Prayers and Thanksgiving

It is with curious timing that our Governor, Sonny Purdue, would call for an official prayer service to petition the Almighty for rain to fall upon our parched land. Many have taken issue with the Governor, calling his actions everything from foolish to unconstitutional. However, it is interesting to note as we approach Thanksgiving Day how often in our nation’s history political leaders have publicly “called upon the name of the Lord.”

On December 26, 1941, President Roosevelt signed a resolution permanently establishing the fourth Thursday of each November as a national holiday. For the previous 79 years, beginning in 1863, our nation had celebrated an unofficial Thanksgiving Day on the last Thursday in November. President Lincoln began this tradition, which Presidents following him continued, by declaring, “We often forget the Source from which the blessings of fruitful years and healthful skies come. . . . No human wisdom hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most HighGod. . . . I therefore invite my fellow-citizens in every part of the United States . . . to observe the last Thursday of November as a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens.”

According to historian David Barton, the first national Thanksgiving occurred in 1789. In September of that year, immediately after approving the Bill of Rights, Congress delivered a resolution to President Washington requesting, “that he would recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer.” Washington declared, “Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor. . . . Now, therefore, I do appoint Thursday, the 26th day of November 1789 . . . that we may all unite to render unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection.”

In 1777 the Continental Congress called for a day of thanksgiving and praise, “so that the people may express the grateful feelings of their hearts . . . and join . . . their prayers that it may please God, through the merits of Jesus Christ, to forgive our sins and . . . to enlarge His kingdom which consists in righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost.”

On October 23, 1871 President Ulysses S. Grant recommended that on Thursday, the 30th day of November, “the people meet in their respective places of worship, and there make the usual acknowledgments to Almighty God for the blessings he has conferred upon them; for their merciful exemption from evil, and invoke His protection and kindness for their less fortunate brethren whom, in His wisdom he has deemed it best to chastise.”

Of course, governmental calls for prayer, petition, and thanksgiving have by no means been limited to a day in November. In 1799 President John Adams called for a national Fast Day, requesting that citizens, “abstain, as far as may be, from their secular occupation, and devote the time to the sacred duties of religion… that they call to mind our numerous offenses against the most high God, confess them before Him with sincerest penitence…that He would make us deeply sensible that ‘righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people’ (Proverbs 14:34).”

In 1988 Ronald Reagan signed the bill into law that declared the first Thursday of each May to be recognized as a National Day of Prayer. On the inaugural date he proclaimed: “Let us, young and old, join together, as did the First Continental Congress, in the first step—humble, heartfelt prayer. Let us do so for the Love of God and His great goodness, in search of His guidance, and the grace of repentance…”

As governors, Thomas Jefferson in Virginia and John Hancock in Massachusetts both declared official days of prayer and thanksgiving. In 1790, Hancock exclaimed, “I. . . appoint . . . a day of public thanksgiving and praise . . . to render to God the tribute of praise for His unmerited goodness towards us . . . by giving to us . . . the Holy Scriptures which are able to enlighten and make us wise to eternal salvation. . . . And to pray that He would forgive our sins and . . . cause the religion of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to be known, understood, and practiced among all the people of the earth.”

Enduring this drought ought to remind us all how thankful we should be toward our Creator for all that He provides. When the Pilgrims celebrated the first Thanksgiving in October of 1621, they had endured many hardships. In just about one year’s time, nearly half (47) of their original number had died. Through their many difficulties they still found cause to thank and praise God. The Pilgrims understood well that God truly provided them with everything that they needed. May we be of the same mindset this Thanksgiving Day.

Copyright 2014, Trevor Grant Thomas
At the Intersection of Politics, Science, Faith, and Reason.
Trevor and his wife Michelle are the authors of: Debt Free Living in a Debt Filled World
tthomas@trevorgrantthomas.com

Where's Outrage for Travis Henry

Michael Vick has pleaded guilty. Let justice be done. From all indications it seems that it will be. Along with our judicial system, everyone from U.S. Senators, to the NFL, the media, corporate America, and the public in general have let their voices be heard in this matter. Michael Vick has been keenly condemned, with adjectives such as “cruel,” “sadistic,” “barbaric,” “cannibalistic,” “inhumane,” “abhorrent,” “reprehensible,” and “incomprehensible” used to describe his behavior.

