November 2004 Archives

From code-breaking, to clue gathering, to scientific analysis — the All-American Boy loves to make discoveries and uncover mysteries, because in his heart he is a problem solver. Like Solomon, who once proclaimed, “It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honor of kings is to search out a matter,” he knows that finding answers to the complexities of creation is one way he fulfills the Genesis command to take dominion over the earth. His love for justice and his passion for truth compel him to oppose evil and to seek to thwart it at every turn. He learns code-breaking, how to listen, to observe, to analyze, to memorize, to search for clues . . . and he has fun in the process. The following discovery tools have been carefully designed to help inspire and entertain the “Boy Detectives” in your own home!

All-American Boy’s Secret Spy Cipher

Through our various home school adventures, my boys and I have been studying the use of secret passageways, code-breaking, and spy techniques used by some of the heroes of the Bible and American history. We learned that from Moses, to George Washington, to the scientists during the Second World War who saved thousands of lives thanks to their code-breaking — intelligence and counter-intelligence have always played a legitimate and important role in the defense of Christian peoples.

So when my son asked me, for his ninth birthday, if I would tell him about any secret passageways that might be hidden in and around our home, I viewed his question as a golden opportunity. I answered him in code by giving him a letter with an encrypted message only decipherable by use of a Caesar Cipher. Over two thousand years ago, Julius Caesar invented this encryption technique that bears his name. The standard algorithm Caesar employed was simple, yet it perplexed his enemies. In communication to his generals in the field, Caesar shifted each of the letters of his messages by a given number of places in the alphabet. To help my son, and thousands of boys and girls like him, to learn the simple art of code-making and code-breaking, we designed our own Caesar Cipher. Our pocket-sized disk is a replica of the Caesar Cipher used by signalers in the army of the Confederacy. It comes with a soft velvet bag to keep it scratch-free and a set of detailed instructions on how you can encrypt and decode secret messages.

Click here to purchase the All-American Boy’s Spy Cipher.

Our Favorite Adventure Gift of 2004:
Genuine Buried Roman Treasure

Buried across Europe are treasure troves of ancient Roman coins. To hide their wealth, Roman citizens often buried their coins, but many died before recovering them, leaving the coins hidden for centuries. Now, with the help of modern-day treasure seekers, these coins are available to you. With this kit, you can discover, clean, preserve, and study your very own ancient coins.

As you remove centuries of dirt from these coins, you will be the first person to look upon them in more than fifteen hundred years. Over the course of days or even weeks, the true identity and value of your coins will slowly be revealed. They will captivate you as you wonder how they were lost, and who may have last held them. Were they held by a third-century Christian? A martyr?

The coins you will find in your kit parallel the history of the early Church. Will your coin carry the visage of a tyrant who persecuted Christians? Will it belong to the Christian Constantinian dynasty of the 300s? In any case, these will probably be the oldest man-made items you have ever held. With your Roman treasure in hand and a little historical research under your belt, you can use your coins as a platform to tell others about the growth and spread of Christianity during the times your coins were minted.

Click here to purchase the Roman Coin Kit.

Ancient Coin Pouch — with a Chance to Find a Real Gold Coin!

We have worked with dealers of ancient coins to put together this unique leather pouch filled with seven uncleaned Roman coins of undetermined value, approximately 1,500 years old and beyond. One valuable find could pay for ten of these pouches. A phenomenal deal! Just for fun, we have placed one genuine gold coin (not necessarily Roman) in every batch of 250 Ancient Coin Pouches. Find the coin and send us a picture of you and the coin, and we will announce you on our Web site as a treasure winner! Different sizes.

Click here to purchase the Pouch of Ancient Coins.

God bless each of you. Together, let us encourage and build a culture of courageous boyhood, virtuous womanhood, and joyful family life for the glory of God.

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 29, 2004 | Permalink

Thank you for the catalog. Altough I havent read one book, as of yet, I have been brought to tears just reading about them and the opening pages of your catalog. I will be ordering books and telling about them to our church members. I know that the books you have will be such a help in the times we are living.

God Bless, Kim C.

In response to the BLOG entry concerning your Thanksgiving Day thoughts, I can only say how thankful I am for you, your family, and The Vision Forum, for being part of that City on the Hill, that shining light, that standard bearer of righteousness we all can joyfully follow. I thank the Father, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ for you all.

God bless you. Kurt F.

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 29, 2004 | Permalink

Thanksgiving Day was a time of great rejoicing at the Phillips family thanks in large part to the efforts of a most faithful wife. Beall poured many hours of love and labor to make the day beautiful and memorable.

Friends and family gathered around our twenty seat table to give thanks to the Lord and enjoy his bountiful and generous provision.

Here is a view of Beall’s setting just before we took our seats. Note the presence of the peanut soup —- which faithful blog readers will recall IS the greatest soup in the world.

Above is an image of friends and family from a different angle.

After dinner we took turns reading four or five chapters from Of Plymouth Plantation, told stories of the Pilgrims, sang, fiddled, played board games, ate desert, and rejoiced until about Midnight —- all in all, a grand day!

