So What's This All About?

In case you didn't know, I'm in the multi-year-long process of posting a Christian devotional at the TAWG Blog. The TAWG Blog is, and always will be, mostly apolitical. For the most part, Bible-believing Christians will find little to disagree with there. But I also firmly believe that God's word can--and should--inform everything in life, and this should include politics and popular culture. How should we vote? How should we respond to hot topics such as abortion, capital punishment, taxes, and other issues? Which party, if either, is closer to the Biblical ideal? Tony Campolo and Ron Sider, Evangelicals whose political leanings are on the Left, have made the case in several of their writings that God wants his followers to vote politically on the Left more than on the Right. At times, some of them have gone so far as to equate voting on the Left with obedience to Christ, either subtly or not-so-subtly contending that the converse is true as well: If you vote Republican, you're sinning against the Savior.
I don't agree. I think that to the degree they actually resort to the Bible, they're misinterpreting it. With a whole bunch of caveats, I think politically conservative positions are a lot more compatible with the Scriptures than the Leftist positions.
Just to clarify, I would never accuse people who disagree with me--especially siblings in Christ--of what they accuse me of. I don't judge my own heart, much less anyone else's, and I don't equate political disagreement with theological fidelity to God. I have no reason to doubt their love for the Lord and "for the least of these," but I believe that they're sincerely wrong.
So there are two main purposes for this blog. One is to make a case for my political beliefs based on Scripture. The other is a bit more vague, basically to work out my political beliefs and figure out what's based on Scripture and what's based on my own biases. I certainly don't have all the answers. Some of this stuff I'm still figuring out. And I'm certainly open to correction. As long as you make your case civilly and based on Scripture, feel free to make a comment, and I promise I'll post it and consider your arguments thoughtfully and prayerfully. Who knows? Maybe we'll learn a little something from each other.
May God bless our common striving together towards both the "little t" truth and "Big T" Truth. Our watchword here is a line from C. S. Lewis's The Last Battle: "Further up and further in!"

P.S. -- Below on the left is "Topics I've Covered" which lists everything I've posted topically. It's come to my attention that some people would like to see everything just listed for them. If that's you, you can get it here. Thanks to my friend Stephen Young for the tip!

Tuesday, September 18, 2018

The Air Force Birthday and Flag

Happy birthday to all my Zoomie friends, joining all the other branches in standing between my family and the bad guys! 

From Bill Bennett's American Patriot's Almanac:

The United States Air Force was established on September 18, 1947, when the National Security Act, which made the Air Force an independent branch of the military, went into effect. Fittingly, President Harry Truman signed the law aboard The Sacred Cow, the C-54 transport plane used for presidential flights in those days.

The beginnings of an American air-going force stretch back to 1907, less than four years after the Wright Brothers’ first powered flight, when the U.S. Army Signal Corps formed an Aeronautical Division. In 1909 the Army bought its first plane, the Wright Military Flyer.

When World War I started in Europe, the Army owned only five planes. By the end of the war, military strategists realized that to win battles, they must control the skies. During World War II, the U.S. Army Air Forces reached a peak strength of 80,000 planes. The critical role of air power led Truman to make the Air Force a full partner with the Army and Navy. Today the Air Force maintains about 5,600 active aircraft.

The U.S. Air Force flag is blue and bears the Air Force coat of arms. The shield carries an image of a pair of wings, a vertical thunderbolt, and lightning flashes – all symbolizing the power to strike from the air. Above the shield, a bald eagle perches in front of a cloud. Thirteen stars surround the coat of arms, representing the thirteen original states. The top three stars also symbolize the Departments of the Army, Navy, and Air Force.



Every day, Bill Bennett provides via email--for free--a reading from his American Patriot's Almanac. You’ll read about heroes, their achievements, and key events that took place “On This Day” in American history.Click here to subscribe.

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