My Take: Israeli-Arab Conflict

Even though Israeli-Arab relationships merit in-depth studies and analyses, the current conflict is not too difficult to understand. The reality of the nature of contemporary Israeli and Arab relationships is war. There is always a declared war, even though there may be periods of "cease fire," which means mainly that Israel refrains from taking military action against acts of terrorist aggression within its borders. The reasons that war is continual between Israel and the Arab world is two-fold: (1) The Arab nations that have attacked Israel in the past have never been successful. (2) Israel has never been allowed complete its military operations against the Arab world which would secure victory and establish peace. This is the framework from which to understand the current conflict.

To bring about another "cease fire" in the long history of this war, one of two demands must be met. The Israeli demands are the return of their kidnapped soldiers and the immediate end of rocket attacks on Israeli territory. The Arab (re: Palestinian, Hamas, Hezbollah, et al) demands are the withdrawal of all Jews from Israel or, preferably (according to them), the eradication of all Jews. Which demand should we consider the
most reasonable and simplest to accomplish?

The force that Israel is using in retaliation to the kidnapping of their soldiers (clearly a demonstration of concern for their troops that American liberals forget to express for our kidnapped soldiers) and for the Hezbollah rocket attacks surprises some. However, remember that they have already been in a state of war and that the current conflict is merely another battle within that war.

What has been more surprising than the force Israel is now directing at their enemy has been their restraint for literally years. When Saddam directed SCUD missiles into Israel during the War to Liberate Kuwait, even though Israel was not a military participant in that conflict, Israel made no retaliation. Even though Israeli citizens have suffered devastating terrorist bombing attacks since then, they have made no significant military responses. Indeed, since then, Israel has withdrawn from settlements in the Gaza strip and other territory in order for Palestinians to occupy them and establish their own government. The principle requirement was that the Palestinian authority would actively pursue policies and actions to remove terrorist organizations from their borders. They subsequently failed to accomplish this primarily because they do not consider Arab terrorist organizations their enemy. Jewish Israel is their stated enemy! It stands to reason, then, that they would strengthen their allies and, at the same time, seek ways to disrupt the strength of their enemy.

Military response by Israel to these accumulating attacks is not an option. It is a survival necessity. They do not have the luxury to wait dozens of years for appeasement diplomacy. They do not have the luxury to sit idly by while their soldiers are kidnapped and tortured. They do not have the luxury to wring their hands over suicide Islamic jihadists while uttering platitudes that this is, after all, "something that Europeans have been enduring for years."

Israel believes in fixing the problem. Even though their solution - victory - will be condemned by those impotent world peacekeepers over at the United Nations, Israel will nevertheless do what they can to ensure their survivability among neighbor nations, some nearer than others, that make no secret of their goal to eliminate Israel as a Jewish state.

On December 4, 2001, then Prime Minister Ariel Sharon stated, " … A war has been forced upon us. A war of terror. A war that claims innocent victims daily. A war of terror being conducted systematically, in an organized fashion, and with methodical direction. … We will pursue those responsible, the perpetrators of terrorism and the supporters. We will pursue them until we catch them, and they will pay a price." Once again, though, this current conflict will be halted far short of what it will take to establish victory, and hence peace, in that war torn region. Unfortunately, it will only be a matter of time before battles will be once again fought regardless of how long the new phony "cease fire" may last.

Making Sure the Liberal Message is Heard

Analysis from the last couple of Presidential elections have resulted both times in the Liberal's claim that they lost because... their message did not get out to Americans! Amazingly, they blame mainstream media sources for not helping them out here.

At any rate, I decided to try to help them out. Yes, let's get the liberal message out to Americans.

In order to facilitate this mission, I maintain an e-mail list that I send the occasional liberal message out to. I protect participants' e-mail addresses to the greatest extent possible and do not use them for any commercial purpose (as if I have a commercial purpose to use them for).

Anyway, if you want to be a recipient of my occasional "get the liberal message out" alerts, send me an e-mail to calayne1@juno.com. I'll add you. You won't be sorry. The best way I have found to thwart the liberal's agendas is to let 'em talk. So, let 'em be heard, I say.