An exhausted pilgrim —- Howard Honor Phillips.

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 27, 2004 | Permalink

On this our national Thanksgiving Day, I want to encourage all of my friends to remember that it is right that Americans as a people give public and private thanks to their God, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Though we might debate the legitimacy of the concept of a federal holiday, our Pilgrim fathers would have squarely stood on the idea that both the church and the civil magistrate have the authority to declare special days of humiliation, fasting, prayers and thanksgiving. Though our Pilgrim spiritual fathers rejected as unbiblical and did not follow a liturgical church calendar, they defended from the Holy Scripture the biblical basis for “special” days of thanksgiving, and frequently called for such days.

I look at Thanksgiving Day as one of the last remaining vestiges of the Pilgrim ideal. Though in its modern incarnation the pluralists in our midst may try to reduce such days to “Turkey Day” or even a day of thanks to everybody’s private God, neither the Founding Fathers who invoked the name of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit in their official days of thanksgiving would have had it so. The continued existence of these days (along with the many charter documents of our nation invoking the name of the Lord and His law) remind us that we are a nation in an objective covenant with the God of the Pilgrims and the signers of the Declaration, notwithstanding the predominance of covenant-breakers in our society and state.

All of you who stood with Roy Moore, remember on this Thanksgiving Day that the state must acknowledge the Trinitarian God of Christianity alone. More important than even the crucial issues of abortion and the sodomite invasion in our land—-more important than any other issue before our nation, is whether or not we will acknowledge the God of Scripture as the source of law, life and liberty.

So rejoice in a national day of thanksgiving which has its origins not in paganism, not in statism, not in religious syncretism or hellish pluralism, but in the theonomic principle that the state, like the family and the church is under God and bound to acknowledge him.

Do this and give thanks today for Jesus Christ and His mercy on our land. Do this and remember that our loyalty to Jesus Christ and His revelation compels us to view as blasphemy the suggestion whether it come from clerics or magistrates that it is appropriate for Americans to give thanks to any God but Jesus Christ.

How thankful I am that we can yet raise the standard of our Lord without being taken to the gallows or clapped in irons. How thankful I am to be given the honor to serve in the army of the Lord in the epic battle of the ages. How thankful I am that we can do more than dream, we can act. How thankful I am for a father who taught me the law of God, and a mother who stood by him through thick and thin. How thankful I am for a wife who is my joy, my life, my love and my yokefellow in the battle. How thankful I am for my children which are the strength of my arm. How thankful I am for the families of Vision Forum who, heart and soul, are committed to the battle. How thankful I am for a local church in which God has turned the hearts of the parents to their children and children to their parents. How thankful I am that as evil waxes worse, the grace of good is seen more clearly amongst the remnant. How thankful I am for each of you who share a vision for multi-generational faithfulness, covenant keeping, biblical patriarchy, and gratitude and honor for those parents and spiritual leaders who walked before so that we could enjoy the fruits of their sacrifices. Oh, there is so much for which to be thankful.

May God give you a joyful day of thanksgiving.

In the name of the Son Who Gives Life and Liberty, I am

Your Friend, Doug

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 26, 2004 | Permalink

Every true-blue Virginian with a love for the great providence of God in the history of the Old Dominion knows that the most delectable delicacy of country cooking antiquity is none other than peanut soup. Forget your chowders and forsake your cheese, chilled, and cream soups. Away with your bisques, borscht, bouillabaisse, bouillon, and broths. Those patriotic palates who relish genuine gustatory glory know that only the peanut can produce a soup of such historic and culinary excellence that could rightly deserve the title — “America’s Soup.”

I first learned of peanut soup while a student in Williamsburg, Virginia. At the time, I was sufficiently impoverished such that I was able to prevent the onset of addiction by limiting my intake to about two bowls a month. In those days, I discovered that the greatest cooks from the finest dining establishments in Williamsburg secretly compete for status of “grand master peanut soup chef.”

When I married my wife, there was really only one culinary condition: Interview the greatest chefs in Williamsburg. Bribe them if necessary, but whatever you do, capture their secret recipes, test them against each other, then present to your husband a well-executed bowl of peanut soup for Thanksgiving Day. (Of course, even a code-red mission like this one is no problem for “super-wife.”)

Beall went to Williamsburg, reconnoitered, conducted covert meetings with top chefs (I am dead serious), talked them into relinquishing their secret recipes, returned home, entered her kitchen laboratory, and conducted experiments until her own peanut potion was perfected. She is now an expert in peanut soup cookery — and I am a very delighted and satisfied husband of a woman who has blessed her household and truly taken dominion over soup. For that I am grateful.

And the drum roll, please.... To the uninitiated, the thought of drinking peanuts may seem a bit daunting. Fear not, neither fret thy taste buds, O weary Pilgrim. This is American soup at its best — a simple soup for the common man, but distinguished with such peanutty accents as to satisfy the most discriminating palates.