The words and actions of those condemning Vick make me wonder where all this passion is when the lives of human beings are at stake. Former congressman J.C Watts pondered the same in an article he wrote recently, comparing the barbarism of dog-fighting to the barbarism of abortion. He pointed out that, “our culture has degenerated to a level where our priorities are so out of whack, that we decry ‘from mountain to mountain and valley to valley’ the mistreatment of innocent animals, while we turn a collective and legislative blind eye to the premature and yes, barbaric killing of human life in the name of ‘choice.’” Amen.

Recent developments with another NFL athlete give an additional interesting situation to contemplate. I wonder what the individuals and organizations so stirred by Vick’s actions think of the Denver Broncos’ tailback, Travis Henry. On Friday August 24 the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported that Henry has fathered nine children by nine different women across at least four different states. Talk about incomprehensible.

After Vick’s official admission of guilt, Goodell fired off a letter to him saying in part, “You have engaged in conduct detrimental to the welfare of the NFL and have violated the league's personal conduct policy.” ESPN reported on August 29 that Henry will not be disciplined by the NFL, saying that, “The league has clamped down on off-field misbehavior under commissioner Roger Goodell. But the newly implemented personal conduct policy ‘generally covers criminal violations, not civil matters’ such as Henry's, NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said Wednesday.”

Henry’s actions may not be very detrimental to the welfare of the NFL, but they are likely to be devastating to the nine children he has helped bring into this world.

Glenn T. Stanton, Director of Global Insights and Trends and Senior Analyst for Marriage and Sexuality at Focus on the Family (www.family.org), writes that, “All things being equal, children with married parents consistently do better in every measure of well-being than their peers who have single, cohabiting, divorced or step-parents, and this is a stronger indicator than parental race, economic or educational status, or neighborhood. The literature on this is broad and strong.” He bolsters this statement by noting that children living with their biological parents have, on average, higher test scores and grade point averages, and miss fewer school days than their peers not living with both biological parents. Also, they receive professional help for behavior and psychological problems at half the rate of children not living with both biological parents.

He adds that kids living with never-married mothers are twice as likely to be expelled or suspended from school as their peers, and those not living with both biological parents are 45 to 95 percent more likely to require parent/teacher conferences to deal with performance or behavior problems than those who live with married parents. And last, one of the most powerful predictors of crime rates comes from such family measures as the percentage of the population divorced, the percentage of households headed by women, and the percentage of unattached individuals in the community. It appears to me that the ultimate consequences of Vick’s actions will pale in comparison to those of Travis Henry.

Many do not like the comparison of Vick’s and Henry’s situations. They contend that Michael Vick was in violation of the law, while Travis Henry has broken no laws. However, it is interesting to note that Georgia’s law against fornication was stuck down by its Supreme Court only four years ago. The Washington Post reported in 2004 that 24 states still had laws against adultery, along with ten states still having anti-fornication statutes. Granted, most of these laws, if they still exist, are not enforced, but it goes to show that there was a time when we considered such acts criminal.

What does it say about our culture when one man can be so vilified by the public and the media, punished by his employer, and sent to jail by our justice system mostly because of abusing animals, while another man (along with the women involved) put nine human beings in the detrimental position of growing up in broken homes with no consequences other than being financially responsible for them?

Copyright 2014, Trevor Grant Thomas
At the Intersection of Politics, Science, Faith, and Reason.
Trevor and his wife Michelle are the authors of: Debt Free Living in a Debt Filled World
tthomas@trevorgrantthomas.com

What Angelina Jolie Teaches Us on Sexuality

Finally, something uttered from a Hollywood celebrity that actually makes some sense…. but, I don’t think it was the lesson for which she was aiming.

Angelina Jolie, in a recent interview, had some rather interesting things to say about sexuality. Now she was speaking only of herself, but I believe that what she revealed is very characteristic of many in her “lifestyle.”