Photo note: Photographer Sean Cafferky from the Seattle Anti-War Protest of 15 Feb 2003. There were too many to choose from. See for yourself at
http://www.lovethief.com/seattleantiwarprotest-feb2003/. (I may have to include this link in a "get the liberal message out" e-mail!)

American Revolution and Quagmire

From 1780 through 1782, General Nathanael Greene commanded the American colonial forces in the southern colonies. Under General Greene’s command, the American forces were never victorious in any major engagement against the British forces. Every time the two armies faced each other on the field of battle, the British took the ground, and the American forces withdrew after the battle, which was the definition of defeat. In spite of this, General Greene maneuvered the British Cornwallis into Yorktown where General Washington subsequently forced his surrender. In December, 1781, Greene forced the British to evacuate the south from Charleston, South Carolina, ending major campaigns in that sector of the conflict.

What a shame the modern American left was not there to inform Generals Greene and Washington, the Continental Congress, and all colonists fighting Britain of the hopeless quagmire in which they were mired. The outcome of this hopeless, futile venture would have been obvious to them. No other solution save withdrawal of forces from the Revolution would have been acceptable. Lives could have been saved had the colonial patriots relegated the great principles and spirit of freedom and liberty to the back seat of human despotism. Yes, indeed, what a shame that there was no political left movement in 1780 America.

Of course, I am expressing sarcasm at the philosophy of the contemporary American left. Their constant bombardment about "quagmire," and other defeatist philosophies, in Iraq and Afghanistan are dangerous. Their attempts to undermine American and allied success in this current war are dangerous. Their use of media to expose classified programs being used to prosecute this war is dangerous. Their use of the courts, even the Supreme Court, to hamstring the Commander-in-Chief's ability to wage a successful war is dangerous. They are dangerous because of the nature of this war. In Vietnam, which seems to be the limit of their knowledge of American involvement in war, Ho Chi Minh's objective was to take Saigon and subdue South Vietnam. In the scheme of Cold War threats, larger designs could be read into that war (i.e., the prevalent "domino theory" of that period), but the reality of the Vietnam situation was that the United States of America was under no direct threat from North Vietnam.

Not so in our current global war. Al-Qaeda and other similar enemies have directly targeted, unfortunately successfully, American assetts both abroad and at home. They continue to plan to do so. Their objective, stated plainly enough by them, is to cripple the United States of America and all of Western civilization. This is a significant difference between the Vietnam conflict and the current conflict. Although it resulted in great suffering and loss of life to the people of Vietnam and Cambodia, withdrawing from Vietnam did not directly afflict America with tragedy. To withdraw from the current war being fought on the Iraqi and Afghani fronts - and anywhere else the enemy operates - would be a major catastrophe for America and Western civilization. This is why the attempts of the American left to hamper America's war efforts are so dangerous, and why it really is a good thing that they were not present in 1780.

Who Is Your Most Respected Politician?

Who is your most respected politician? Around Independence Day, I would normally look to those amazing Founders of this great nation to answer that question, but not this year. The politician I most respect is a presidential candidate who was never elected to that highest office.

Prior to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, American intelligence agencies - still in their infancy stages of development - were able to begin deciphering the Japanese diplomatic code. They called this code “Magic.” Amazingly, the Japanese never changed their diplomatic code throughout the war; consequently, being able to decipher it was of immeasurable help to the Allied war effort. More than once during the course of the war, Allied use of Magic was almost compromised. One of those incidents occurred at the time of the Presidential election in which President Roosevelt was seeking his unprecedented fourth term. Here is where the story of a truly patriotic politician is found.

The Republican candidate, and my most respected politician, opposing President Roosevelt was Thomas E. Dewey. The Republicans running the Dewey campaign intended to use their knowledge of pre-war intelligence to attempt “to discredit Roosevelt and show that he must have known beforehand about the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.” (Lee, p. 244). In other words, the Republicans accused the President of “rushing America to war” by not preventing the Japanese attack and providing the rationale for immersing America into the European conflict on the side of England. The Republicans had no accurate concept of the vital part that Magic was still playing in the war effort. So critical was the need to prevent Magic’s compromise that General George C. Marshall wrote to Dewey explaining its significance. Dewey rejected the letter without reading it completely. General Marshall wrote again on September 27, 1944, begging that Dewey “‘say nothing during the campaign’ about the fact that U.S. government authorities had been reading Japanese codes and ciphers before the attack on Pearl Harbor. Not only was the information true, Marshall tells Dewey, ‘but much more important were the facts that (1) the war was still in progress; (2) the Japanese were still using certain of the pre-Pearl Harbor cryptosystems; and (3) the U.S. government was still reading highly secret Japanese messages in those systems, as well as highly secret messages of other governments. Therefore, it was absolutely vital that Governor Dewey not use the top-secret information as political ammunition in his campaign.’” (Lee, p. 245)

