Why God is Masculine

From the awesome, incredible Dennis Prager. The dude's a freakin' rabbi!

At Prager University:

America's New Religions

Folks are diggin' on this new piece from Andrew Sullivan. I admit I enjoy his writing, but never forget that he's got a few screws loose. Remember the 2008 campaign and Dr. Andrew Gynecologist diagnosing Sarah Palin as not able to have birthed her baby Trig (or something like that)? (See the Other McCain, "Dear Andrew Sullivan." Also, at AoSHQ, "Don't Go Over There, But Sullivan Is Pushing (of Course!) Trig Trutherism Now.")

At New York Magazine:

"We’re mistaken if we believe that the collapse of Christianity in America has led to a decline in religion. It has merely led to religious impulses being expressed by political cults." https://t.co/bM8PPXXG8r

— Claire Lehmann (@clairlemon) December 8, 2018

Judeo-Christian Values Are the Real Counterculture

This video just popped up as recommended by YouTube, so I watched. It's old, from 2014, but Dennis Prager's worth watching. I love his wisdom, and it's wise to remind people that the leftist culture is the mainstream culture. Conservative values, and especially conservative religious values, are the counterculture

Here's Prager's recent book, at Amazon, The Rational Bible: Exodus.

And watch, at Prager U:

Justice for Jack Phillips, Owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop in Colorado (VIDEO)

Vodkapundit linked me at Instapundit the other day, "VIDEO: CNN Reacts to the Supreme Court’s Ruling in Masterpiece Cakeshop."

And here's more video, from the Alliance Defending Freedom, the group representing Jack Phillips:

CNN Reacts to the Supreme Court's Ruling in Masterpiece Cakeshop (VIDEO)

Poppy Harlow does a good job at maintaining objectivity, but it's not until 8:30 minutes into this video where she brings up the issue of the Colorado commission authorities' extreme hostility to religion. I mean, from the case we see intense animus to Christianity:

As the record shows, some of the commissioners at the Commission’s formal, public hearings endorsed the view that religious beliefs cannot legitimately be carried into the public sphere or commercial domain, disparaged Phillips’ faith as despicable and characterized it as merely rhetorical, and compared his invocation of his sincerely held religious beliefs to defenses of slavery and the Holocaust. No commissioners objected to the comments. Nor were they mentioned in the later state-court ruling or disavowed in the briefs filed here. The comments thus cast doubt on the fairness and impartiality of the Commission’s adjudication of Phillips’ case.

I tweeted:

Leftists like Nina Totenberg are downplaying the Court's ruling, claiming it was decided on the most "narrow grounds," but reading it we see a major statement denouncing the radical left's monstrous religious bigotry and anti-Christian animus. #MasterpieceCakeshop #SCOTUS 🙏 https://t.co/YmJo3xUskj

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) June 4, 2018

#MasterpieceCakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission: #SCOTUS https://t.co/N53SQ3Mif4

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) June 4, 2018

But watch, at CNN:

Ryan T. Anderson, Truth Overruled

In light of today's decision in Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, here's Ryan T. Anderson's book, at Amazon, Truth Overruled: The Future of Marriage and Religious Freedom.

Big Win for Religious Freedom in Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission

Actually, it's apparently a very narrow ruling touching on the nature of religious bias in Colorado's anti-discrimination legislation, but either way, conservative proponents of freedom of expression and religious belief are going to be jumping for the moon today.

At the Washington Post, "Supreme Court rules in favor of baker who would not make wedding cake for gay couple":

Supreme Court narrowly rules for a Colorado baker who refused to create a wedding cake for a gay couple https://t.co/ovz7BwsqGG

— Washington Post (@washingtonpost) June 4, 2018

The Supreme Court on Monday ruled for a Colorado baker who refused to create a wedding cake for a gay couple.

In an opinion by Justice Anthony M. Kennedy that leaves many questions unanswered, the court held that the Colorado Civil Rights Commission had not adequately taken into account the religious beliefs of baker Jack Phillips.

In fact, Kennedy said, the commission had been hostile to Baker’s faith, denying him the neutral consideration he deserved. While the justices split in their reasoning, only Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor dissented.

Kennedy wrote that the question of when religious beliefs must give way to anti-discrimination laws might be different in future cases. But in this case, he said, Phillips did not get the proper consideration.

“The Court’s precedents make clear that the baker, in his capacity as the owner of a business serving the public, might have his right to the free exercise of religion limited by generally applicable laws,” he wrote. “Still, the delicate question of when the free exercise of his religion must yield to an otherwise valid exercise of state power needed to be determined in an adjudication in which religious hostility on the part of the State itself would not be a factor in the balance the State sought to reach. That requirement, however, was not met here.”