For this Thanksgiving Day, I am pleased to reveal the secret recipe for the first time:

Peanut Soup (makes 10-12 servings)

1 medium onion, chopped
¼ cup butter
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
2 quarts chicken stock or canned broth
1 cup smooth peanut butter (only natural, please)
1¾ cups heavy cream
1½ cups peanuts, chopped (only the best Virginia peanuts, please)

Sauté onion and peanuts in butter until soft, but not brown. Add cream and bring to a soft boil. Stir in flour until well blended. Add chicken stock or broth and salt, stirring constantly, and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and rub through a sieve. (I have never rubbed it through a sieve. I always put it in a blender until the consistency is fairly smooth.) Add peanut butter, stirring to blend thoroughly, almost boil. Return to low heat, but do not boil. Serve hot or cold, garnished with chopped peanuts.

God Bless You and Happy Thanksgiving

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 24, 2004 | Permalink

This year the judges selected the film The Art of Play for the Jubilee Award as the Best of Festival winner. Here the filmmakers from Beowulf Studios, twin brothers, receive their award.

Below is the Beowulf team with two of the actors from their film, The Art of Play.

With Steve Melchior and his daughter Jill. Steve was the attorney for Chief Justice Roy Moore. We stood together in the court room and on the steps of the Alabama Supreme Court Building on the day of infamy (when Bill Pryor called Roy Moore “unrepentant” for refusing to obey an unlawful order forbidding him from making public acknowledgements of God.)

With the team from Washington’s Cross, who captured the Audience Choice award for their thought-provoking allegory about martyrdom and the bankruptcy of post-modern thought.

The Pat Walsh family, and their award for In the Dead of Summer.

Vision Forum radio producer Pat Roy explains our latest international project, The thirty minute an episode, Jonathan Park creation radio adventure, the first 24 episodes of which are now airing on several hundred stations and in twelve countries.

Joshua Phillips and Samuel Turley present the award for Best Young Filmmaker.

Pastor Linton and his son received the runner-up award for Best Documentary for their film The Wall, which addressed the fraud of modern separation of church and state language.

Colin Gunn (formerly of Scotland, and now an elder in an OPC church in San Francisco) won the Jubilee for Best Documentary. His film Shaky town was an aggressive and revealing, though highly sanctified look at a most unsavory subject —- the sodomite attack on the Church of Jesus Christ in San Francisco. Colin and his brother did a tremendous job interviewing persecuted Christians standing for the biblical family, and the sodomites who seek to destroy them. I predict this film will go far.

Colin called his wife from the award podium.

Shane Sooter of City on a Hill Productions took home three awards: Best Narrative for Choosing Life, runner-up Best Narrative for After Hours, and runner-up Best of Festival for Choosing Life.

Josh Davis, a native San Antionian and three-time Olympic Gold Medalist in swimming, introduced the Audience Choice Award.

Another shot of the team from Washington’s Cross (wife, husband and brother) posing with their Audience Choice Award.

Colin Gunn, who together with his brother won the Jubilee Award for Best Documentary for their film Shaky town, poses with my father and me.

Filmmakers from Beowulf Studios are interviewed by the press.

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 23, 2004 | Permalink

Dear Vision Forum:
Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! My husband and I are trying to raise our two boys to not only be boys but godly boys who will become godly leaders....I stay at home and homeschool our boys...I never know who will greet me in the morning...I may be saluted by a commando engaged in a “special mission,” a fighter pilot bombing German positions or a Naval officer on an aircraft carrier fighting in the Pacific....or it might be Daniel Boone, Davy Crocket, Sgt. York, a Civil War soldier...it might be a knight in shining armor....or it might be a cowboy or a construction worker...or it might be “just” my sleepy-eyed, messed up haired, boys...We’ve taken some flack in the past for encouraging our boys to be boys...rootin’, shootin’, hollerin’ but respectful boys...over the years I think those who gave us the flack have been won over...but it seemed as if we were rather alone in our thinking until we received our first copy of your catalog...imagine our joy and the whoops of joy from our boys when we sat down to look at it....our boys are 10 and 8 and I hope you don’t mind, but I just ordered a catalog for each of them as they love your catalog!! They literally wear it out in a matter of weeks!! Thank you so much for providing material to help us raise our boys to be godly men, patriachs of their families and godly leaders...We share your vision and wanted to say a great big THANK YOU!!

Sincerely,Mr. and Mrs. Bil M.

Dear Mr. Phillips and Vision Forum,

I just want you to know that we truly appreciate what a terrific company you have built. My wife and I have purchased products from you company for several years and consider you and your entire company a true blessing direct from the Lord.

You have innovative, fascinating and high quality products and our son and daughter have always been extremely thrilled when we have given them something from your Vision Forum.

In Christ Jesus, Steve and Debbie B. & kids

Dear Vision Forum:

I just received my first vision forum catalogue. Although i don’t know how I started receiving this incredible resource - I can’t thank you enough for you wonderful ministry. As a homeschooling mother or two daughters, I thoroughly look forward to pouring through your resources and ordering what I can.