The action General Marshall took to implore Dewey not to use this information in his campaign was unprecedented. In his letter, he promised Dewey that only nine other people knew about the letter. President Roosevelt was not one of them. Marshall wrote, “I am persisting in the matter because the military hazards involved are so serious that I feel some action is necessary to protect the interests of our armed forces.” He explained that there was no reference to Japanese intentions toward Pearl Harbor until the last message, which did not reach the hands of the U.S. military until December 8. Marshall explained that the Allies were breaking both German and Japanese codes and emphasized: “Our main basis of information regarding Hitler’s intentions in Europe is obtained from Baron Oshima’s message reporting his interviews with Hitler and other officials to the Japanese government.” Marshall spelled out completely to Dewey how Magic won the battle of the Coral Sea, won the battle of Midway, and provided the sinking of Japanese merchant shipping by providing the sailing dates and routes of Japanese convoys. (Lee, pp. 245-246)

Dewey was the first person outside of Roosevelt and the high command to know the full story and importance of Magic. Because of Marshall’s letter, Dewey determined that “the Republicans cannot take the risk of losing American lives, or prolonging the war, by revealing the Magic secret.” Dewey returned to his campaign and never mentioned the subject. Many Republicans in Congress came to believe that Dewey’s sudden failure to make the pre-war intelligence about the Pearl Harbor attack a campaign issue cost them the election, and they determined to seek revenge. “As a result… just before congressional Pearl Harbor hearings open in November 1945, the Republicans on the committee blithely release the news that before and during the war the British and the Americans had broken both the German and Japanese codes. This breach of national security is done after Marshall begs the committee to keep the secret. The committee refuses, publishing Marshall’s correspondence with Dewey. Thus, our Congress gives our former enemies the first knowledge that their codes had been broken, to say nothing about breaching America’s diplomatic confidence with the British.” (Lee, pp. 246-247)

Thomas E. Dewey demonstrates beyond a shadow of a doubt true political patriotism and earns the distinction of being my most respected politician. Instead of attempting to redefine patriotism, he took so seriously the damage to the war effort and to the military personnel themselves that disclosing information about Magic would cause that he sacrificed a possible successful political campaign against Roosevelt. Given the current climate of political dissension and compromise by media of classified programs successfully tracking down high ranking terrorists, which contemporary politician or reporter can we imagine giving up a political advantage or reporting scoop for the sake of shortening the length of the war and protecting American lives? Given the current debate, I unfortunately have a difficult time imagining even a few, if any, accepting such a patriotic challenge. Sadly, our politicians and reporters today seem intent to follow the damaging self-interest blueprint of the 1945 Republicans in Congress.


Source cited:

Marching Orders: The Untold Story of World War II, Bruce Lee, New York: Crown Publishers, Inc., 1995. (This Bruce Lee is a historian, not a former martial arts star).

Where Is the Outrage?

The deaths of two American soldiers, PFC Kristian Menchaca and PFC Thomas Tucker, were barbaric. Captured by Islamic jihadists, these uniformed members of the American Armed Forces should have been treated as POWs in accordance with the Geneva Convention. Instead, they were tortured and mutilated so much that DNA samples were required for positive identification. Among other brutal acts carried out on them, their hearts were cut out. The jihadists claiming responsibility have said this is retaliation for the death of al-Zarqawi. Al-Zarqawi was killed in an attack on a known enemy headquarters during a war in which he was a leading enemy figure. Menchaca and Tucker were not merely killed; they were tortured in excruciating fashion. Their deaths were not the result of combat, but the result of barbaric treatment as captured POWs.