Phillips contended that dual guarantees in the First Amendment — for free speech and for the free exercise of religion — protect him against Colorado’s public accommodations law, which requires businesses to serve customers equally regardless of “disability, race, creed, color, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, or ancestry.”

Scattered across the country, florists, bakers, photographers and others have claimed that being forced to offer their wedding services to same-sex couples violates their rights. Courts have routinely turned down the business owners, as the Colorado Court of Appeals did in the Phillips case, saying that state anti-discrimination laws require businesses that are open to the public to treat all potential customers equally.

There’s no dispute about what triggered the court case in 2012, when same-sex marriage was prohibited in Colorado. Charlie Craig and David Mullins decided to get married in Massachusetts, where it was legal. They would return to Denver for a reception, and those helping with the plans suggested they get a cake from Masterpiece bakery...

Also at Memeorandum.

Anti-Semitism and the Threat of Identity Politics

From Gideon Rachman, at FT:

Gideon Rachman: For the past 50 years, anti-Semitism has not been a political issue in the west. But that appears to be changing.https://t.co/E0ECLVO6xy

— Financial Times (@FinancialTimes) April 2, 2018

For the past 50 years, I have had the pleasure of living in a period when anti-Semitism was not a political issue in the west. But that appears to be changing.

Last week thousands of people marched in Paris to demonstrate against anti-Semitism after the murder of Mireille Knoll, an 85-year-old Holocaust survivor who, according to President Emmanuel Macron, was “murdered because she was Jewish”. That same week a smaller demonstration took place in London, to protest against anti-Semitism in the Labour party. This Sunday is likely to see the re-election of Viktor Orban, the Hungarian prime minister, who uses barely coded anti-Semitic rhetoric. Even the US is not immune. Last August saw the far-right marching in Charlottesville, amid chants of “Jews will not replace us”.

So are we reliving the 1930s? Not really. Contemporary anti-Semitism contains some loud echoes of the past — for example, the resurgence of the idea of Jews as a shadowy international network. But the new element is the way that anti-Semitism is now mixed in with bigger fights about Islam and Israel.

For the far-left, a key enemy is often Israel, which is seen as an embodiment of western racism. For the far-right, the main enemy is Islam, which it identifies with terrorism and mass immigration. Both far-left and far-right often claim to be immune from anti-Semitism — either because they are anti-racists (the left) or because they are pro-Israel (the right).

These complexities are embodied by Mr Orban. At a recent rally, the Hungarian prime minister used language laden with anti-Semitic imagery: “We are fighting an enemy that is different from us. Not open, but hiding; not straightforward but crafty . . . not national, but international, [and who] does not believe in working but speculating with money.”

The bogeyman of the Orban campaign is George Soros, a Hungarian-Jewish financier. But the main accusation hurled at Mr Soros by Mr Orban is that he is planning to flood Hungary with Muslim refugees. The Hungarian prime minister’s decision to build a wall to block the flow of migrants has made him a hero of the far-right in the US and Europe.

Mr Orban’s hostility to Mr Soros and suspicion of the “Islamisation” of Europe is also shared by Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, who paid a cordial visit to Hungary last July. There are many on the far-right who are fans of both Mr Orban and of Israel. Their common enemy, “radical Islam”, is, they argue, the real threat to Jews in modern Europe.

Many of Europe’s Jews are, however, appropriately wary of “support” from the far-right. When Marine Le Pen, the leader of France’s National Front, tried to join the march in memory of Mireille Knoll, she was kept at arm’s length by the main French Jewish organisation.

A similar ambiguity surrounds Donald Trump. Some Americans point to his links to the alt-right and reluctance to condemn the Charlottesville march. On the other hand, Mr Trump’s beloved daughter, Ivanka, has converted to Orthodox Judaism, which is not a decision normally associated with anti-Semitism. And there is no doubt that the government of Israel is much more comfortable with President Trump than with his predecessor, Barack Obama.

The far-left in Europe could use the Trump-Israel link to argue that their rage is aimed at nationalism, not Jews. But there is an obsessive quality to their hatred of Israel that is telling. Killings in Gaza are met with outrage, while deaths in Syria or Yemen barely register. Some of the anti-Semitic conspiracy theories that circulate in the Middle East have also leaked into leftwing politics. One of the people whom Jeremy Corbyn, the UK Labour leader, was happy to entertain at the House of Commons was Raed Salah, an Islamist leader who peddles the idea that Jews were warned to leave the Twin Towers in New York before 9/11...

More.

This is a little too equivalent a take. I don't see Orban or European nationalists particularly anti-Semitic. In fact, the nationalist right seems to be the only faction aggressively defending Israel and the Jews. It's not the 1930s, at all. As we've seen time and again, attacks and murder of Jews is nearly a complete leftist phenomenon. Jews are leaving France because of Islamic jihad, not the National Front.

