Choose this day whom you will serve: Ayn Rand or.Jesus?

Christians Must Choose: Ayn Rand or Jesus

GOP leaders and conservative pundits have brought upon themselves a crisis of values. Many who for years have been the loudest voices invoking the language of faith and moral values are now praising the atheist philosopher Ayn Rand whose teachings stand in direct contradiction to the Bible. Rand advocates a law of selfishness over love and commands her followers to think only of themselves, not others. She said her followers had to choose between Jesus and her teachings.

GOP leaders want to argue that they are defending Christian principles. But, at the same time, Rep. Paul Ryan (author of the GOP budget) is posting facebook videos praising Rand’s morality and saying hers is the “kind of thinking that is sorely needed right now.” Simply put, Paul Ryan can’t have it both ways, and neither can Christians. As conservative evangelical icon Chuck Colson recently stated, Christians can not support Rand’s philosophy and Christ’s teachings. The choice is simple: Ayn Rand or Jesus Christ. We must choose one and forsake the other.

Look here for the links below:

Ayn Rand: The GOP’s Favorite Bonkers Demagogue- The Daily Beast

Is Ayn Rand A Political Liability?- The New Republic

Heightening The Republican Contradictions- The Daily Beast

Paul Ryan’s Ayn Rand Problem- Time

Budget Battle Pits Atheist Ayn Rand vs. Jesus- Religion News Service

Column: You can’t reconcile Ayn Rand and Jesus- USA Today

Letters: We have strayed too far from Christian values- East Valley Tribune

Ayn Rand, the GOP and Libertarian’s Foundation, and Jesus- Unsettled Christianity

The GOP Must Decide: Ayn Rand or Jesus- Huffington Post

Choosing Ayn Rand or Jesus- The American Spectator

Must Christian Voters Choose Between Ayn Rand and Jesus?- The Atlantic

Ayn Rand ‘Atheists’ vs. Liberal Christians; A Battle of Dogma- The Examiner

Rand Paul, other Republicans can’t have it both ways on Ayn Rand – Courier-Journal

Ayn Rand: The GOP’s Godless Philospher – Time

My response: Comparing Obama's speech to Bush's speech

 I just got this one from my uncle. Perhaps you have seen a version of it, as well? it's making the rounds, such as this blog.

Here's what my uncle sent:

2 Key paragraphs in 2 Presidents' speeches ... interesting contrast isn't it?

George W. Bush speech after capture of Saddam:

The success of yesterday's mission is a tribute to our men and women now serving in Iraq. The operation was based on the superb work of intelligence analysts who found the dictator's footprints in a vast country. The operation was carried out with skill and precision by a brave fighting force. Our servicemen and women and our coalition allies have faced many dangers in the hunt for members of the fallen regime, and in their effort to bring hope and freedom to the Iraqi people. Their work continues, and so do the risks. Today, on behalf of the nation, I thank the members of our Armed Forces and I congratulate 'em.

Barack Obama speech after killing of bin Laden:

And so shortly after taking office, I directed Leon Panetta, the director of the CIA, to make the killing or capture of bin Laden the top priority of our war against al Qaeda, even as we continued our broader efforts to disrupt, dismantle, and defeat his network. Then, last August, after years of painstaking work by our intelligence community, I was briefed on a possible lead to bin Laden. It was far from certain, and it took many months to run this thread to ground. I met repeatedly with my national security team as we developed more information about the possibility that we had located bin Laden hiding within a compound deep inside of Pakistan. And finally, last week, I determined that we had enough intelligence to take action, and I authorized an operation to get Osama bin Laden and bring him to justice. Today, at my direction, the United States launched a targeted operation against that compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan

Here's my response:

Why did the sender choose to ignore the following parts of President Obama's speech? (See them in context, in the entire speech, below.) Does the sender have an axe to grind, or did she just unthinkingly parrot what someone else sent her? (as, alas, I have done as well!)