My thoughts here are not a call for revenge of any kind. They are a call for the expression of outrage that should be accompanying every report about these atrocities. Yet, American mainstream media and human rights organizations remain hauntingly silent about this brutality. At the same time, Americans are filled with the daily parade of accusations of "torture, war crimes, and various human rights violations" by Americans. This, too, should fill us with outrage.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has called the Iraq war "illegal." Was it America that filled mass graves with hundreds of thousands of murdered Iraqi citizens?

In May, Human Rights Watch accused the U.S. of "brutalizing Muslim suspects in the name of the war on terror," How many Americans have strapped bombs to their chests and detonated themselves in crowds of civilians?

Amnesty International highlights America's use of "torture or other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment " against jihadist captives (POWs). How many prisoners have Americans brutally beheaded, mutilated, mangled, and tossed back on a deserted street?

Even though these brave soldiers' barbaric deaths came at the hands of brutal murderers, not combatants, this is again not a call for revenge. It is not even a call for these particular Islamo-fascist murderers (practioners of the "religion of peace") to be hunted down and "brought to justice." This is a war, not a police action.

My call, then, is two-fold: First, and most important, this is a call for victory. This is a call for our leadership, both political and military, to prosecute this war as necessary, and within the rules of engagement directing our forces on the ground, to achieve an overwhelming victory over those who have made themselves enemies of humanity. Documents captured from al-Zarqawi convincingly demonstrate that the Islamo-fascists in Iraq are deeply concerned about their ability to continue the battles there. Finish the task, then, by both enabling the Iraqis in their self-defense and by militarily defeating these inhumane enemies. Second, this is a call for equal treatment, at least, by our own media and by human rights organizations. In the absence of any "Ernie Pyles," at least report evenly to the American people about the atrocities perpetrated by the Islamo-fascists on American soldiers and Iraqi citizens. If this simple act of doing your job cannot be accomplished, then quit blowing smoke about your so-called "objective reporting." Quit labeling Americans as torturers when POWs in our care are given better care than many had as combatants, including the freedom to exercise their practice of the "religion of peace." Quit whining about being called unpatriotic when you provide free sources of propaganda for al-Jazeera and our enemies.

Message From the Front

One of America's brave soldiers sends his latest experiences from Iraq:

Hello everyone-
Man have I done some really interesting and exciting things since the last e-mail. My squad has picked up some new IP stations and we have been checking on things there. We are seeing how they stand on situations and other things. One of the places we go to is pretty close to the Tigris River. This is really crazy because a lot of the things around here have been here since the very first Bible was written from actual events. Well anyways, I have some beautiful pics of me and my battles right on the shore of the river with tress and the mountains and other things in the background. I even have a pic of me in a fisherman's little boat floating on the Tigris. While we were there there was a 15 year old teenager who had a horrible gash in his right heel. He should have seen a doctor as soon as it happened. But as always they don't really do that around here. He had a cotton ball stuffed in the gash with a piece of cloth tied around it. It was deep and about 3 inches long. You could see about almost an inch of tissue, both dead and alive. I cleaned up his wound with alcohol and removed his cotton cloth that had fused almost to the wound. He was a trooper. We explained it would hurt but he said he could handle it. I had to swipe out all the puss and dirt from the wound with the alcohol swabs. I wrapped it properly and told him not to walk on it because it will just split back open and not heal properly. I also gave him some Ibuprofen for the pain. He and the other 25 kids watching were amazed with what I was
doing and they kept saying "Doc" and stuff, I just laughed. It made me feel really good. The day before yesterday we went to Kurdistan. Technically its not a country but they feel that it is. Its like 97% Kurdish people, and they all hate Sadam and his evil cruel ways. They are very thankful for us helping them now and back in the early 90's. We were in a green zone so we were allowed to take our gear off and walk around the town of Dohuk. We walked through the market and people stopped us to get pictures with us and say thank you and hello. We ran into some people from Canada and Norway. Kinda funny. We sat down at a Kurdish restaraunt and had lunch. We had so much food to eat and it was only 6 bucks. I have tons of pictures and video of our trip. Well I am going to get off here for now. Thanks again for everything everyone... Love all you guys and God Bless. Maa elsalama, <----good-bye> -- Josh

Thank you, Josh and all in your unit, for defending America and bringing freedom to an oppressed people. God bless all of you!