Viktor E. Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning

At Amazon, Viktor E. Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning.

Australia Senator Wears Full Burka in Parliament

At Disneyland last week I saw a woman going around the park in a full burka, specifically with the niqab, the facial veil the covers everything except the eyes. And I'm thinking, did she have to take that off to get her picture taken? You see, when you buy your park ticket now, they scan the barcode on the ticket and take your picture. So, when you leave the park or come back in, or cross over from California Adventures to the old Disneyland, they scan the barcode and your picture pops up on the handheld device. It's really awesome technology. I noticed some of the staff don't even look at the picture, but then another (older gentleman) scanned our tickets and was very carefully looking at the mug shots.

I think it's great!

But, then there's the question? Did the lady have to take off her niqab? My wife said they just probably took the photo with the niqab on, but then anyone could put on that niqab and use her ticket to get into the park, which defeats the purpose of the technology.

In any case, this piece, at NYT, got me thinking:

A senator shocked Australia’s Parliament after appearing in a full-body burqa and advocating for its ban https://t.co/abbZ99WRZA

— New York Times World (@nytimesworld) August 17, 2017

The Slow Fade to Social Depravity

On Twitter:

New Gallup poll tells a tale on the state of our culture, and it’s not good https://t.co/ZTw4tH2q5i

— LifeSiteNews.com (@LifeSite) June 13, 2017

Anyone who knows me personally knows that I am not a pessimist; however, what I am going to say might cause angst among some in the pro-life and pro-family movement, especially Catholics.

A recent Gallup poll exposed three terrible truths. First, we are not succeeding in transforming hearts and minds to cultivate and sustain a Culture of Life. Second, we are losing the younger generation to materialism, secularism and moral relativism. Third, the moral compass and Christian conscience in America is systematically being phased out of existence while indifference and tolerance of evil fill the void.

I readily admit that I usually place little emphasis upon polls; however, the results of this survey highlight and parallel trends we see around the world. Societies are radically rejecting centuries of Judeo-Christian beliefs concerning life and family while embracing a secular view of life and the human person.

How did we get here? It's been a slow fade. The acceptance of homosexual marriage. Normalizing it. Flaunting it. Adoring it like a god. https://t.co/HEarItXX5J

— Terri Green (@TerriGreenUSA) June 13, 2017

And don't forget normalizing transgender ideology and depravity. Christian values are playing defense. It's an assault on decency.

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) June 13, 2017

Stop Importing Islam (VIDEO)

From Mark Steyn, "At the Very Least, Stop Importing More of It."

March Against Sharia — Nationwide Protests Set for June 10, 2017 (VIDEO)

Brigitte Gabriel's a freakin' patriot!

She's fired up at the video.

And see WND, "Anti-Shariah rallies planned for 28 U.S. cities June 10":

ACT! for America is planning a nationwide “March Against Sharia – March for Human Rights” on June 10 that so far has 28 cities signed up to participate.

Organizers say they will be taking a public stand against female genital mutilation, honor violence, the blasphemy and apostasy laws, among other elements of Shariah that are increasingly showing up in American society.

Brigitte Gabriel, the founder of ACT For America, said America is now starting to experience some of the same atrocities of Shariah that her family escaped in Lebanon decades ago.

“We want to increase awareness about certain practices that are starting to happen in our country with the rise of Islamic immigration, because we are now hearing about female genital mutilation, like the cases in Detroit recently announced by the Department of Justice,” she told WND. “Who would have thought in 21st century America, after what women did working so hard in defense of women’s rights that we’d be talking about little girls being horribly mutilated, and that 513,000 girls are at risk of this barbaric Third World procedure, according to the CDC [Centers for Disease Control].”

ACT! will also shine a light on honor killings and honor violence.

“It’s already here in America,” Gabriel said. “We’re seeing girls being killed simply for wanting to wear makeup. Under our Constitution they deserve the same rights and protections.”

She said U.S. feminists are “completely silent on this issue, and that is why we are trying to humanize this issue by putting names behind these atrocities. On our website we have faces of girls and woman who have been killed in the name of honor by their husbands in America. We want to personalize these faces so when people hear about honor killing and FGM they know it is happening here in America to American girls and women, not just in Pakistan or India or Saudi Arabia.”

Scott Presler, one of the organizers of the event, said the left will try to paint the rallies as “Islamophobic” and anti-Muslim, because that’s what the left always does in its defense of the Islamist agenda.

If radical leftists want to hold counter protests in favor of female genital mutilations, honor killings and the death penalty for former Muslims who have left the faith, they are more than welcome to do so, he said.

