor.

In 1941, when war was already underway between China and Japan, he sent his wife and daughters to Canada because of the danger, but remained in China himself to teach in Shaochang. In 1943, Shaochang was conquered by the Japanese, and Liddell was interned in a camp in Weifang, where he tried to help the elderly and sick, and taught children.

Eric Liddell died on February 21, 1945. A few months earlier, prime minister Winston Churchill obtained the liberation of some of the prisoners, and the famous athlete should have been one of them, but he gave up his place to a pregnant prisoner.

His last words were: "It's complete surrender".

Have been ruminating on something for a week (or five years?) or so. The discovery that hit me like a wrecking ball? "Pantheism from the Pew".
Because all our members live in the forest, they share an assumption: "Our proximity to nature makes us closer to God - EVEN affords us an enhanced status with the creator...meaning we don't have as far to travel for revelation or enlightenment."
Blew me away when I finally realized that this is actually what I've been seeing all along, yet with much less clarity.
This little step-stool or "leg-up" toward righteousness and "spiritual insight" actually serves as a ceiling or wall of sorts, that blocks the view to the truth, the revelation of the mystery that is the true Gospel.
We aren't special folks, let's all get over ourselves. If we were automatically closer to God, MORE OF US in this community, WOULD BE IN CHURCH.
This also goes far in explaining why for many Christians here, environmentalism is sacrament. Even in our Lutheran pews.
We address it as it emerges.