Separation of the Church and the State

For some odd reason, I receive the publication Church and State published by Americans United for Separation of Church and State (AU). Either someone believes that I need to receive this, or I am on their mailing list. Either way, I never complain about receiving such things at no cost to myself.

The back cover of some issues contains an unreferenced quote attributed to James Madison: “The number, the industry, and the morality of the Priesthood have been manifestly increased by the total separation of the Church from the State.” The organization’s pitch then follows: “James Madison and other founders of the United States strongly believed that church-state separation preserves the integrity and vitality of religion, ensures freedom of conscience for all people and prevents government meddling in matters of faith. So do we!”

Research affirms that the quote attributed to Madison is from Madison. It is found in a letter to Robert Walsh dated March 2nd, 1819. Madison’s letter is in response to a February 15th letter from Walsh concerning “misrepresentations propagated abroad” about Negro slavery, moral character, religion, and education in Virginia. http://www.constitution.org/jm/18190302_walsh.htm

European governments historically supported an established Christian sect and clergy. As with other portions of the great American “experiment,” they believed that religion could not survive without this support. Madison replied that, instead of withering away, all [Christian] Sects in Virginia were making great gains.

Reading Madison’s quote in the full context of the letter makes the AU use of it suspect. The AU’s application of “the total separation of the Church from the State” cannot be found in the context of Madison’s letter or the context of volumes of other historical documents by the Founding Fathers. The separation referred to by Madison was that the federal government not favor any particular Christian sect. The separation referred to by AU is to remove from the public arena all references to the Christian faith and America’s Christian heritage. They especially oppose any policies promoted by the so-called “religious right,” whom they oppose with a particularly vicious fanaticism. I find it alarming that an organization that claims to stand on the truth of Constitutional rights attempts to be so deceptive with its use of the intentions of Founding Fathers like James Madison.

American Life League Petition

(The photo caption reads: "The greatest destroyer of love and peace is abortion, which is war against the child" -- Mother Theresa)

The American Life League (ALL) has been running full page ads in major newspapers exposing the truths of Planned Parenthood. One of their ads, with the bold headline "TEEN SUICIDE," reads:

Planned Parenthood aborts over 240,000 babies every year. Nationally, 1 out of 6 abortions are performed on girls between 15 and 19 years old. All their lives, these girls have been told that a baby in the womb is a “choice,” not a child. Planned Parenthood’s clever lie leads girls to think that abortion is an easy and harmless way to end an unwanted pregnancy. But eventually all lies are exposed and when a teenaged mother finds out that her “choice” had arms, legs, eyes, fingers, feet and toes, the truth can hurt so bad, some girls will use any means to escape it—even suicide. The most recent studies show that girls between 15 and 18 who abort a baby are more than twice as likely to experience depression, chronic anxiety and suicidal thoughts than the average girl in the same age group. Every year, Planned Parenthood receives over $265 million in your tax dollars and the result is the death of over 240,000 young people in America. Some of them die when they’re still in the womb. Some of them when they’re still in high school. Americans should fight teen suicide. Not pay for it. Sign our petition today at: www.StopPlannedParenthoodTaxFunding.com

See the entire ad at http://www.all.org/pdf/ppad3.pdf

You can contact ALL at 1-540-659-4171 or www.ALL.org.

Memorial Day Message

"That from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion." These unforgettable words delivered by President Abraham Lincoln at Gettysburg embody the true meaning of Memorial Day: to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of freedom.

Like those in uniform today, I took the oath to support and defend the Constitution. The unspoken part of that oath was, as it is today, the willingness to lay down one's life to protect our liberties. Our freedom is not free, and the sacrifices of service men and women throughout history stand as constant, powerful reminders of the price. President Lincoln said, "to truly honor these heroes, we must steadfastly resolve to continue their noble fight against all who would threaten our way of life."

I salute and offer eternal thanksgiving to those who gave their lives in service to our country. Additionally, I remain eternally grateful for the selfless sacrifice of those today who carry on the precious legacy of those who have gone before.

Send Our Troops Your Message

This Memorial Day weekend, send your own message of thanks and support to our brave military men and women who are putting so much on the line to defend America and to provide a better world for Iraqi citizens.

American military personnel have already crippled the terrorist organizations threatening America, overwhelmed and toppled a murderous tyrant, and continually push forward the restoration and rebuilding of Iraq and Afghanistan.

