Free In Idaho!

From the chapter of the same name in McPherson’s Battle Cry Of Freedom, I found this interesting

Despite the inability to equip men already in the army, the Confederate Congress in May 1861 authorized the enlistment of up to 400,000 additional volunteers for three-year terms. Recruits came forward is such numbers that the War Department, by its own admission, had to turn away 200,000 for lack of arms and equipment. One reason for this shortage of arms was the hoarding by state governors of muskets seized from federal arsenals when the states seceded. Several governors insisted on retaining these weapons to arm regiments they kept at home (instead of sending them to the main fronts in Virginia or Tennessee) to defend state borders and guard against potential slave uprisings.

“for lack of arms and equipment”…

Perhaps you are aware that this coming Tuesday marks the 150th anniversary of Charles Darwin’s On The Origin of Species: By Means of Natural Selection.  It is truly one of the major books that has shaped the world of human thought over the last century.  It continues to this day to cause uproars, and not always just among Christians or people of other faiths.

Being 150 years old puts old Charlie’s text into the public domain.  There have been more than 100 diffferent editions of the book, all with different introductions.   Anyone with a press or a checkbook may publish the book.  Which brings up this morning’s story.  A gentleman named Ray Comfort decided he would like to produce a version of the book, with his own introduction offering “the other point of view” and giving a fuller explanation of where the “science of evolution” really sits today.  And hey, wouldn’t it be a great idea to give them away free to university students? 

Kicked a hornets nest, he did.

An online Google search on the topic returns 16,600 postings, and a search on YouTube pulls up 151 video reports and video responses to the book giveaway. Many of the postings – online text or video – are on atheist Web sites, as well as media outlets such as U.S. News & World Report, the Los Angeles Times, Scientific American and Discover magazine.

Ray Comfort is a Christian evangelist and apologist, dedicated to expressing and sharing the Christian faith and explaining the reasons to believe that it is true. His introduction to Darwin’s work provides the Christian explanation for creation, life, and death. The actual text of Darwin’s work is complete and unchanged. 

More than the arguments concerning the validity or lack thereof of the theory of evolution of new species by random mutation and selection, I am struck again by the tiny little people who profess to be so open minded and enlightened, yet are so threatened by someone’s words in a book. I’m speaking of the tiny little minds of the atheists and scientists.  For example, famous atheist preacher evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins had a thing or two to say about Comfort’s edition of Darwin.

“Presumably, the people in universities are capable of seeing through that kind of thing and I imagine they would be rather flattered to be given a free copy of the Origin of Species,” said Dawkins in late September, when asked about the then-pending giveaway. “Just rip out the 50 pages … and use the pages for the purpose they’re best suited.” 
 
In response to Dawkins remarks, evangelist Ray Comfort said on his Web site: “It seems very strange that Professor Dawkins would say that my Introduction didn’t worry him at all, and in the next breath tell university students to rip it out. If, I am, as he says, an ‘ignorant fool,’ then what I have written will be nothing but ignorance and foolishness. So why is he so concerned? I think the man protesteth too much.”

Indeed. Rather like the bookstores in San Francisco refusing to carry Sarah Palin’s book. Ignore it, it’ll go away. Or perhaps Dawkins’ suggestion is more like Thomas Jefferson’s treatment of the New Testament… just rip out what you don’t like, what makes you uncomfortable, what you don’t want to believe?  Cut and paste until you get what you want, remove the threats to your own belief system.  How very, well, “human”.

There, there, it’ll be all better now.

Reason doesn’t care much for Sarah’s new book.

Amid all the tales of savoring the aromas at the state fair and having her wardrobe vetted by snotty campaign staffers, she sets aside space to lay out her vision of what it means to be a “Commonsense Conservative.” It takes up all of 11 pages and leans heavily on prefabricated lines like “I am a conservative because I deal with the world as it is” and “If you want real job growth, cut capital gains taxes.”

But the priorities of Going Rogue are striking poses and attitudes, not making actual arguments about the proper role of government. The book is meant to create an image, or maybe a brand—folksy but shrewd, tough but feminine, noble but beset by weaklings and traitors, ever-smiling unless you awaken her inner “Mama Grizzly Bear” by scrutinizing her loved ones.

I wonder if some of the antagonism shown by the Left towards Sarah Palin isn’t driven by some of the uncomfortable similarities between her and Dear Leader? While not as obvious  (yet?) or widespread as the Obot cult, at times many on the populist Right seem to be playing out some of the same scenes. It’s sad, and telling, because it illustrates the hunger in some Americans right now for honesty and intelligence in our leaders and politicians.   I still haven’t found any, but I haven’t completely given up. I don’t think Palin is it though.  Let’s not do the personality thing, please.

Over at Random Acts of Patriotism, ASM826 has a great post about Boy Scouts and hiking.  Go read.  It reminded me that I had another “Bookshelf” picture to share.

Just a little piece of the bookshelf.

We keep bumping into people who want to “turn us on to The Shack“.  Uh, no thanks.  Oh, but it is a hot selling Christian book right now, you have to read it.  No.  I don’t, and won’t.   With so many truly good books with real Christian theology in them, why would I want to waste time on heresy?

If you’ve bumped into this book, or had folks press it on you, you should take a look at an excellent piece about it by Lane Keister at Green Baggins titled “Job and Bunyan versus The Shack”.  It will help you explain how and why The Shack is nothing more than Oprah style pop spirituality, and not Christian at all.

In The Shack, it is a one-time rationalistic showdown where God pleads and begs with the man (in effect) not only to give Him a hearing, but to acquit Him of wrong-doing. Ultimately, the man’s faith is in himself.

Read the whole thing, and avoid taking a detour to The Shack.

From David Hardy’s “Of Arms and the Law” blog, comes the idea to create a ‘book bomb’ for the new Second Amendment book by Stephen Halbrook titled “The Founders Second Amendment“.   The idea is to create enough demand for the book to get it high enough up the lists to start some real exposure for it, and some momentum. 

Joe Huffman predicts next year we’re in the soup.  David Codrea asks what you are doing with opportunities to talk about gun rights and perhaps persuade other people?  Is reading blogs and going to the range enough?  Heck, can many of us even speak all that well about our rights to keep and bear arms?  Maybe this book is just what we need to really get a foundation from which to speak and persuade others? 

In front of us we have the Fairness Doctrine and the fight to protect the right to keep and bear arms.  May I inject a personal thing here?  One of the biggest cringes I have, as a Christian, is watching some well meaning but poorly informed believer trying to duke it out on the blogs or forums with those who have other beliefs.  It’s not just painful, it hurts the cause.  I see the same thing with some 2A believers as well, rushing in to do battle with a lot of zeal but no ammo, no foundation.  Don’t be that guy.

Monday is  Bill of Rights Day.  Make yourself a note to buy this book on that day.  Learn your stuff.  Then spread the word.  If you truly believe ’tis better to talk and persuade than to threaten to throw stones, back it up and school yourself.  Read David Kopel’s paper on The Natural Right of Self Defense.  Check out the JPFO’s 2A video for one resource.  And buy this book.  It might just be one of the right tools as well.  On Monday I’m going to get one myself.