God Bless this ministry!
Cherilyn R. Idaho

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 23, 2004 | Permalink

If you enjoyed this cartoon, you might enjoy an entire book of them. Click here for more info.

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 22, 2004 | Permalink

Nine year old Rachael Kanter who starred in and worked with her mother on producing the film “Genesis and the Dinosaurs” during Q and A after the screening of her film.

Christian filmmaker Rich Christiano visits with the filmmakers from the Civil War narrative “Bound for Glory to discuss Christian films.

Four of the five Jubilee Award Judges gather for a photo. From the left: Rich Christiano, Doug Phillips, Dr. R.C. Sproul, Jr. and Dr. George Grant.

Narrative filmakers join a panel to answer audience question and discuss the themes behind their films.

R.C. Sproul, Jr. address a Christian philosophy of aesthetics.

Rich Christiano, whose film Time Changer emphasizes the bankruptcy of teaching morality or “Judeo-Christian ethics” divorced of Jesus Christ—-the only legitimate source of authority for law and life, here proclaims the message of “no compromise” to Christian filmmakers.

Future filmographer Joshua Phillips captures one of the events on a GL-1

Geoff Botkin addresses issues of multi-generational faithfulness, biblical patriarchy as they apply to the life and work of the Christian filmmaker. Geoff brought several stunning talks which emphasized a covenantal vision for family and filmmaking, and a presuppositional analysis of the goals, techniques and vision to be employed by “epistemologically self-conscious” filmmakers. His talks on the deliberate infiltration and take-over by the film industry by Marxists and other subversives beginning in the 1920’s offered fresh insights for a generation of filmmakers who have never been exposed to the philosophical origins of 21st century Hollywood.

Vision Forum staff seeks to give “white glove” service to our guests, visitors and VIPs.

Director Ron Maxwell dialogues with students.

Joshua and Samuel Turley both spoke before 700 people to present the “Best Young Filmmaker Award.”

Abigail Fox and her brother traveled from England to watch the screening of their documentary on the father the great Bible commentator Matthew Henry and his relationship with his son. Abigail won the Jubilee Award for Best Documentary.

America’s great Celtic balladeer, Charlie Zahm,

This student is checking his program to determine which film to see next.

I was thankful to have my son serve as my personal assistant throughout this very fast paced and gloriously busy festival.

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 22, 2004 | Permalink

There are many important things for girls to do when visiting Mount Vernon, home of President George Washington.

One is to look through doors.

Another is to play with rocks.

Of course making journal entries and telling stories is yet another.

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 18, 2004 | Permalink

For the 2005 Faith and Freedom Tour. Click here to sign up.

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 18, 2004 | Permalink

I wish to have no connection with any ship that does not sail fast; for I intend to go in harm’s way.

—John Paul Jones

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 18, 2004 | Permalink

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS — November 15, 2004 — More than seven hundred participants representing states from Oregon to Florida and foreign countries including England and Scotland were on hand for the presentation of the Jubilee Awards during closing ceremonies at the first annual San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival, held at the Gonzalez Convention Center in downtown San Antonio this last weekend.

“Hollywood is at war with Christianity and the American family,” said Doug Phillips, founder of the San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival. “Our goal this week, however, was not to curse the darkness, but to light a candle of hope by casting vision for the burgeoning movement of independent Christian filmmakers, by promoting the highest and most God-honoring standards for filmmaking, and by recognizing and rewarding excellence in Christian filmmaking.”

Phillips, who also served as one of the five film competition judges, noted, “We had more than 120 film submissions to our festival. We had numerous important and noteworthy films, so selecting the winners was no easy task. We are delighted to now recognize our winners — all worthy films that give glory to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.”

The “Best of Festival” Jubilee Award — a $10,000 grand prize — went to The Art of Play, a film short that poetically communicates the beauty of childhood in a Christian worldview. “Our film endeavors to capture the play habits of another era and the significance of the little things that make up life,” explained Graham and Joel Fisher, the two twenty-year-old twin brothers who both directed and produced the fourteen-minute short film. The Fisher twins run Beowulf Studios and The Art of Play was their first independently produced film. The total project cost for the film short was $1,500.

The top honor in the “Best Narrative” category went to Choosing Life, a powerful twelve-minute film about a nineteen-year-old girl who struggles over whether to abort her baby following an unplanned pregnancy. “[T]he film focuses not on graphic images ... but rather on the beauty of choosing life,” noted Shane Sooter, who produced and directed the film. “It is our goal to convince mothers that an unplanned pregnancy is not the end — there is a light at the end of the tunnel.” Sooter, who runs City on a Hill Productions, also tied for the runner-up award in the “Best Narrative” category with After Hours, a nine-minute short film that shows how seemingly innocent flirting can quickly turn into office-place adultery.