Their lives are still on the line, the dangers are real, and the operational environment is harsh. Still, they press on because they know the value of the mission.

Tell them that you value their mission, too. Do it at America Supports You. You'll be glad you did.

Not Going to be Defeated

Does this look like a defeated American soldier in Iraq?

I didn't think so, either. Yet, the American left continues to carry on about how demoralized our forces are; how demoralized the Iraqi people are; and how demoralized the American citizens are.

By all appearances, the only Americans defeated by al-Qaeda and other Islamo-terrorists are... the left!

Our forces in Iraq are working hard to achieve victory on the battlefield and with the rebuilding of Iraq. The Iraqi people bravely vote, withstand Islamo-terrorist attacks, rebuild their nation, and stand up a new government. Patriotic American citizens support the war efforts to defeat a deadly enemy and secure peace.

The next time you feel even a little bit demoralized by American left defeatism, or just want a good ol' solid dose of American pride, surf over to Lainey's Army Chic website. She documents the adventures of the 256th Brigade in Iraq and other locales. This is an award winning (in my opinion) website.

Ooooorah! Go there now!

www.armychic256bde.com

Here Comes The Da Vinci Code

“So Jesus said, ‘When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know who I am and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me. The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.’ Even as he spoke, many put their faith in him. To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, ‘If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’” – John 8:28-32 (NIV)

Several years ago, I read an e-mail from a Christian about a new book entitled The Da Vinci Code. She mentioned that this novel contained some historical revelations that challenge fundamental tenets of the Bible and the Christian faith. I responded that the novel is a work of fiction and should be treated as such. I didn’t think much more of it at the time. Little did I suspect that years later such a significant controversy would still be swirling around this same novel. In fact, it has become more than a book: accompanied by typical Hollywood hype, the movie of the same name will debut this Friday, May 19. I expect it to be the top grossing movie during its inaugural weekend.

Normally, I have nothing against a mystery/action novel or movie. I would certainly have nothing against The Da Vinci Code except that: (1) author Dan Brown claims that his research, designed to create doubt about the New Testament Gospels, is factual; (2) the secular population has begun giving credence to this fiction novel; and (3) some Christians have begun replacing Biblical truth with claims made by Brown in his fiction novel. (It is the third observation that disturbs me the most).

Dan Brown makes some extremely bold claims about the historicity of his novel. On The Today Show, host Matt Lauer asked, “How much of this book is based on reality in terms of things that actually occurred?” Brown responded, “Absolutely all of it. Obviously Robert Langdon is fictional, but all of the art, architecture, secret rituals, secret societies – all of that is historical fact.” (NBC, 6/9/2003) In response, Sandra Miesel writes in Crisis magazine, “So error-laden is The Da Vinci Code that the educated reader actually applauds those rare occasions where Brown stumbles (despite himself) into the truth.” (Cited in Discussing the Da Vinci Code DVD Discussion Guide, Lee Strobel and Garry Poole, Zondervan, p. 21) Sandra Miesel holds master’s degrees in biochemistry and medieval history from the University of Illinois. Since 1983, she has written hundreds of articles for the Catholic press, chiefly on history, art, and hagiography (study of the lives of the saints).

In his claim that his research discredits the truth found in the Bible, Brown simply dismisses thousands of Biblical scholars, both living and dead, who have confirmed over and over again the validity of the Biblical record. Similarly, Brown discredits secular studies that validate key elements of the Biblical record. Dr. Scot McKnight, professor of religious studies at North Park University in Chicago, submits that whenever the same standards used to verify the historical accuracy of any work of antiquity is applied evenly to the Bible, the Bible has always been shown to be one of the most historical, provable records of all antiquity documents known to man. (Lee Strobel interview with Dr. Scot McKnight, Discussing the Da Vinci Code, DVD, 2006)

Lee Strobel writes, “Archaeology and ancient writings outside the bible tend to corroborate the accuracy of the Gospels. In his book The historical Jesus, Gary Habermas cites a total of thirty-nine ancient sources documenting the life of Jesus, from which he enumerates more than one hundred reported facts concerning Jesus’ life, teachings, crucifixion, and resurrection. None of the later and fanciful Gnostic gospels, which Brown credulously touts in The Da Vinci Code, come anywhere close to matching the credentials of the four biblical Gospels.” (Lee Strobel and Garry Poole, Exploring the Da Vinci Code, Zondervan, 2006, pp. 52-53)

