Mere Christianity

Slated on Backbone Radio, Apr. 12 Listen every Sunday, 5-8pm on 710 KNUS, Denver... 1460 KZNT, Colorado Springs... and streaming live at 710knus.com.

We interrupt our regularly scheduled programming to bring you Easter. It's the holiest day of the year for Christians, and an important day for everyone in the world because of Jesus' unequalled impact on the world these past 20 centuries. If you have ever read C. S. Lewis, you know there are few writers more gifted in explaining who Jesus was and why he matters, in a way that speaks to any thoughtful person, not just believers. If you have not read Lewis, let us read him to you this Sunday in a special edition of Backbone Radio.

Assisted by my daughter Tina, I'll present two hours word for word from the central chapters of Mere Christianity, Lewis's best-known work of nonfiction.

"The Rival Conceptions of God"... "The Invasion"... "The Shocking Alternative"... "The Perfect Penitent"... "The Practical Conclusion"... "Let's Pretend"... and "The Obstinate Tin Soldiers." Our selections from this Christian classic all originated as radio talks in the 1940s. Join us as we return them to radio for Easter 2009.

That will be the 5pm and 6pm hours of our April 12 show. At 7pm we'll present Women Speak Out, my interviews with three of the 39 women legislators who make Colorado tops in the country for female state reps and senators.

And that's fitting, too, come to think of it -- since Christianity has done more to benefit women than any other religious or political idea in history.

Whether this weekend for you is Easter, Passover, or just a family day with bunnies and eggs, we wish you a happy and blessed one. Remember that, as always, a full podcast of our show will be available on BackboneAmerica.net starting Monday night.

Yours for new life, JOHN ANDREWS

Author chronicles Ugandan evangelism

Over the past few years I've gotten to know a native Ugandan missionary named Mike Wangolo. He is the leader of a team of Africans called Afri-Tendo who make periodic trips to the United States to witness to Americans through native songs and dances. During his travels he has become a close and valued friend to many of my friends and family. Through his story and example many people have developed a heart of love and compassion for the Ugandan people. One of the people influenced by Mike Wangolo through his trips to the United States was a young lady who eventually ended up participating in a missions trip to Uganda.

The story of Susan Smith’s transformation and experiences in Uganda is amazing. Her life has been changed in a fundamental way and she has become a passionate humanitarian and missionary to the people of Uganda.

Uganda, especially in the northern part of the country, has suffered from over two decades of insurrection, lawlessness and civil strife. Over a million people were displaced from their homes during the fighting, many tens of thousands killed and orphaned, and the famous “midnight children” (thousands forced to flee their villages nightly to hide in forests, hospitals and nearby cities to avoid abduction by rebel groups) have garnered international attention.

AIDS, poverty and all their assorted consequences have taken a heavy toll on the Ugandans but they have proven to be a resilient people. They have also shown themselves to be a spiritually hungry people. Blessed with a heart of service, that is where Susan Smith comes in. She has written a book about her experiences titled Dancing Under the Ugandan Skies.

This is not just some book recording mere facts and a few mildly interesting anecdotes, but a triumph of storytelling. The descriptions are vivid and the entire reading experience is more reminiscent of a good friend sharing an adventure with you than anything else. I was quickly drawn into the story that Dancing Under the Ugandan Skies brings to life. Susan Smith is a descriptive wordsmith who can paint a visual picture like few others can. She brings the places and people she describes to life in a way that places you right at the scene with her as she tells you her story. By page twenty I was hooked. This is good storytelling, and that’s what a good book should be.

You will be moved by this book. You will laugh and you might even cry. You will marvel at the twists and turns that come unexpectedly on life’s journey. And you will marvel at how God can use a person if they are willing to listen and to be used. It will make you understand and appreciate those who have sacrificed much to act upon The Great Commission to go unto all the world and spread the gospel.

Few who read this book will not re-examine their own lives, renew their Faith, and question if there is not more that they are willing and capable of doing for those less fortunate than themselves.

From the author’s website:

"Dancing Under the Ugandan Skies" is an inspiring glimpse inside the journal of a woman embarking on a life changing adventure in East Africa. It is her fears and doubts, successes and trials, and the surprises along the way that only God could orchestrate. She found a life she never knew existed. Be inspired, be moved and see what happens when we let God take the wheel of our lives. This is her incredible story of what happened when God stamped her passport.