The “Best Documentary” Award went to Broad Oak: A Father’s Legacy, a half-hour documentary about the father of the great Bible commentator, Matthew Henry. Nineteen-year-old, Abigail Fox, of the United Kingdom, produced the film. “On hearing of the San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival... my father made the suggestion of a documentary about Philip Henry, and the influence he undoubtedly had on his son, Matthew,” commented Abigail. “And so the research began.” The project was a family affair. Abigail’s brother, Daniel, was the videographer for the film, and both flew to the Alamo City from the UK to be a part of San Antonio’s first Christian film festival.

Shaky Town, a fifty-five minute documentary that examines the violent assault on Christian churches by San Francisco’s militant homosexual rights community, took first place in the “Best Political” category. “The title ‘Shaky Town’ is the name given by truckers for San Francisco,” observed Scotland natives Colin and Euan Gunn, the two brothers who produced the film, “and here we use it to describe the unstable foundations of a city built on immorality.”

The “Best Creation” Award went to the twelve-minute short film, From Genesis to Genes. The film looks at the difficulties rising from modern-day genetic manipulation and engineering and offers biblical guidelines to address these issues.

In the Dead of the Summer received the “Young Filmmaker’s” Award. Fifteen-year-old producer Caleb Walsh shared this about his winning entry: “The film revolves around a young teen who has been forsaken at a boarding home by his last living relatives.... [W]hen the boy gives all his worries to the Lord, the dinosaur attacks.... I believe the story strives to glorify God in that we who are doing His will see that all things work together for good for them that love God.”

Washington’s Cross easily won the “Audience Choice” Award. An overwhelming favorite among festival attendees, the 22½-minute short film also tied for runner-up in the “Best Narrative” category. “Washington’s Cross functions both as an allegory of Christian martyrdom and a harsh criticism on postmodern values,” explained Richard Ramsey, the film’s writer/director. “This film is an all-out attack on the three philosophical pillars of our postmodern culture: relativism, pluralism, and humanism.”

Other winners include Warriors of Honor, which took the runner-up award for “Best Documentary.” A powerful 54-minute film, Warriors examines the lives of Civil War Generals Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson and demonstrates that both were masterful generals, brilliant strategists, and, above all, faithful Christians. Choosing Life, winner of the “Best of Narrative” Award, also received the runner-up nod for “Best of Festival.” Runner-up for the “Best Political” Award went to The Wall, a film that details the misunderstandings of the metaphor, “the wall of separation” between church and state. Through High Places, a film that merges video of the majestic handiwork of the Lord’s creation with the music masterpiece of concert-recording pianist Calvin Jones, captured the runner up award for “Best of Creation.” The “Best Trailer” Award, an honor for the trailer that best promoted the festival, went to For His Glory, produced by Amy Nisbett.

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 17, 2004 | Permalink

The 2005 Vision Forum Faith and Freedom Tour (October 3-10) to Philadelphia and the surrounding vicinity is already two-thirds full. If you are interested in securing a seat, I recommend that you sign up sooner rather than later. We currently have less than 50 seats available.

http://www.visionforumministries.org/sections/events/fft/default.asp

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 16, 2004 | Permalink

Dear friends, after a remarkable weekend, we are preparing our reports on the 2004 SAICFF. In the meantime, here is a long overdue blog on a very special day in Lexington, Virginia. DWP

With gratitude in our hearts for the mighty providence of God, the 2004 Vision Forum Faith and Freedom Tour stayed the date of September 25 in Lexington, Virginia. There we traversed the campus of Washington and Lee, camped out on the lawn of the Virginia Military Institute, toured the home of Stonewall Jackson, and finally paid our respects by the grave of the man who was probably America’s most orthodox and distinctively Christian general.

Bill Potter recounted the remarkable Christian life of Jackson’s friend and aide, Sandy Pendleton, by the grave of this heroic Confederate officer.

Vision Forum board member Scott Brown and I called for the young men and women (respectively) to come forward and have their fathers pray a patriarchal blessing over them. These men pledged to love their daughters, to walk beside their daughters, and to seek their daughter’s prosperity with renewed vigor. They asked the Lord to raise their daughters as virtuous women, with a love for children and a passion for the home, to send them faithful covenant keeping husbands, and to bless them with legions of children.

Dear fathers, we must dream big dreams for our daughters. We must constantly exhort and encourage them to follow the biblical path of the virtuous woman. We must communicate hope to them. I was not surprised when several of the young women told us that this time of prayer and blessing of fathers over their daughters was the most memorable and encouraging part of a truly blessed trip.

The men prayed that their sons would be godly, covenant keeping, sacrificial, manly men of action. It is exciting to think what the Lord will do with young men who know their history, who love their God, and who have fathers to walk beside them.

Jackson’s cannons: Mathew, Mark, Luke, and John may now be silent, but on this day (September 25) the Gospel was preached again, and with power, at the Virginia Military Institute.

Federals and Confederates were at peace one with another on this great day.

Sarah and Hannah Zes have been traveling with Vision Forum for our Faith and Freedom Tours for half a decade. You can hear their beautiful testimony as daughters who turned their heart to their father on the Vision Forum tape “Victory for Daughters.”