Jolie shared with the French magazine, Public, that since entering into a “relationship” with Brad Pitt, she has given up lesbianism and what she called “S & M,” which is short for sadism and masochism. In the interview Jolie stated that, “I've never hidden my bisexuality. But since I've been with Brad, there's no longer a place for that or S&M in my life.”

So I suppose the appropriate label for Jolie, at least the one that the homosexual community would have us use is “bisexual.” Whatever one would label her, I suppose she now is effectively declaring herself “straight.”

The ironic thing about Jolie’s declaration is that it flies in the face of what the homosexual community would have us believe about homosexual behavior: namely that it is an innate, genetically-determined, unchanging condition.

Jeffrey Satinover, author of several books, including Homosexuality and the Politics of Truth, has reported interesting things concerning homosexuality that support Jolie’s declaration. Dr. Satinover is a graduate of M.I.T., Harvard, and the University of Texas Medical School. He has practiced psychiatry since 1986. Dr. Satinover is currently in the doctoral program in physics at Yale.

Dr. Satinover, based on scientific evidence, has concluded that the idea of “sexual orientation” is fiction. He refers to a 1994 University of Chicago study which states, “…it is patently false that homosexuality is a uniform attribute across individuals, that it is stable over time, and that it can be easily measured.” Dr. Satinover adds that, “Studies across the globe that have now sampled over 100,000 individuals have found the same. We now know that in the majority of both men and women, ‘homosexuality,’ as defined by any scientifically rigorous criteria, spontaneously tends to ‘mutate’ into heterosexuality over the course of a lifetime” (i.e. Angelina Jolie).

In 2003, testifying before the Massachusetts Senate Judicial Committee, as they were considering the legalization of gay marriage, Dr. Satinover stated that the belief that homosexuality is a genetic and unchangeable condition is not “even remotely true.” He continued, “however widely believed (these claims) may have become; the evidence of the kind that ‘everyone knows’ simply does not exist; even a cursory examination of the actual sources behind these claims will reveal a very strong preponderance of evidence to precisely the contrary; the claims are simply fiction.”

Until 1973 homosexuality was classified as a “disorder” by the American Psychiatric Association. That year, by a vote of 5,834 to 3,810, the APA removed the condition of homosexuality from its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual. Concerning this, Dr. Satinover testified that, “the American Psychiatric Association, like most other professional-practitioner associations, is not a scientific organization. It is a professional guild and as such, amenable to political influence in ways that science per se must not allow itself to be. Thus, the decision to de-list homosexuality was not made based on scientific evidence as is widely claimed.”

However, since there is no evidence that homosexuality is “genetic,” many like to refer to homosexual activity as “chosen” behavior. According to Dr. James Dobson this is typically not the case. Dr. Dobson points out that, “Homosexuals deeply resent being told that they selected this same-sex inclination in pursuit of sexual excitement or some other motive. It is unfair, and I don’t blame them for being irritated by that assumption. Who among us would knowingly choose a path that would result in alienation from family, rejection by friends, disdain from the heterosexual world, …No, homosexuality is not ‘chosen’ except in rare circumstances.”

Whether or not one considers homosexuality a “disorder,” Dr. Satinover states that it is a behavior that is undesirable to many, and it is susceptible to change (again, i.e. Angelina Jolie). However, he adds that, “The evidence for this fact should not be obscured by the false assumption that homosexuality is either innate and unchangeable, or a ‘lifestyle choice’ and changeable at will. It is neither: It is most often a deeply-embedded condition that develops over many years. It is, in other words, similar to most human characteristics, and shares with them the typical possibilities for, and difficulties in, achieving sustained change.”

It is rare that the lives of celebrities can point us toward the truth, especially concerning sexual behavior. Even in Jolie’s case, as we learn of her departure from homosexuality (which likely could be rather short-lived), the fact remains that she is in a sexual relationship and has children with a man to whom she is not married. In fact, Pitt has declared that they refuse to marry until, “everyone else in the country who wants to be married is legally able (to).” Oh well, I suppose a traditional view of marriage from the likes of these two would be asking too much.

