Catholicity, Orthodoxy, and Lordship
My friend James runs an excellent blog. He posted this great youtube link on his page. Though my caption may read a little different from his, we basically agree. My caption is: The Postmillenial Hope or better yet: Don’t mess with the church. I would love to hear your caption on the comment section. Truly, this is amazing.
[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/LU8DDYz68kM" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]
A long weekend indeed. Starting on Friday night we spent an excellent evening with some new friends. These friends are new to Presbyterianism and very interested in covenant theology. I had the excellent opportunity to make a case for infant baptism. I hope our conversations continue in the days ahead.
On Saturday, I was glued on the Ames Straw poll and blogged live for about an hour. At 1PM I headed to Olive Garden where we had our first Ron Paul meetup group in this region. There were four of us, which is a great number for a first meet-up group in this part of the city. Ron Paul has more meet-up groups than any other candidate in the country, so it was enjoyable to discuss politics and strategies with these other three gentleman.
Later in the afternoon, we headed to Clearwater. Once we arrived we had dessert with old friends and then headed to the home of a couple that my wife and I knew from college. We talked late into the night about many topics.
On the Lord’s Day, we headed to Grace Community Church (PCA) where I preached on Joshua 6. My title was: The Liturgy of God. It was an interesting experience to find the church and see a sign that read: The Liturgy. My first response was: Where is the rest of the title? but then I thought it sounded like a Tom Clancy novel. The people were warm and receptive and I was able to deliver a 30 minute sermon, which went very well. A wonderful weekend indeed.
A fifth place on the Iowa straw poll is indeed incredible. I must confess, however, as an eternal optimist, that a third place would have been even better. Nevertheless, when you spend so little in a straw poll and when your opponents invest everything but their very lives, I think you can see why the excitement of Ron Paul supporters continue to grow. Perhaps Andrew Main summarizes it best:
I think Ron Pauls placement in this poll was just about perfect: strong enough to solidly refute the pundits intellectual followers (not to mention shills) who like to pretend they are leaders and provide just enough encouragement to the troops to keep everyone working hard, while still making clear just how far there is still to go. It is, after all, still a year (?) till the nominating convention, 15 months (!) to the actual election. (I shudder to think how much damage Dubya & friends can still do but even that might not be bad for the rEVOLution.) Too much early success is not healthy, as many past sure thing candidates can attest.
A fifth position solidifies that the Paul campaign is no longer an internet scam on TV polls. This is a crucial victory early on in the campaign. The truth is that if this campaign will thrive in the next few months, Ron Paul supporters will have to multiply. This is already happening in meet-up groups across the country and even on a financial level. Recently, Ron Paul stated that his campaign had raised over $75,000 in 24 hours. As the media has become very much aware, Ron Pauls campaign used the least amount of money in the poll and bore the greatest fruit. Whereas the Romney campaign used the greatest amount of money and bore the least fruit. So far it has been noted that he paid over $500 for each vote, whereas the second place Huckabee, spent under $100. Ron Pauls numbers should be out soon, but we may just assume that he spent under $60 for each vote. The straw poll in Ames, Iowa is truly not to be taken as the definitive poll on anything this early on the election, rather it serves to point out the ability a candidate has to organize his volunteers and indeed Ron Paul supporters and volunteers once again shattered any misconception that we are merely internet-based.
Another positive element of this straw poll is that it eliminates competition. Out of the 11 candidates, some were counting significantly on their standing in this poll. Tommy Thompson who traveled over 99 counties in Iowa seeking to make a powerful impression, ended behind Ron Paul in sixth place and was left with no other alternative but to step down. With Thompson out of the race, Paul will have more time to make his positions clear in debates. It truly is a process of elimination. Duncan Hunter is also expected to drop out of the race in the days ahead. Truly, the absurdity of it all is that Ron Paul is the only candidate to reflect the Old Right promoting a foreign policy of non-intervention and a return to Constitutional principles, whereas all other candidates are in general agreement with each other. Hence, the fight becomes one of name recognition and experience. Ron Pauls future is bright and the cause of freedom and peace is the cause of the future. Let the base die and the Revolution continue.