Vision Forum friend, Mr. Jim Reid and family.

VMI is just a sleepy memory to a very exhausted Faith Evangeline Phillips.

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 15, 2004 | Permalink

Mr. Phillips,

I’m writing this in hopes that it will encourage you.

The Vision Forum calendar is a great way for me to be involved with my wife in homeschooling. I use our computer’s encyclopedia to reference the historical events, and teach these events to our children in the morning, along with family worship, before I go to work.

Thanks for your ministry, your newsletters, your blogs, your products and events.

There have been several times when an event has arisen with family or friends, and the next day your blog addresses it. Providence is continuously in action.

Sincere Thanks, Ross M.

Ross, thank you for being such a grateful and thoughtful man. You have no idea how much such kind expressions of thankfulness mean to me and my staff. Doug

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 10, 2004 | Permalink

Now Showing at the San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival Films that Honor Heroes and Proclaim the Sanctity of Life Films to Cook Your Noodle Watch a Trailer Join Us in Beautiful San Antonio World Premiere of Uncut Civil War Epic: Free to General Public At the San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival this week (November 11-13), the audience will be treated to something they have probably never seen before: Two days of independent speakers and films dedicated to the defense of life, family, fatherhood, and biblical Christianity. They will view fearless and timely films by a new generation of independent filmmakers which seek to address many of the defining cultural battles of our present day, including: the evils of postmodernism; the beauty of the Christian family; the moral bankruptcy of quality-of-life arguments; the centrality of the Bible to blessing and prosperity; the eternal value of Christ-centered character for leaders; the homosexual assault on the Church; the centrality of biblical creation to the Christian’s worldview; the biblical mandate for the state to acknowledge God; distinctively Christian politics; and the meaning of Gospel faith. In Nellie: A Life Worth Living, filmmaker Michael L. McNamara introduces us to Nellie, a heroic man and quadriplegic, serving as an assistant college football coach, whose love of Christ, optimism about life, and persevering spirit transform the lives of all around him. This film is a direct response to Princeton ethicist Peter Singer’s thesis that some lives are simply not worth living. Tyndale reveals the story of William Tyndale, his Oxford education, his struggle against the religious oppression of his day, and his eventual triumph over those that would prevent the plowboy and the handmaiden from reading God’s Word in their own language. His final prayer before being burned alive was, “Lord, open the King of England’s eyes.” Tyndale’s prayer was answered when, just one year after his brutal death, King Henry VIII licensed the entire Bible to be printed and distributed in the English language. This story tells how Tyndale and his fellow reformers — Martin Luther, Erasmus, and John Wycliffe — lit the flames that began the world-changing Reformation and eventually led to both the religious and social freedoms we enjoy today. Shaky Town: San Francisco is a shaky town in a shaky nation. A city, a mayor, and anyone else for that matter, who does not have a foundation in Christ Jesus will be shaken temporally by God’s divine justice in this life, and also stand trembling before the Lord on the last day. The Gunn brothers take to Shaky Town to expose the history of Christian persecution from the sodomite community including firebomb attacks, threats, legal assaults, and now, more recently, a mayor who attacks the Christian institution of marriage. They talk to real Christian heroes involved in a frontline battle against immorality in the so-called “tolerant” city, including Donna McIlhenny, Pastor Charles McIlhenny, Pastor David Innes, and Alliance Defense Fund attorney Jordan Lorence. They interview police who candidly admit that they have been told by officials not to enforce the statutory laws for nudity against homosexuals marching naked through the streets. Choosing Life may well become a classic as the model film to present to young women who — through fear, ignorance, or false philosophy — have been seduced to consider aborting their child. Choosing Life deals with the subject of abortion with great sensitivity, focusing on the biblical foundation for the sanctity of life. As Meg (a young pregnant girl) struggles to decide whether to abort her baby, she finds guidance in God’s Word and in the advice of a pregnancy counselor who has been there before. Films to Cook Your Noodle: The Screwtape Theater In C.S. Lewis’s classic volume The Screwtape Letters, readers were introduced to Wormwood and Screwtape, two demons creatively plotting the undoing of the Christian Church. In “Screwtape Theater,” we feature films which “cook your noodle” and disturb your paradigm by revealing the very type of Satanic deceptions which undermine the integrity of Christian thought today. Watch in Washington’s Cross as postmodernism is exposed for its intellectual futility and spiritual bankruptcy. Observe the moral impoverishment of fear and pragmatism in Drifting as two Christians are faced with choosing between obedience and life. Watch a Trailer Take a moment download this fun little trailer submitted by one of our contestants for the 2004 Jubilee Award. Also, to read an article on the San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival from WorldNetDaily.com, click here. The World Premiere Director’s Cut of ‘Gods and Generals’ — Free to the Public Hated by Hollywood for its overtly Christian portrayal of Stonewall Jackson, but loved by a faithful following of Christians within the private sector, Ron Maxwell’s Civil War epic Gods and Generals quickly rose to number one in the nation in DVD sales with more than 600,000 units sold. Now you can see the world premiere of the uncut director’s version. Thanks to the generosity of director Maxwell, the film will be shown free of charge to the general public on Thursday, November 11, for the SAICFF. For more information, click here. Click here to register to attend the 2004 San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival.