• "Over the last 10 years, thanks to the tireless and heroic work of our military and our counterterrorism professionals, we’ve made great strides in that effort"
• "Then, last August, after years of painstaking work by our intelligence community, I was briefed on a possible lead to bin Laden. "
• Today, at my direction, the United States launched a targeted operation against that compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. A small team of Americans carried out the operation with extraordinary courage and capability.
• Tonight, we give thanks to the countless intelligence and counterterrorism professionals who’ve worked tirelessly to achieve this outcome. The American people do not see their work, nor know their names. But tonight, they feel the satisfaction of their work and the result of their pursuit of justice.
• We give thanks for the men who carried out this operation, for they exemplify the professionalism, patriotism, and unparalleled courage of those who serve our country. And they are part of a generation that has borne the heaviest share of the burden since that September day.

If you read Obama's speech, and then Bush's (which I've also reproduced below) you'll note three things;
1) Obama gives a lot more praise to a lot more people: not only the military, but also the counterterrorism and intelligence communities.
2) Obama stresses his responsibility for the decision, as commander-in- chief. If it had gone south, he would have been the one to take the blame. Bush doesn't speak about his position as commander-in-chief; he has
3) there is a remarkable amount of similarity between the two speeches. Compare the structure of both speeches, and note the near-verbatim endings that they share.

In both speeches, I've highlighted the first person plural in red, and first person singular in blue. My guess is that those who hate Obama will read his speech as a paen to socialism, because Obama constantly uses the first person plural. However, if they do so, they will be conveniently forgetting one of the most famous mottos of the American Revolution:

“Let us trust God, and our better judgment to set us right hereafter. United we stand, divided we fall. Let us not split into factions which must destroy that union upon which our existence hangs.” --Patrick Henry, in his last public speech, given in March 1799, in which he denounced The Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions.

If we fail to present the truth, we lose credibility when we finally do have a truth to present.

Soli Deo honor et gloria

Beth

P.S. Coincidentally, Obama's speech was delivered on May 1, 2011, exactly eight years after Bush's "Mission accomplished" speech, http://middleeast.about.com/od/usmideastpolicy/a/me080921a.htm

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Here is the full text of Obama's speech:

Good evening. Tonight, I can report to the American people and to the world that the United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of al Qaeda, and a terrorist who’s responsible for the murder of thousands of innocent men, women, and children.

It was nearly 10 years ago that a bright September day was darkened by the worst attack on the American people in our history. The images of 9/11 are seared into our national memory -- hijacked planes cutting through a cloudless September sky; the Twin Towers collapsing to the ground; black smoke billowing up from the Pentagon; the wreckage of Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where the actions of heroic citizens saved even more heartbreak and destruction.

And yet we know that the worst images are those that were unseen to the world. The empty seat at the dinner table. Children who were forced to grow up without their mother or their father. Parents who would never know the feeling of their child’s embrace. Nearly 3,000 citizens taken from us, leaving a gaping hole in our hearts.

On September 11, 2001, in our time of grief, the American people came together. We offered our neighbors a hand, and we offered the wounded our blood. We reaffirmed our ties to each other, and our love of community and country. On that day, no matter where we came from, what God we prayed to, or what race or ethnicity we were, we were united as one American family.

We were also united in our resolve to protect our nation and to bring those who committed this vicious attack to justice. We quickly learned that the 9/11 attacks were carried out by al Qaeda -- an organization headed by Osama bin Laden, which had openly declared war on the United States and was committed to killing innocents in our country and around the globe. And so we went to war against al Qaeda to protect our citizens, our friends, and our allies.

Over the last 10 years, thanks to the tireless and heroic work of our military and our counterterrorism professionals, we’ve made great strides in that effort. We’ve disrupted terrorist attacks and strengthened our homeland defense. In Afghanistan, we removed the Taliban government, which had given bin Laden and al Qaeda safe haven and support. And around the globe, we worked with our friends and allies to capture or kill scores of al Qaeda terrorists, including several who were a part of the 9/11 plot.