I will be preaching tomorrow in Palm Harbor at a small PCA church. My title is: The Liturgy of God from Joshua 6. I may post some of my notes as an attachment on Monday. Shalom.
12:04PM – Time to say good-bye for today. I am headed to the Ron Paul meet-up here in Casselberry, Fl. You may wish to read updates at Lewrockwell.com.
12:02PM-For anyone who still does not know why our current American foreign policy will always fail, read this brilliant daughter/father interaction.
11:42Am- The Paul Revolution in Paris!
11:40AM – The Iowa Straw Poll began at 10AM and it will end at 6PM.
11:38AM – Spectacular Ames Tribute Ad for Dr. Ron Paul.
11:27AM – The RonStock concert was last night in Iowa. Check out Dr. Paul’s speech on youtube.
11:25AM – Jennifer shares her first impressions at RedStateEclectic.
11:19AM – I will be headed to my first Ron Paul meet-up at 1PM. We will be discussing strategies and meeting other supporters of the Constitution.
11:17AM -According to the Daily Paul, Ron Paul raised $75,000 in 24 hours. See video.
11:13AM – Carol Paul, the wife of Ron Paul has been hospitalized, but is stable according to a news source.
11:10AM – Here are the first impressions from Real Clear Politics:
The Paul folks are leading the sign wars on the way to campus. Once here, their volunteers easily outnumber volunteers for every other campaign (though it’s only 9am). Chants of “Ron Paul” are audible from hundreds of yards away.
11:00AM – On the morning of the Ames Straw Poll, CNN reports on who is winning the sign wars.
This is an important straw poll for the Paul campaign. Real Clear Politics writes:
It is misleading to say that one candidate or another is the wild card going into Ames. The second-tier candidates are all wild cards, as are the top-tier candidates who aren’t competing. But Texas Congressman Ron Paul is one who could surprise in a big way. A campaign spokesman says Paul’s Iowa campaign team is making phone calls, but the camp won’t be busing in supporters and won’t ply voters with barbecue, two things every other campaign will do to woo anyone with a ballot.
In advance of the straw poll, Paul has become just the second Republican to air television ads in Iowa. And Paul has an undeniable following on the internet. Whether his campaign is working with those people to organize them into a massive group to travel to Ames is unknown, but if he is successful, Paul could take a significant share of the vote from other candidates. For all the internet buzz, Ames will be the first test of his actual support. Whatever the outcome for Paul, going into Saturday with absolutely no expectations — either positive or negative — is a good thing. He either impresses, if he does well, or is left out of the stories, which is better for him than failing to meet expectations.
Tom Tancredo stood by his remarks on Sunday’s debate. The week before, while speaking to a group of Iowas he said:
If it is up to me, we are going to explain that an attack on this homeland of that nature would be followed by an attack on the holy sites in Mecca and Medina, Tancredo said. That is the only thing I can think of that might deter somebody from doing what they would otherwise do. If I am wrong, fine, tell me, and I would be happy to do something else. But you had better find a deterrent, or you will find an attack.
In response, Tom Casey, a deputy spokesman for the State Department, told CNNs Elise Labott that the congressmans comments were reprehensible and absolutely crazy.
I confess Tancredo’s positions on Immigration and government limitation is appealing to paleo-conservatives like myself. Nevertheless, the audacity of Tancredo a is absurd. Tancredo could well be a reasonable choice in the Republican ticket if his positions were not so radical. It appears that his low numbers both on the internet and nationally has led him and his staff to think of creative ways to call the attention of the country. In debates, he has been known to taking every opportunity to go a step further than his opponents. Instead of the typical neo-con calculated candidates, Tancredo utters the obscene. Indeed, second-tier candidates (and Tancredo is truly a second-tier) are free to utter their thoughts however absurd they may seem and– trust me–they are absurd.