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 9, 2004 | Permalink

I took the above image during our Faith and Freedom Tour visit of Lexington on September 25. I was reminded of this glorious visit while listening today to our good friend Ron Maxwell, director of God’s and Generals, on San Antonio talk radio. Ron discussed both the world premiere of his uncut version of the epic civil war film and his participation in this week’s San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival. He pointed out that his film should be considered an independent film because it was privately financed.

Though God’s and Generals was not a success at the box office, it went on to be the best selling DVD in America, moving more than 600,000 units. (The powerful DVD sales are yet another testimony to the fact that Hollywood, which sought to deep-six the film, can not squelch the appeal in the independent market of a truly great Christian epic.) I watched portions of the uncut film tonight with some of the staff to test the DVDs in preparation for the premiere. Wow! What a powerhouse testimony to the Christian faith of Jackson and Lee. Simply phenomenal.

The world premiere of the director’s uncut version of God’s and Generals, sponsored by Vision Forum Ministries, is free to the general public. Learn more about it at www.independentchristianfilms.com

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 8, 2004 | Permalink

The following is a statement (slightly modified and edited for my blog) which I made to the San Antonio Express News, which is part of a larger interview about this week’s San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival, hosted by Vision Forum Ministries:

“There are many forces at work shaping and influencing 21st century American culture, but there can be little doubt that Hollywood ranks as one of the most significant of these influences.

We recognize that Hollywood is not a monolithic institution. There are actors, technicians, writers, directors and producers of diverse background and philosophy who participate at one level or another in the corporate system known as Hollywood. At the executive level, however, decisions are daily made regarding what kind of films should be made, how they are distributed and what values they should reflect. Two primary factors drive these decisions: (1) The worldview of the Hollywood leadership culture, and (2) the market itself.

Hollywood, like all cultures, tends to perpetuate its own kind and to discriminate against those who embrace a different value system. The Hollywood leadership has a deeply entrenched anti-Christian worldview. This is why one rarely ever sees outspoken Christians rising to prominence as directors, producers, actors or executives. There are extremely rare exceptions, and when one finds such an exception it is usually because the Christianity of the actor/producer/director had nothing to do with his professional career, and little or no influence on the film itself.

When a successful actor is exposed to his peers and his employers as a Christian committed to biblical values, he is usually “outed,” black-balled, or in some other way ousted from the establishment. (Those who would cite Mel Gibson as an exception, must also keep in mind that Mr. Gibson’s recent career has included films which themselves teach an anti-Christian view of sexuality and include elements which are at war with the biblical family, as in his 2000 release glorifying fornication called What Women Want, and his nude seen in Braveheart (1996), to cite two examples.)

The fact is that as an institution Hollywood reflects the most decidedly anti-Christian worldview of any leading culture communicating institution within our society. Its value system is out of step with mainstream America. More importantly to us, it is certainly in conflict with biblical Christianity.

Our concerns with Hollywood transcend genre and category. They point to a systemic disrespect for Christianity and the values Christianity teaches.

While it is true that the more outrageous examples of anti-family, anti-Christian bigotry in Hollywood can sometime be mitigated through the market with negative consumer response to such films, our concerns run deeper.

At times Hollywood’s disrespect is subtle, while at other times it manifests itself as outright antagonism to Jesus Christ and the Christian family. Numerous examples could be given: When films paint Christians as bigots or fools, when they teach children to disrespect parents and parents to view children as a burden, when they present a vision of sexuality inconsistent with the biblical doctrine of fidelity and marriage, when they substitute political revisionist agendas for actual American history, when they fixate on the occult, when they expose our children to violent, mind-numbing sights and sounds which defile the conscience and incite wrong behavior—-when this happens (and it happens all the time), Hollywood is not only at war with the family, but with the God of the Scriptures who historically blessed this nation with strong families, unprecedented political freedom, and the opportunity to make culture beautiful.

Hollywood needs more than incremental improvement. Nor can America survive decades or centuries of defilement in the futile hope that little by little, ever so slightly, Hollywood will incrementally go from wicked to Christ-honoring. Yes, even a broken clock is right twice a day. When this broken clock gets something right, we should always be willing to praise that which is objectively good. But a few good deeds will not save the soul of the Hollywood establishment.

Incremental change does not save individuals. There must be regeneration. A similar principle applies to institutions. Those institutions which are not founded and rooted on the Lord Jesus Christ, must be addressed at the foundational level if we hope to see genuine change. Unless the foundations are in Christ there is absolutely no hope for ultimate success. Yes, Hollywood needs more than incremental change—-it needs a heart transplant. This means (just for a start) that the decision-makers who control the purse strings, who decide what will and will not be produced, need to bow to the King of Kings if anything good is to come out of Hollywood.