Yet Osama bin Laden avoided capture and escaped across the Afghan border into Pakistan. Meanwhile, al Qaeda continued to operate from along that border and operate through its affiliates across the world.

And so shortly after taking office, I directed Leon Panetta, the director of the CIA, to make the killing or capture of bin Laden the top priority of our war against al Qaeda, even as we continued our broader efforts to disrupt, dismantle, and defeat his network.

Then, last August, after years of painstaking work by our intelligence community, I was briefed on a possible lead to bin Laden. It was far from certain, and it took many months to run this thread to ground. I met repeatedly with my national security team as we developed more information about the possibility that we had located bin Laden hiding within a compound deep inside of Pakistan. And finally, last week, I determined that we had enough intelligence to take action, and authorized an operation to get Osama bin Laden and bring him to justice.

Today, at my direction, the United States launched a targeted operation against that compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. A small team of Americans carried out the operation with extraordinary courage and capability. No Americans were harmed. They took care to avoid civilian casualties. After a firefight, they killed Osama bin Laden and took custody of his body.

For over two decades, bin Laden has been al Qaeda’s leader and symbol, and has continued to plot attacks against our country and our friends and allies. The death of bin Laden marks the most significant achievement to date in our nation’s effort to defeat al Qaeda.

Yet his death does not mark the end of our effort. There’s no doubt that al Qaeda will continue to pursue attacks against us. We must –- and we will -- remain vigilant at home and abroad.

As we do, we must also reaffirm that the United States is not –- and never will be -– at war with Islam. I’ve made clear, just as President Bush did shortly after 9/11, that our war is not against Islam. Bin Laden was not a Muslim leader; he was a mass murderer of Muslims. Indeed, al Qaeda has slaughtered scores of Muslims in many countries, including our own. So his demise should be welcomed by all who believe in peace and human dignity.

Over the years, I’ve repeatedly made clear that we would take action within Pakistan if we knew where bin Laden was. That is what we’ve done. But it’s important to note that our counterterrorism cooperation with Pakistan helped lead us to bin Laden and the compound where he was hiding. Indeed, bin Laden had declared war against Pakistan as well, and ordered attacks against the Pakistani people.

Tonight, I called President Zardari, and my team has also spoken with their Pakistani counterparts. They agree that this is a good and historic day for both of our nations. And going forward, it is essential that Pakistan continue to join us in the fight against al Qaeda and its affiliates.

The American people did not choose this fight. It came to our shores, and started with the senseless slaughter of our citizens. After nearly 10 years of service, struggle, and sacrifice, we know well the costs of war. These efforts weigh on me every time I, as Commander-in-Chief, have to sign a letter to a family that has lost a loved one, or look into the eyes of a service member who’s been gravely wounded.

So Americans understand the costs of war. Yet as a country, we will never tolerate our security being threatened, nor stand idly by when our people have been killed. We will be relentless in defense of our citizens and our friends and allies. We will be true to the values that make us who we are. And on nights like this one, we can say to those families who have lost loved ones to al Qaeda’s terror: Justice has been done.

Tonight, we give thanks to the countless intelligence and counterterrorism professionals who’ve worked tirelessly to achieve this outcome. The American people do not see their work, nor know their names. But tonight, they feel the satisfaction of their work and the result of their pursuit of justice.

We give thanks for the men who carried out this operation, for they exemplify the professionalism, patriotism, and unparalleled courage of those who serve our country. And they are part of a generation that has borne the heaviest share of the burden since that September day.

Finally, let me say to the families who lost loved ones on 9/11 that we have never forgotten your loss, nor wavered in our commitment to see that we do whatever it takes to prevent another attack on our shores.

And tonight, let us think back to the sense of unity that prevailed on 9/11. I know that it has, at times, frayed. Yet today’s achievement is a testament to the greatness of our country and the determination of the American people.

