The Christian Bard

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Location: Indianapolis, Indiana, United States

Thursday, May 25, 2006

William Blackstone -- Part 3

"This will of his maker is called the law of nature. For as God, when he created matter, and endued it with a principle of mobility, established certain rules for the perpetual direction of that motion; so, when he created man, and endued him with freewill to conduct himself in all parts of life, he laid down certain immutable laws of human nature, whereby that freewill is in some degree regulated and restrained, and gave him also the faculty of reason to discover the purpose of those laws."

Wednesday, May 24, 2006

Another Hammer on the Anvil Breaks

Once again, this time with "The Da Vinci Code" movie, the Bible remains intact. Lots of scare, no power to its punch.
Man is Man's God
Not that the war is over -- like any war, the war must be fought -- intellectually, spiritually, physically. But Christianity will continue to win; not because of our strength, but by God's power and might.

William Blackstone -- Part 2 -- On Law

"Man, considered as a creature, must necessarily be subject to the laws of his creator, for he is entirely a dependent being. A being, independent of any other, has no rule to pursue, but such as he prescribes to himself; but a state of dependence will inevitably oblige the inferior to take the will of him, on whom he depends, as the rule of his conduct: not indeed in every particular,but in all those points wherein his dependence consists. This principle therefore has more or less extent and effect, in proportion as the superiority of the one and the dependence of the other is greater or less, absolute or limited. And consequently as man depends absolutely upon his maker for everything, it is necessary that he should in all points conform to his maker's will."

Tuesday, May 23, 2006

William Blackstone, Part 1

Sir William Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England had a tremendous influence on the US Constitution. From these volumes our Founding Fathers derived "the laws of nature and of nature's God," life and liberty as natural rights (preserved in our 5th and 14th Amendments), the pursuit of happiness, "separation of powers" and "checks and balances." It's a far cry from what we have today -- not many people know William Blackstone or see any hint of his influence on the original America. Our Founding Fathers ran things by a different system -- principles. And those principles were derived from the Bible and the common law. In the next few posts, I will share some of what Blackstone had to say about laws and from whence they come. This is not just a history lesson, but a lesson in how America was founded.

The Authority of Scripture

The Anvil
Author Unknown
Last eve I passed beside a blacksmith's door
And heard the anvil ring the vesper chime:
Then looking in, I saw upon the floor
Old hammers, worn with beating years of time.

"How many anvils have you had," said I,
"To wear and batter all these hammers so?"
"Just one," said he, and then, with twinkling eye,
"The anvil wears the hammers out, you know."

And so, thought I, the anvil of God's word,
For ages skeptic blows have beat upon;
Yet though the noise of falling blows was heard,
The anvil is unharmed . . . the hammer's gone.

Tuesday, May 02, 2006

May 1, A Ludicrous Day

To help you understand how ludicrous it is for US businesses to complain about how they have lost business because the illegal immigrants they hired did not show up for work, let’s step back a bit.

Illegal does not mean they have applied for US citizenship. It does not mean they are current citizens working hard for their families in their former country, working hard to come to America. It means that these immigrants are in the US for a free ride – they are ILLEGAL.
Check out the following rationale, which is a paraphrase/summary of what some US businesses are lamenting because their non-US-citizen workers didn’t show up today:

“I lost business because the illegal immigrants didn’t come to work today. I’m losing money because the illegal immigrants I hired decided to strike. I depend upon the illegal immigrants for my business.”

Notice the word “illegal.” Let’s replace the words “illegal immigrants” with other illegal activities. Fill in the blanks with the following:

Thieves
Jailbreakers
Kidnappers
Perjurers

I lost business because the _______ didn’t come to work today. I’m losing business because the ________ I hired decided to strike. I depend upon the ________ for my business.”

Wake up, Americans. It’s been a LONG time since we’ve depended upon true, honest, American labor. This is a clarion call that we need to get back to the old ways of a good day’s work for a good day’s wages, and each person should work with his own hands. The businesses that hired illegal aliens deserve lost business; they’re knowingly operating with criminal labor.

Monday, May 01, 2006

The Church on the Frontlines

"If I profess with the loudest voice and clearest exposition every portion of the truth of God except precisely that little point which the world and the devil are at that moment attacking, I am not confessing Christ. Where the battle rages, there the loyalty of the soldier is proved, and to be steady on all the battle field besides is mere flight and disgrace if he flinches at that point."

Martin Luther