It has been a long journey from Colorado to Eastern Africa but Susan Smith is now a full time missionary and is based in the city of Kampala, Uganda. She has partnered with a variety of organizations, both American and Ugandan, such as Flood the Nations, Young Arise for Christ, God's Centre of Blessings Ministries and Gulu Community Church.

Dancing Under the Ugandan Skies is 223 pages and available for sale at http://www.lulu.com/content/4843786. A paperback copy is $17.50 and an electronic download is available for $6.25. Eighty percent of the profit proceeds go towards Susan Smith’s work in Uganda including funding churches and providing scholarships for children and youth to attend school. The author’s website can be viewed at http://www.Betheclay.com and her youtube promotional video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpzKt-QicGw.

David Huntwork is a conservative activist and freelance columnist in Northern Colorado, where he lives with his wife and three young daughters. He is currently working on his first book titled "No Apologies: In Defense of the Conservative Ideology." You may view his bio and past columns at http://DavidHuntwork.tripod.com.

Speaker Carroll's startling religiosity

"In ministry"? "Saving lost souls"? Come again, Mr. Speaker? State Rep. Terrance Carroll (D-Denver), who officially became Speaker of the Colorado House today, is quoted to startling effect by Rocky Mountain News columnist Bill Johnson about the continuity of these new responsibilities with his previous life as a Christian minister. "It's all the same thing," he said of the church and [a stint in CU] police work, "saving lost souls." Next would come a law degree from the University of Denver and associate pastor stints at both New Hope and Macedonia Baptist churches. "I still consider myself in ministry, even here," Terrance Carroll said, pointing to the House chamber. "We feed the hungry, clothe the naked, give sight to the blind, care for widows and orphans. Yes, that's a big function of what we do here."

Leaving aside the debatable (but for a liberal Democrat like Carroll, predictable) assumption that welfare is government's main job, the evangelical overtones here clash with the proper stance of government in our state and country as pluralistic and religiously neutral.

I like the new Speaker and expect good things from him, but this statement is ill-judged and highly inappropriate from someone in his position.

My own faith in Christ is central in all that I do, and while in the legislature I tried (with imperfect success, as many would tell you) to live it daily. But if I had ever talked this way while serving as Senate President in 2003-2005, I would have been barbecued to a crisp by Democrats and the media -- and deservedly so.

It will be interesting to see if a correction is forthcoming from Terrance Carroll, and if political watchdogs call upon him for the same strict separation between lawmaking and soul-saving that they would have demanded from me or any Republican.

The multiple gifts of Christmas

This is the season of giving. Nothing except the birth of the Savior (itself a gift) is more distinctive about Christmas than this. Besides fanning out through multiple department stories over many days and hours in search of something wonderful to present family or friends for this unique holiday, we give the gift of ourselves in love and affection. These are truly wonderful things which brighten up the human condition for a few weeks at least each year, but there are still more wonderful gifts for which we do not deserve any credit although we are responsible for their proper use. I mean the gift of life and of all the real potential for good in our lives.

We live in a scientific age in which many of our greatest intellects are convinced that life and everything that is a part of it can be engineered, not to mention ended if a power or authority decides that some persons’ lives are not worth living.

As in ancient times, it is today an act of moral and spiritual boldness to cherish life, the condition for all good things. Whereas the Israelites were surrounded with peoples for whom child sacrifice was a thoroughly established tradition, God’s chosen people (as they understood themselves) regarded human life as a precious gift from God not lightly to be squandered. Indeed, nothing illustrates the value of life more than the grief we feel when our loved ones die.

When sensible people speak of duty and gratitude, two virtues not much in favor these days, they rank life as the greatest of all gifts to uphold and appreciate. That’s why the framers of the U.S. Constitution included among that document’s greatest purposes security of liberty for our posterity, as well as for the living generations.

The patriotic citizen, then, no less than the pious man, understands that life is the most fundamental of all gifts and therefore the cause of our greatest obligations. We must preserve, protect and defend it as much as we do the charter of liberty that aims to secure it.

Human life is not mere biological existence but the whole panoply of human possibilities. We well know that our mind, spirit or body can be devoted to bad and even evil purposes no less than to good ones, so everything depends on knowing what are our fundamental duties and rights. We have duties to ourselves and to others to promote human happiness, including justice. We have rights to remind ourselves that we must restrain the exercise of our powers.

The philosopher Leo Strauss once wrote that "the genius of Shakespeare is not the work of Shakespeare." He meant in no way to denigrate the achievements of that greatest of all English poets (or any other talented human beings) but to point to the fact that their potential for greatness was the necessary condition and that was due to powers beyond themselves.