The cause of securing our country is not complete. But tonight, we are once again reminded that America can do whatever we set our mind to. That is the story of our history, whether it’s the pursuit of prosperity for our people, or the struggle for equality for all our citizens; our commitment to stand up for our values abroad, and our sacrifices to make the world a safer place.

Let us remember that we can do these things not just because of wealth or power, but because of who we are: one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Thank you. May God bless you. And may God bless the United States of America

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Full Text of Bush's Speech on Saddam

Good afternoon. Yesterday, December the 13th, at around 8:30 p.m. Baghdad time, United States military forces captured Saddam Hussein alive. He was found near a farmhouse outside the city of Tikrit, in a swift raid conducted without casualties. And now the former dictator of Iraq will face the justice he denied to millions.

The capture of this man was crucial to the rise of a free Iraq. It marks the end of the road for him, and for all who bullied and killed in his name. For the Baathist holdouts largely responsible for the current violence, there will be no return to the corrupt power and privilege they once held. For the vast majority of Iraqi citizens who wish to live as free men and women, this event brings further assurance that the torture chambers and the secret police are gone forever.

And this afternoon, I have a message for the Iraqi people: You will not have to fear the rule of Saddam Hussein ever again. All Iraqis who take the side of freedom have taken the winning side. The goals of our coalition are the same as your goals -- sovereignty for your country, dignity for your great culture, and for every Iraqi citizen, the opportunity for a better life.


In the history of Iraq, a dark and painful era is over. A hopeful day has arrived. All Iraqis can now come together and reject violence and build a new Iraq.

The success of yesterday's mission is a tribute to our men and women now serving in Iraq. The operation was based on the superb work of intelligence analysts who found the dictator's footprints in a vast country. The operation was carried out with skill and precision by a brave fighting force. Our servicemen and women and our coalition allies have faced many dangers in the hunt for members of the fallen regime, and in their effort to bring hope and freedom to the Iraqi people. Their work continues, and so do the risks. Today, on behalf of the nation, I thank the members of our Armed Forces and I congratulate them.

I also have a message for all Americans: The capture of Saddam Hussein does not mean the end of violence in Iraq. We still face terrorists who would rather go on killing the innocent than accept the rise of liberty in the heart of the Middle East. Such men are a direct threat to the American people, and they will be defeated.

We've come to this moment through patience and resolve and focused action. And that is our strategy moving forward. The war on terror is a different kind of war, waged capture by capture, cell by cell, and victory by victory. Our security is assured by our perseverance and by our sure belief in the success of liberty. And the United States of America will not relent until this war is won.

May God bless the people of Iraq, and may God bless America. Thank you.

Losing and Finding Yourself

"T he purpose in life is not to find yourself. It’s to lose yourself." --David Brooks, in a recent New York Times op-ed piece. But Someone already told us that, long ago:

• Matthew 10:39, "Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it."
• Matthew 16:25, "For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.
• Mark 8:35, "For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it."
• Luke 9:24, "For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it."
• John 12:25, "The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life."

Jesus' challenge must have made quite an impression on his disciples. All four evangelists noted it. I wonder what people would think of Him today, if he were to give this as a commencement address:

 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for you to gain the whole world, yet forfeit your soul? Or what can you give in exchange for your soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward everyone according to what they have done. Matthew 16:25-27

While  I do not agree with everything Brooks says (no, I don't want to be 22 again, and not all college graduates are narcissistic)  he does nail "the litany of expressive individualism" that is our culture's constant chant.  However, he fails to understand the most important thing, the purpose of life.  Life may indeed "come to a point only in those moments when the self dissolves into some task," but it comes to fulfillment only when the self is in relationship to a Person. Actually, Three Persons.

It’s Not About You

By DAVID BROOKS
Published: May 30, 2011

Over the past few weeks, America’s colleges have sent another class of graduates off into the world. These graduates possess something of inestimable value. Nearly every sensible middle-aged person would give away all their money to be able to go back to age 22 and begin adulthood anew.