Enumerating all of the differences between Dan Brown’s research claims and results of centuries of Biblical studies by scholars from remarkably diverse backgrounds is beyond the scope of a single blog entry. But the resources do exist and are easily available. The reader will find below links to just a few of the websites containing more comprehensive studies. If you want to learn more about this issue, more about the historical process of compiling Biblical documents, or more about the truth contained within the Bible, don’t hesitate to check out these additional resources. As Jesus promises, “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”


Da Vinci Code studies:

http://go.family.org/davinci
www.thedavincidialogue.com
www.ignatius.com/books/davincihoax/pressroom/olsoninterview.asp
www.ignatius.com/books/davincihoax/pressroom/mieselinterview.asp

Coach Tony Dungy and the Christian Faith

Fans of the Indianapolis Colts were absolutely shocked when, during their greatest season, reports of the death of the son of head coach Tony Dungy began to break. Adding even more stunning shock was the revelation that he had committed suicide. It was impossible to know the terrible grief that the Dungy family experienced.

Naturally, one of the questions quickly raised by the sport reporting community was, "When would Coach Dungy return to his coaching responsibilities?" Many commentators expressed their belief that Coach Dungy would miss several weeks. I mentally disagreed. I know that the grief was real and sharp and deep, but I also thought, "NFL coaches are some of the most driven type-A personalities in the world. I cannot imagine Coach Dungy sitting idly by, no matter how much pain he felt from this loss, watching the final weeks of the NFL season unfold." I was surprised by how much surpise sports commentators expressed when Coach Dungy was back on the sideline after missing only one game.

I knew that Coach Tony Dungy was known as a man of Christian faith. I also know that the believer's walk with Christ can see us through many a storm in life. But one never knows how that faith will ultimately manifest itself. I sat in utter amazement when I first heard on The Peter Heck Show the application of Coach Dungy's faith to this situation. I found the source myself and decided then and there that when I established my first blog site that Coach Dungy's expression of faith, hope, and Christian love in response to this personal tragedy would be my first posting. And, I intend to refresh it from time to time during the life of my blog site.

Even though I do not have my site very polished at all yet, I decided that it was past time to follow through on my decision.

Saturday, February 4, 2006SPREADING HIS MESSAGE
By John
Oehser
www.colts.com/sub.cfm?page=article7&news_id=3577
Dungy
Makes Super Bowl Stop to Speak at Athletes in Action Breakfast

DETROIT, Mich. – They were there for breakfast, and they were there to cheer New York Jets running back Curtis Martin. And it was Martin who received the Athletes in Action Bart Starr Award Saturday morning, but the hundreds who gathered in fourth-floor ballroom at the Marriott Renaissance in Detroit, Mich., on the morning before Super Bowl XL were clearly touched by the featured speaker.

That speaker was Colts Head Coach Tony Dungy.

Two hours into the breakfast, emcee Brent Jones introduced Dungy, who was welcomed with a lengthy standing ovation. Dungy thanked the crowd, shared an anecdote about Martin, then told the crowd he was going to speak for about 15 minutes.

“It’s great to be here,” Dungy told the crowd, then adding with a laugh, “I just wish I wasn’t here in this capacity so many times of being just that close to being in the game and just being an invited speaker.

“My goal is to have our team here one day and have a couple of tables with all of our guys here. Because we have a special group of young men, a great group of Christian guys. It’d be wonderful to have them here so you could see their hearts and what they’re all about.

“It hasn’t quite happened yet, but we’re still hoping one day it will.”

He told them he was going to talk about lessons he had learned from his three sons. The crowd fell silent. Then Dungy spoke.

And although this was a breakfast – and although at many such events speakers speak over the clinking of glasses and murmurs from semi-interested listeners – for most of the 15 minutes the room was silent except for Dungy’s voice.

He spoke of his middle son, Eric, who he said shares his competitiveness and who is focused on sports “to where it’s almost a problem.”

He spoke of his youngest son, Jordan, who has a rare congenital condition which causes him not to feel pain. “He feels things, but he doesn’t get the sensation of pain,” Dungy said.

