Finis



T.S. Eliot

"This is the way the world ends: 

not with a bang, but a whimper."

All good things come to an end...and even the not-so-good.  For reasons that are too personal to share (even in an obscure blog), it is no longer good for me to blog under the name "Dovemountaineers."  This it it:  the final Dovemountaineer blog.

As a compulsive writer, I will continue blogging...

somewhere. Only those who ask me me personally and directly will be given the address. I will continue to blog on most of the same topics, perhaps with a little more emphasis on the regnant follies, especially that which passes for education.

Thanks for those who have commented on this blog or "followed" it in times past. I would love to keep in touch with anyone who wants to keep in touch.

And blessings to all!

This Week's issue

Although it's a bit dated by the time we get it here in the outer fringes of civilization, we will be discussing the cover story of the January 28 th issue in WorldMovers class this Sunday, entitled "Young and Restless."  Beginning on p.36, the coverage treats life issues from many different angles: the definition of personhood, current attacks on pregnancy resource centers, undercover exposes of Planned Parenthood, adopting children with special needs, Jewish pregnancy help, new pro-life laws (especially in Arizona!), and the pro-life movement outside the U.S. Lots of good information - come prepared to discuss and pray!

A Jeremiad for those who are chilled by the current foolishness

from Mark Steyn, author of After America:

“…in a democratic age, trying to persuade people who have been endowed with goodies that they did not earn to vote themselves back to sanity becomes very difficult.”

To hear a compelling interview between Steyn and Chuck Colson, go here.

School Bullies of Another Sort

Here is a link to my latest Presidential Prayer Team article.  It will only be up a couple more days.

What he said

I have referenced Chuck Colson's Breakpoint messages several times before. A recent issue, which you can read here, entitled "Breaking the Spiral of Silence," highlights a common problem in our culture. I have seen it affect the political debates, and I have seen it affect decisions by church committees. It is rampant in the media, and even though we suspect it goes on, no one admits how much it controls the direction of our world and lives. I'm not going to define "it" right here, because I hope you will hit the link and read the original - the way he said it.

I will give a quick and current example, however.Yesterday on a local radio talk show, I heard a state legislator tell outrageous (and easily refutable) lies about an organization I am actually employed by. The possible explanations for this are many, but they do not include ignorance. As a legislator he as access to the facts.

He could have been saying what he knows his colleagues and constituents expect to hear (toeing the party line), and he was probably lazily repeating the lies of others without careful thought or research. A likely explanation is that he has heard these lies so often that he actually believes them to be the truth.

As Christians, we often naively assume that others have the same "fear of God" and reverence for the truth that we know we are supposed to have. But we live in a culture of lies, and Satan is the "father of lies."  It is more work to find out the truth and speak it strictly, but to those who fear God, consequences of spreading lies are too serious to make negligence worthwhile.

Above all, we should think about how we decide what is true. The gentleman on the radio had a pleasant voice, spoke with the right amount of passion, without seeming to be a nut case. I have seen picures of himand read his biogrpahy. He is visually good-looking, and polished - educated, nicely dressed, nice family, etc. The lies he spouted would be good news to people who have been raised in a collectivist environment of class envy, lack of personal responsiblity, and blame-shifting, where there is no transcendent right and wrong and, above all, no supernatural authority to sort it all out - in other words, twenty-first century American homes and schools, in general.      

A good summation of Colson's article would be something like this: is the position I am advocating, or the decision I am voting for, based on a rational analysis of the facts? Or am I more concerned about what people (especially attractive advocates) think about which side I choose? 

A reminder for WorldMovers

I need to remind WorldMovers of two specific assignments I made last week: 

1.  Rather than my comtinuing to supply you with scriptures regarding economics, I am asking you to bring any scriptural references of your own which speak to you about the handling of money.

2.  I asked specifically that everyone read Mindy Belz's editorial, "Unreached People." I also gave Rags a book on a similar subject,and he may be ready to report on it by Sunday.

Hope to see lots of you there!

One more Tebow



Tebow with Zac Taylor, who lives
 in constant pain.

 When asked if spending time before and after a game with sick and dying people is a distraction, Tebow answered:

"Just the opposite," Tebow says. "It's by far the best thing I do to get myself ready. Here you are, about to play a game that the world says is the most important thing in the world. Win and they praise you. Lose and they crush you. And here I have a chance to talk to the coolest, most courageous people. It puts it all into perspective. The game doesn't really matter. I mean, I'll give 100 percent of my heart to win it, but in the end, the thing I most want to do is not win championships or make a lot of money, it's to invest in people's lives, to make a difference."