But, especially this year, one is conscious of the many ways in which this year’s graduating class has been ill served by their elders. They enter a bad job market, the hangover from decades of excessive borrowing. They inherit a ruinous federal debt.

More important, their lives have been perversely structured. This year’s graduates are members of the most supervised generation in American history. Through their childhoods and teenage years, they have been monitored, tutored, coached and honed to an unprecedented degree.

Yet upon graduation they will enter a world that is unprecedentedly wide open and unstructured. Most of them will not quickly get married, buy a home and have kids, as previous generations did. Instead, they will confront amazingly diverse job markets, social landscapes and lifestyle niches. Most will spend a decade wandering from job to job and clique to clique, searching for a role.

No one would design a system of extreme supervision to prepare people for a decade of extreme openness. But this is exactly what has emerged in modern America. College students are raised in an environment that demands one set of navigational skills, and they are then cast out into a different environment requiring a different set of skills, which they have to figure out on their own.

Worst of all, they are sent off into this world with the whole baby-boomer theology ringing in their ears. If you sample some of the commencement addresses being broadcast on C-Span these days, you see that many graduates are told to: Follow your passion, chart your own course, march to the beat of your own drummer, follow your dreams and find yourself. This is the litany of expressive individualism, which is still the dominant note in American culture.

But, of course, this mantra misleads on nearly every front.

College grads are often sent out into the world amid rapturous talk of limitless possibilities. But this talk is of no help to the central business of adulthood, finding serious things to tie yourself down to. The successful young adult is beginning to make sacred commitments — to a spouse, a community and calling — yet mostly hears about freedom and autonomy.

Today’s graduates are also told to find their passion and then pursue their dreams. The implication is that they should find themselves first and then go off and live their quest. But, of course, very few people at age 22 or 24 can take an inward journey and come out having discovered a developed self.

Most successful young people don’t look inside and then plan a life. They look outside and find a problem, which summons their life. A relative suffers from Alzheimer’s and a young woman feels called to help cure that disease. A young man works under a miserable boss and must develop management skills so his department can function. Another young woman finds herself confronted by an opportunity she never thought of in a job category she never imagined. This wasn’t in her plans, but this is where she can make her contribution.

Most people don’t form a self and then lead a life. They are called by a problem, and the self is constructed gradually by their calling.

The graduates are also told to pursue happiness and joy. But, of course, when you read a biography of someone you admire, it’s rarely the things that made them happy that compel your admiration. It’s the things they did to court unhappiness — the things they did that were arduous and miserable, which sometimes cost them friends and aroused hatred. It’s excellence, not happiness, that we admire most.

Finally, graduates are told to be independent-minded and to express their inner spirit. But, of course, doing your job well often means suppressing yourself. As Atul Gawande mentioned during his countercultural address last week at Harvard Medical School, being a good doctor often means being part of a team, following the rules of an institution, going down a regimented checklist.

Today’s grads enter a cultural climate that preaches the self as the center of a life. But, of course, as they age, they’ll discover that the tasks of a life are at the center. Fulfillment is a byproduct of how people engage their tasks, and can’t be pursued directly. Most of us are egotistical and most are self-concerned most of the time, but it’s nonetheless true that life comes to a point only in those moments when the self dissolves into some task. The purpose in life is not to find yourself. It’s to lose yourself.

REALITY CHECK: The Obama "Trillion Dollar Bill"

There's a nasty little message making the circuit that purports to explain how much a trillion dollars is, appending this image at the end:

The senders clearly only interested in ad hominems, and not facts.  But, dear reader, I trust you are cut from straighter timber. Here is what I wrote back to the person who passed that message to me:

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I'm sorry you felt the need to take the cheap shot at Obama. Given the following information,  you might want to consider changing the image from our current president to a previous president.