“You cannot be pro-Shariah and call yourself a feminist – that is called fake feminism, people like Linda Sarsour are fake feminists and hypocrites,” said Presler, referring to the leader of the Women’s March on Washington after Donald Trump was elected president...

Melanie Phillips, Londonistan

Following-up from earlier today, "Melanie Phillips Braves Berkeley (VIDEO)."

At Amazon, Melanie Phillips, Londonistan.

Easter and Passover: Both Holidays Are About the Dead Rising to New Life

A lovely essay for Easter weekend, which (this year) is also the end of Passover week.

From R.R. Reno, at WSJ, "The Profound Connection Between Easter and Passover."

Easter and Passover share a profound connection: They both are about the dead rising to new life https://t.co/Q65bymKEzt

— Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) April 14, 2017

Hat Tip: Dr. Carol Swain.

ICYMI: Nonie Darwish, Wholly Different

At Amazon, Nonie Darwish, Wholly Different: Why I Chose Biblical Values Over Islamic Values.

Democrats Still Haven't Faced Their God Problem

From Salena Zito, at the New York Post:

Democrats still haven't faced their God problem https://t.co/Aivj3h2S3Q via @nypost

— SalenaZito (@SalenaZito) March 20, 2017

PHILADELPHIA — The Democratic Party has a God problem.

And over the last couple of decades, as its base became more educated, less religious and more urban, this problem has only grown.

Some of this has to do with lower church attendance in cities versus rural areas, and the Democratic Party’s increasing reliance on urban voters. Some of it is the divisiveness of social or cultural issues like abortion and gay marriage. And the divide has seemingly sapped Democrats’ ability to communicate to religious Americans.

Especially if those people of faith are white, according to Brad Chism, a longtime and respected Democratic strategist based in Mississippi.

“And that problem extends to the national media, who by and large are mostly Democrats, meaning you have these powerful forces who do not understand more than half of the people in this country,” he said.

Chism makes a crucial point about what this means for American politics: Some of the greatest moral advancements in our country’s history have been accomplished largely through the influence of the church and churchgoing people, especially through the 20th century.

“You look at women’s suffrage, civil rights, the abolition of slavery and all of these massive other changes — religion and religious people have played a role in moving society toward a higher plane,” said Chism.

“We’ve seen that recently as well, but a lot of progressives and liberal Democrats don’t see the role of religion in society, and that is a big mistake,” he said.

And it’s a mistake people like Kevin Washo are trying to rectify, though they feel like they’re swimming against the tide. A day before the Democratic National Convention opened here last July, Washo, a Catholic and prominent national Democrat, organized a private Mass led by a Jesuit priest in the conference room of a prestigious law firm in a shimmering Market Street skyscraper.

That imagery is a far cry from the 2012 Democratic convention, when the hall exploded in turmoil as Democrats voted to amend their party’s platform to include the word “God.” The platform initially had dropped previous platform language that referenced God. After an outcry, convention chairman Antonio Villaraigosa returned to the stage to take a floor vote on a motion to reinsert the language.

The floor vote quite clearly failed as Villaraigosa repeated the roll call. Eventually he declared that “the ayes have it,” and loud boos exploded across the arena.

The headlines that came out of that debacle — “Democrats boo God” was a common one — ended up making matters worse for those, like Washo and Chism, who would like to see their party counter the perception of its estrangement from people of faith...

Washo and Chism need to get real: The Democrats are a Marxist party. They've doctrinally abandoned God as a matter of ideology and politics. Any outward expression of faith on the part of Democrat office-seekers is artifice. I mean, c'mon. Abortion politics, to mention just one policy item, is predicated on the rejection of moral values and Biblical teaching: Jeremiah 1:5: Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations..."

A leopard doesn't change its spots. The Democrats won't change theirs.

Nonie Darwish, Wholly Different

Out February 27th.

At Amazon, Nonie Darwish, Wholly Different: Why I Chose Biblical Values Over Islamic Values.

Graeme Wood, The Way of the Strangers

No time to read this one right now, but I'll get to it one of these days.

Wood's a great writer. He had the much-talked about piece on Islamic State a couple of years back, at the Atlantic, "What ISIS Really Wants."

At Amazon, Graeme Wood, The Way of the Strangers: Encounters with the Islamic State.

Kris Kobach Says He's 'Drafting Plan for Muslim Registry'

Fine with me.

We're at war for crying out loud. And as much as I pledge to be nice to them, it's not like Muslim residents are turning in the jihadists in their midst. In fact, it's probably the opposite: they're aiding and abetting them. God forbid we have another San Bernardino.

At PuffHo, of all places, "Reported Trump Immigration Advisor and Potential Attorney General is Drafting Plan for Muslim Registry."

I would love if Kobach got the nod for attorney general!

PREVIOUSLY: "Muslims Fear for the Lives (VIDEO)."