Copyright 2007, Trevor Grant Thomas
At the Intersection of Politics, Science, Faith, and Reason.
www.trevorgrantthomas.com
Trevor and his wife Michelle are the authors of: Debt Free Living in a Debt Filled World
tthomas@trevorgrantthomas.com

Michael Vick in Perspective

I wonder about several things when it comes to the unfortunate events surrounding Michael Vick: If he were accused of involvement in the recent cockfighting ring discovered in Florida instead of his current woes, would there be near the uproar? If he had a Super Bowl victory or two under his belt, would there be calls for the Falcons to cut all ties with him? Where were all the questions about his character and calls for his release or suspension when he was accused of sexual misconduct posing as “Ron Mexico”? It’s almost as if he has been indicted for murder.

Don’t laugh. I heard more than one ESPN radio commentator recently say, in effect, that in many people’s minds what Vick is accused of is worse than if he had killed a human being. What a sad indictment on our culture.

In the year 2000 Baltimore Raven linebacker Ray Lewis, along with two of his “friends,” were indicted for killing a human being (actually two of them). The murder charges against him were later dropped and he pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor charge of obstruction of justice. In 2004 Lewis settled civil suits filed by the murdered victims’ families. One family, according to the Baltimore Sun, received at least $1 million.

Through all of this, Ray Lewis was never suspended by the NFL (though he did pay a record $250,000 fine). I don’t remember there even being many (if any) calls for the league to do so. I don’t recall protests in front of the NFL offices or at the Ravens’ facilities. Then again, Ray Lewis was coming off a season where he was the NFL leader in tackles and an All-Pro. (He would lead his team to a Super Bowl victory the following season.)

In 2003, when Kobe Bryant was indicted for rape, I don’t recall the NBA or the Lakers suspending him. I again don’t recall there being much demand by anyone that either do so. Then again, at the time Bryant was a perennial all-star and had several championship rings to his credit. I don’t think Bryant missed a single game due to his legal woes. In fact, a number of times Bryant had to be in court inColorado during the day, then immediately would fly to another part of the country to play in the Lakers' game that night.

If you believe, as I do, that the worst parts of the indictment against Vick are the gambling charges, then consider for a moment Michael Jordan. Jordan was no stranger to gambling, as he has admitted to losing hundreds of thousands of dollars (some have speculated that it was many millions) in shady gambling activities.

The NBA “investigated” him more than once, and though some think his first “retirement” was forced, he was never officially disciplined by the NBA or the Chicago Bulls. There was never much of an outcry by the media or the fans against Jordan. Of course, it almost goes without saying what Jordan meant to his fans, his team, his league and his sponsors. Mostly he meant hundreds of millions of dollars. No one wanted to see him go the way of Pete Rose.

Then there are the numerous athletes who, though not accused of criminal actions, at least have displayed behaviors that would cause many to call into question their character.

Tom Brady has fathered a child out of wedlock and is no longer in a relationship with the mother. Chipper Jones committed adultery and fathered a child out of wedlock. (I could go on and on with this list.) Where were the calls for their respective teams to suspend them or release them?

Amanda Beard, an Olympic swimmer with seven medals to her credit, including the gold medal in the 200-meter breaststroke, posed nude for Playboy recently. Do you think the U.S.A. Olympic committee, or most American fans, will have a problem with her representing our country in her sport again, as she aims to do?

You can tell much about people by what outrages or shames them. Would you be more ashamed if your grandfather had been involved in cockfighting or the KKK? Would you rather have your son shoot his neighbor’s dog or commit adultery with his neighbor’s wife? Would you prefer to have your daughter caught at a dogfight or pose nude in a magazine? Which behavior would alarm you more? Which behavior has more lasting consequences?

Because other athletes have been given a pass by their league, the media, and their fans is no reason that Michael Vick should. If he is found guilty of breaking the law, then let justice be done. If he is guilty of poor judgment, then there should be just consequences in that case as well. It seems to me, however, that the fury directed against him now is a bit overblown.

