Archive for September 11, 2009

Mike Hall | September 11, 2009
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What Have We Learned 8 Years Later?

9-11

“The evil of the world is made possible by nothing but the sanction you give it.”

- Ayn Rand

9/11 will always be an enigma for me. I was not even in the country when the attacks occurred. It would take me weeks after I returned to the US to be able to process the event and get clear answers about the details. 8 years and many conversations and thoughts later, a cloud of strange emotion still hangs over ground zero.

I am amazed, however, at the lengths that some people will go to dismiss evil. There is one crystal clear inalienable truth that we can gather from the tragic events of 9/11: evil exists. This creates problems for those who lean left politically and philosophically. If evil exists, then goodness must also exist and since none are wholly good then where does goodness come from? Also, if evil exists can peace truly be reached through disarmament and talk or in the absence of goodness must we obtain peace through strength? Evil is very inconvenient for some people and for others it represents horrible losses that result from it being ignored.

So are we any wiser than we were 8 years ago? I hope so. I hope we will never forget the victims of that tragic day. I hope that their faces and their voices replay in our minds and call us to a higher vigilance. If we are to avoid such atrocities again we must hold a worldview where evil exists. Ignoring evil wont make it go away, neither will having less resolve or strength than evildoers.

My prayers go out to the families of the victims of 9/11. My prayers also go out to the men and women who place themselves in harms way daily to check evil.

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Mike Hall | September 7, 2009
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Providence Not Policy

Godblessamerica“…with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine providence…”

- Thomas Jefferson in The Declaration of Independence

There is a grave misunderstanding on the part of those who hold the reigns of power in our government. They believe in the god of policy. They think that if they can just get the right bills passed and policy enacted, that they can bring about the change necessary to re-shape society in their image. While it is true that policy can influence society it is not the end all be all that directs the course of a nation.

Our founders, even the less Christian minded ones, understood this. There is no hope for a country’s survival apart from Divine intervention. You can have the most gifted leaders, the most trained army, and the strongest economy and still crumble and wither away on the ash heap of history (i.e. Romans, Greeks, etc.). That is precisely why we find ourselves at a very dangerous intersection in our nations history. On the one hand, we have a slim majority of the people who favor life and reliance on Divine providence and on the other a very noisy minority that does not. Unfortunately, 2 of our 3 branches of government are dominated by that noisy minority. So who is going to win?

The battlefield of engagement at present is the health care debate. If any discussion could reveal the colors of these two diverse segments of society. it is this one. The policy folks and the providence folks have gone toe to toe for weeks now and it looks as if the providence folks are winning. This, however, is no time for complacency. If we would make a second declaration of sorts, we could do so by defeating the policy folks on this ground. We must let them know that our faith is not in policy, in politics, or in personalities. We must draw the line in the sand and say here no further. This is not just a fight for freedom but for faith because the political demi-gods of this government desire your allegiance and if they cant get it by force they will snatch it by farce.

I hope that when the dust settles from this war of words, we will pause and take stock. I hope we will breathe a deep breath and reflect on the inherent danger of idleness, complacency, and silence. I also hope that we will re-commit ourselves to that source of aid that was good enough for our forefathers and should be good enough for us. Let us be clear that we trust Providence not policy.

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Mike Hall | September 4, 2009
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What Is A Good Trade For Liberty?

coins“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.”

- Benjamin Franklin

Is your insurance premium worth the sacrifice of your liberty? By the words and actions of some in this country one might be inclined to think so. The very thought that American citizens would trade their essential liberties for a government run health care system is mind-blowing. We would do well to remember the Bible lesson of Jacob and Esau. In this Old Testament lesson, Esau traded his birthright for a bowl of stew. He allowed his hunger cloud his judgment and in so doing he despised the great inheritance that was by birth his. As Americans, we have been given a great inheritance too. We have one of the freest, most prosperous countries in the history of mankind and instead of sustaining that freedom many of our leaders in Washington desire to dish out the stew hoping to catch us at a weak moment.

So what will we do? Will we have this poisoned pottage or will we have the fortitude to resist this subtle undermining of our liberties? I honestly don’t know. I have been encouraged with the outpouring of opposition to this health care plan but the fight is not over. If we are to protect our inheritance, we need to remove from power those who would use fear and trickery to undermine the foundation of liberties. We must sustain this groundswell of opposition that we see at the town halls and see it carry us to the polls in 2010. Only when we have leaders who respect our freedoms and our heritage can we breathe a little and even then as flawed human being they too must be held accountable. Liberty is too precious to be lost by idleness and complacency.

What would you be willing to trade for it?

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