Our lives are enriched because of these and other divine gifts. Whence comes our capacity for kindness, gentleness, compassion and sympathy which so uniquely marked the life and the eternal legacy of the God made into man whose nativity will be celebrated in churches all over the world this Christmas? Surely it is our choice to practice these virtues but our capacity for doing so is not our doing.

Consider too, the classical virtues of courage, prudence, wisdom and moderation. Marveling at the sacrifices young Americans have made and continue to make in the armed forces in defense of their country, President Reagan once asked, "Where do we get such men?" He was not in doubt as to the answer, this God-fearing man, and he exhibited the respect which the qualities of God’s children deserve.

Common sense has long distinguished between potential and actual achievement. We know that there are people with great gifts who never use them, or not to the degree to which they are capable. For example, the Greek philosopher Aristotle never confused potential intelligence with actual intelligence, reserving the name of this virtue for the actual use of it. The same can be said for all the other virtues.

The many failures of human potential–and worse, think of the Caesars, Napoleons, Hitlers and Stalins of the world–give us all the more reason to appreciate the gifts that we receive from our Creator and to develop them to the fullest, for even the greatest gifts can be abused. We show our appreciation for these divine treasures by treating each other with the greatest respect and glorifying the Author of all these things.

In defense of social conservatives

For rank-and-file Republicans, our party's mission is to advance freedom through limited government, strong national security, personal responsibility and traditional family values. Although many Republicans generally adhere to all four of those elements, some do not; yet they remain allied because they are so strongly committed to many of those principles. Despite inner-party squabbles, most Republicans rationally accept that we must work together to form an electoral majority.

Recently, some have grumbled that social conservatives - pro-lifers, opponents of same-sex marriage and the "Religious Right" - are to blame for the party's recent setbacks and should be muzzled.

If the goal is winning elections, rather than purging membership rolls at the country club, throwing social conservatives under the bus is a catastrophically bad idea.

Roughly two-thirds of Republicans are pro-life; the balance are pro-choice. However, overwhelming majorities in both camps weigh other factors before casting their vote. According to Gallop, rigidly single-issue voters constitute just 22% of pro-life Republicans and 8% of pro-choicers.

Just four years ago, pollsters credited "values voters" with re-electing President Bush and expanding GOP majorities. This year, moderate "maverick" John McCain enjoyed strong support from evangelicals on Election Day, despite ranking as the least favorite primary candidate of pro-life Republicans.

Meanwhile, Republican moderates like Colin Powell, William Weld and Lincoln Chaffee endorsed the Democrat. Bob Schaffer experienced similar defections from social moderates who certainly would have disdained defectors had the shoe been on the other foot.

So why do some social moderates and libertarians find it so difficult to coexist with social conservatives?

Some believe social issues are a loser at ballot box, pointing to the 3-to-1 defeat of this year's "personhood" amendment. That's a poor example because Amendment 48 split the pro-life community between those who hope to end abortion in one fell swoop and those who think an incremental approach is more practical.

Gallup says the public "is split nearly down the middle" on abortion, but measures like a ban on late-term abortion enjoy overwhelming support.

The other galvanizing social issue, preserving the traditional definition of marriage, is the most successful citizen initiative since term limits and enjoys even stronger support among blacks and Hispanics than among whites.

Another reason social issues cause a rift is that many in both camps are very principled in their beliefs. Moderates and libertarians truly believe that abortion and marriage fall beyond the bounds of limited government. Social conservatives reason that life is the foremost of our inalienable rights and that traditional marriage laws merely preserve what governments have codified for centuries.

Fiscal conservatives must recognize that social conservatives are often their strongest allies in the battle for low taxes and limited government. In the last legislative session, pro-life Republicans scored an average 65% on the Colorado Union of Taxpayers scorecard, while pro-choice Republicans averaged 41%.

Most social conservatives don't care what goes on in someone else's bedroom but take to the ramparts when those matters move to a courthouse or seek taxpayer funding. In most cases, conservatives didn't seek out these battles until liberal activists and judges ignited them.

Social moderates who say they just want government to "stay out of it" will soon be tested. Will they vociferously oppose restrictions on religious speech, taxpayer funding of abortion, and federal legislation to pre-empt state laws on abortion and marriage?

Standing on principle is commendable, but beating each other over the head with our differences is a fool's sport. In the coming months, Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid will remind us all too clearly that the principles which unite us are far greater than those that divide us.

We need that reminder because, in the words of Benjamin Franklin, "We must all hang together or, assuredly, we shall all hang separately."