1. Trillions lost on waging war

According to the Center for Defense Information, the estimated cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will reach $1.29 trillion by the end of fiscal year 2011.
However, this doesn't take into account the real cost:
+ Loss of life and work potential for the private sector
+ Cost of seriously injured to society
+ Mental health costs and consequences
+ Quality of life impairment (I weep for the multiple amputees)
+ Family costs
+ Social costs
+ Homefront National Guard shortfalls needed for Katrina etc.

2001 Nobel winner in Economics, Joseph Stiglitz estimates the true cost of the Iraq war at $3 trillion.
Obama rightly deserves criticism for continuing the war in Afghanistan, but he wasn't the one who invaded Iraq. Stiglitz writes, "It is hard to believe that we would be embroiled in a bloody conflict in Afghanistan today if we had devoted the resources there that we instead deployed in Iraq. A troop surge in 2003 -- before the warlords and the Taliban reestablished control -- would have been much more effective than a surge in 2010. "

2) Trillions lost due to Recession

a) Small Business
Study shows recession cost small businesses $2 trillion. Recall that Obama inherited the recession upon taking office. Economists say Dec. 2007 marked the start of the recession. Obama didn't take office until January 2009.

b) Children
Recession-induced child poverty to cost U.S. $1.7 trillion in economic loss. Would this have occurred if presidents and legislators before Obama had not deregulated Wall Street, and allowed it to run amok and ruin he economy? In March, 2008, CNN reported: "You know things are very very bad on Wall Street when a guy like Henry Paulson -- Treasury secretary, solid Republican, and former Goldman Sachs CEO -- joins the crowd calling for more regulation over the financial markets."

c) worldwide
Here's a visual that estimates the worldwide cost of the financial crisis to be $11,900 billion--nearly $12 trillion (Click on it to enlarge the image. )



I'm sorry the sender felt the need to take the cheap shot at Obama. Given the information above, he might want to consider changing the image on the trillion dollar bill from our current president to a previous president.

St. Justin Martyr

 Today is the feast day of St. Justin Martyr (ca. 100-ca. 166),  the patron saint of philosophers. James Keifer gives a brief biography here, while the Orthodox Church of America gives a fuller discussion here.

The son of a Greek couple in Samaria, Justin went on to become the first gentile Christian apologist. As a young man searching for truth, he encountered representatives of various schools of philosophy: Stoics, Cynics, a greedy Peripatetic, Pythagoreans  who insisted he first study music, astronomy and gometry, and finally Platonists.  But one day, he met an old man on the seashore who told him about Christ: the Logos, the Way, the Truth, the Life.
Justin came to faith, was baptized at age 30 and thereafter became a sort of intellectual missionary to pagans.  Justin wrote agianst Marcion, and rejected gnosticism and sophistry. He composed two Apologies, one to Emperor Antonius Pius and one to the Roman senate. He debated Rabbi Trypho in Ephesus. His Assyrian pupil,  Tatian, went on to compose the first harmony of the gospels.

Justin's genius was to see the gospel as the "true philosophy." In the question of the relation of faith and reason, Justin stands firmly in the middle. Pagan thought is unable to save us; but Christians do not have to reject all pagan thought. Reason is necessary, but not sufficient. All truth is God's truth.  Faith in Jesus Christ takes us on to the complete Truth we long for, but does not contradict the truth that is given to us through  natural revelation. 

St. Justin is honored by both Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox Christians. The latter remember him in song:

Troparion (Tone 4)

O Justin, teacher of divine knowledge,
You shone with the radiance of true philosophy.
You were wisely armed against the enemy.
Confessing the truth you contended alongside the martyrs,
With them, ever entreat Christ our God to save our souls!

Kontakion (Tone 2)

The whole Church of God is adorned with the wisdom of your divine words, O Justin;
The world is enlightened by the radiance of your life.
By the shedding of your blood, you have received a crown.
As you stand before Christ with the angels, pray unceasingly for us all!