Copyright 2007, Trevor Grant Thomas
At the Intersection of Politics, Science, Faith, and Reason.
www.trevorgrantthomas.com
Trevor and his wife Michelle are the authors of: Debt Free Living in a Debt Filled World
tthomas@trevorgrantthomas.com

Independence Day: July 2 or July 4?

On July 1, 1776 delegates of the Second Continental Congress entered what John Adams called, “the greatest debate of all.” Even after over a year’s worth of conflict against the mightiest military force on earth, declared independence from Great Britain was far from a forgone conclusion. Just weeks earlier the majority of the men in the Congress were very much hoping that some formula for peace could be found with Great Britain.

In The Light and the Glory, by Peter Marshall and David Manuel, it’s noted that these Congressmen knew very well what it would cost them personally to, “cast their votes with those few who were advocating an open declaration of independence. For the men who signed such a declaration would, in the likely event of America’s defeat, be held personally responsible. And the penalty for instigating rebellion against the Crown was death.” Declaring independence required a unanimous vote from the Congress, and as Ben Franklin soberly put it, “We must indeed all hang together, or most assuredly we will all hang separately.”

During the debate on July 1, John Dickinson, representing Pennsylvania, made powerful and lengthy arguments against declaring independence. With quiet resolve, but equal conviction, Adams answered him concluding with, “All that I have and all that I am, and all that I hope in this life, I am now ready here to stake upon it. And I leave off as I began, that live or die, survive or perish, I am for the Declaration…Independence now, and Independence forever!”

Shortly following this exchange, Congress voted. The majority supported independence, but it was not unanimous as required. Nine of the thirteen colonies were ready to officially declare for freedom and the war necessary to achieve it. Pennsylvania and South Carolina voted no. Delaware’s two delegates were split. The New York delegates abstained. Debate was to resume the next day followed by another vote.

On the following day, July 2, the South Carolina delegates, for the sake of unanimity, were swayed to support the Declaration. New Pennsylvania delegates voted for independence. With New York still abstaining, Delaware was the key. Its two delegates remained split. With a dramatic and grueling overnight ride through stormy weather, where often he had to dismount and lead his horse, an exhausted third Delaware delegate, Caesar Rodney, entered the State House in Philadelphia around 1:00 p.m., just as the final vote was about to occur. He had come to break the deadlock among his fellow statesmen.

Barely able to speak he exclaimed, “As I believe the voice of my constituents and of all sensible and honest men is in favor of independence, my own judgment concurs with them. I vote for independence.” Therefore it was unanimously decided (New York would join with the other colonies officially on July 9^th). Thus, The United States was born on July 2, 1776.

The significance of the event and the day was such that, on the following day John Adams wrote his wife Abigail and said that July 2 “will be the most memorable…in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations, as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forevermore.” So according to John Adams, the celebration of our independence is a couple of days late.

                                                                                                 

It was two days later on July 4 that an official Declaration of Independence document was actually signed, albeit only by two members of Congress: John Hancock, the President of Congress and Charles Thompson the Secretary of Congress. Most of the rest of the Congressmen would sign the Declaration about a month later.

On July 4, 1837, in a speech delivered in the town of Newburyport Massachusetts, John Quincy Adams, son of John Adams, and the 6^th U.S. President, proclaimed, “Why is it that, next to the birthday of the Savior of the World, your most joyous and most venerated festival returns on this day? Is it not that, in the chain of human events, the birthday of the nation is indissolubly linked with the birthday of the Savior? Is it not that the Declaration of Independence first organized the social compact on the foundation of the Redeemer’s mission upon earth?” (For the full speech, see my website.)

Witnessing the events of the Revolution as a boy, and then going on to serve his country in many various capacities, John Quincy Adams saw that Christmas and Independence Day were fundamentally linked. He understood well that the Founders simply took the principles that Christ brought to the world and incorporated those into civil government.

That, my friends, is why the United States of America is the greatest nation the world has ever known, even though we may be celebrating its birthday on the wrong date.

(See this column on American Thinker.)

Trevor Grant Thomas

At the Intersection of Politics, Science, Faith, and Reason.
Trevor and his wife Michelle are the authors of: Debt Free Living in a Debt Filled World
tthomas@trevorgrantthomas.com