The lessons learned from Jordan, Tony Dungy said, are many.

“That sounds like it’s good at the beginning, but I promise you it’s not,” Dungy said. “We’ve learned a lot about pain in the last five years we’ve had Jordan. We’ve learned some hurts are really necessary for kids. Pain is necessary for kids to find out the difference between what’s good and what’s harmful.”

Jordan, Dungy said, loves cookies.

“Cookies are good,” Dungy said, “but in Jordan’s mind, if they’re good out on the plate, they’re even better in the oven. He will go right in the oven when my wife’s not looking, reach in, take the rack out, take the pan out, burn his hands and eat the cookies and burn his tongue and never feel it. He doesn’t know that’s bad for him.”
Jordan, Dungy said, “has no fear of anything, so we constantly have to watch him.”

The lesson learned, Dungy said, is simple.

“You get the question all the time, ‘Why does the Lord allow pain in your life? Why do bad things happen to good people? If God is a God of love, why does he allow these hurtful things to happen?’’’ Dungy said. “We’ve learned that a lot of times because of that pain, that little temporary pain, you learn what’s harmful. You learn to fear the right things.

“Pain sometimes lets us know we have a condition that needs to be healed. Pain inside sometimes lets us know that spiritually we’re not quite right and we need to be healed and that God will send that healing agent right to the spot.

“Sometimes, pain is the only way that will turn us as kids back to the Father.”

Finally, he spoke of James.

James Dungy, Tony Dungy’s oldest son, died three days before Christmas. As he did while delivering James’ eulogy in December, Dungy on Saturday spoke of him eloquently and steadily, speaking of lessons learned and of the positives taken from
experience.

“It was tough, and it was very, very painful, but as painful as it was, there were some good things that came out of it,” Dungy said.

Dungy spoke at the funeral of regretting not hugging James the last time
he saw him, on Thanksgiving of last year. “I met a guy the next day
after the funeral,” Dungy said. “He said, ‘I was there. I heard you talking. I
took off work today. I called my son. I told him I was taking him to the movies.
We’re going to spend some time and go to dinner.’ That was a real, real blessing
to me.”

Dungy said he has gotten many letters since James’ death relaying similar messages.
“People heard what I said and said, ‘Hey, you brought me a little closer to my son,’ or, ‘You brought me a little closer to my daughter,’’’ Dungy said. “That is a tremendous blessing.”

Dungy also said some of James’ organs were donated through donors programs.

“We got a letter back two weeks ago that two people had received his corneas, and now they can see,’’ Dungy said. “That’s been a tremendous blessing.”

Dungy also said he received a letter from a girl from the family’s church in Tampa. She had known James for many years, Dungy said. She went to the funeral because
she knew James.

“When I saw what happened at funeral, and your family and the celebration and how it was handled, that was the first time I realized there had to be a God,” Dungy said the girl wrote. “I accepted Christ into my life and my life’s been different since that day.”

Added Dungy, “That was an awesome blessing, so all of those things kind of made me realize what God’s love is all about.”

Dungy also said he was asked often how he was able to return to the Colts so quickly after James’ death. James died on December 22, and Dungy returned to the team one week later. Dungy said the answer was simple.

“People asked me, ‘How did you recover so quickly?”’ Dungy said. “I’m not totally recovered. I don’t know that I ever will be. It’s still very, very painful, but I was able to come back because of something one of my good Christian friends said to me after the funeral. “He said, ‘You know James accepted Christ into his heart, so you know he’s in heaven, right?’ I said, ‘Right, I know that.’ He said, ‘So, with all you know about heaven, if you had the power to bring him back now, would you?’ When I thought about it, I said, ‘No, I wouldn’t. I would not want him back with what I know about heaven.’

“That’s what helped me through the grieving process. Because of Christ’s spirit in me, I had that confidence that James is there, at peace with the Lord, and I have the peace of mind in the midst of something that’s very, very painful.

“That’s my prayer today, that everyone in this room would know the same thing.”

I stand in absolute awe of the public Christian witness and testimony of Coach Tony Dungy. In the face of a tragedy that would leave most of us expressing doubts about, and sometimes anger at, God, Coach Dungy lived out the words of Paul from Romans 8:28, "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."