Of course, were this unprecedented miracle to happen, Hollywood would cease to be Hollywood. It would be something else altogether.

Our worldview being rooted in Christianity, teaches us to honor God in our attitudes and use of language, to reinforce the historic Christian structure of the family, to encourage children to honor their parents and parents to invest in the lives of their children, to eschew gratuitous violence, and to view sexual intimacy as a beautiful expression of oneness and procreation between husband and wife—-and in all of these things to give honor to Jesus Christ.

We believe America needs more than films which are simply “not offensive.” We are hoping to see films which root and branch encourage the family and honor the Lord. Our goal is neither to “clean-up” Hollywood, nor is it to merely “curse the darkness.”

Our mission is to cultivate an independent film market, distribution systems and training grounds for filmmakers that root and branch are a reflection of the beauty, the hope and encouragement only found in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 8, 2004 | Permalink

We have been delighted to see the positive press that the San Antonio Christian Film Festival and Jubilee Awards has received over the last week.

Last Tuesday, the Agape Press Christian News Service ran a News Brief about the festival:

http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/11/22004h.asp.

On Thursday, Salem Radio Network News discussed the film festival during several newscasts throughout the day. SRN News is heard on 1,150 stations nationwide. Also on Thursday, ChristianPost.com ran a story about the event:

http://www.christianpost.com/dbase/ministries/984/section/1.htm

On Friday, WorldNetDaily.com ran a “Breaking News” story that highlighted the festival:

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=41299.

We have also been pleased by the reception that the local press has demonstrated toward this first-of-its kind event. The Austin American-Statesman ran a blurb about the festival in their XL Weekly Entertainment Magazine last Thursday, and the San Antonio Express-News commented it on it in their Weekender Magazine. The Express-News also interviewed me last week for a feature article that will appear in the paper this Wednesday.

The San Antonio Christian Beacon also gave the festival good billing in their just- released October newspaper:

http://www.christianbeacon.com/newsbriefs.php

Additionally, I have been interviewed on a number of radio stations in South and Central Texas over the last week promoting the festival, including NewsTalk 550 KTSA-AM. I will appear on Adam McManus’ “Take A Stand” broadcast this Tuesday at 4:30pm CST. Film Festival guest, Ron Maxwell, whose director’s cut of Gods and Generals will premiere at our festival, did a magnificent job on Adam’s show today at 5pm CST.

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 8, 2004 | Permalink

My bride shared this story with me tonight given to her by her friend Reba Short:

The wives who lived within the walls of the Weinsberg Castle in Germany were well aware of the riches it held: gold, silver, jewels, and wealth beyond belief.

Then the day came in 1141 AD when all their treasure was threatened. An enemy army had surrounded the castle and demanded the fortress, the fortune, and the lives of the men within. There was nothing to do but surrender.

Although the conquering commander had set a condition for the safe release of all women and children, the wives of Weinsberg refused to leave without having one of their own conditions met, as well. They demanded that they be allowed to fill their arms with as many possessions as they could carry out with them. Knowing that the women couldn’t possibly make a dent in the massive fortune, their request was honored.

When the castle gates opened the army outside was brought to tears. Each woman had carried out her husband.

The wives of Weinberg, indeed, were aware of the riches the castle held.

From: Stories for a Man’s Heart. Compiled by Al and Alice Gary

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 7, 2004 | Permalink

Allah is another name for Satan because ‘the Allah of Islam’ is not the true and living God...The fact of the matter is all false religions have a god or gods, and to call some entity of your own manufacturing or some demon of Satan himself ‘god’ doesn’t make it so. The Allah of Islam is not God...is not the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, is not the God and Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

God the true and living God is not Allah! That has to be made clear. We are not talking about the same god. They are monotheistic, they have one god, but their god is not a trinity—that is not the true god. They do not believe in God as a trinity; therefore, that’s not the true god. They do not even believe that He is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They believe He is the God of Abraham, whose true and legitimate heir was Ishmael...so they rewrite the Scripture.

Thanks to Peter Friedrich for the above John MacArthur quotes.

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 6, 2004 | Permalink

The first “real job” I ever held was at Moutoux Orchard in Fairfax County, Virginia. Over the course of a long summer month I must have picked tens of thousands of peaches, slopped a fair number of pigs, and tore up a lot of dirt on an old 1950’s Massey Ferguson tractor — the first vehicle which I ever drove. I loved that tractor.

I was a young teen willing to rise early, work extremely hard, get covered head to toe in peach fuzz and swarmed by wasps for the better part of the day. It was the 70’s. The government’s socialist minimum wage requirements either did not apply to me or my employers were not concerned about them, because I made just over $2.00 an hour.

I saved every bit of that money and followed my father’s advice by converting the entire month’s earnings into the purchase of a single gold coin.

That was before gold hit $850 an ounce.

I kept the gold in a little leather pouch and often looked at it. It was not that I was fascinated with the gold itself as much as I was amazed that an entire month’s back-breaking labor could be reduced to the size of a little coin that fit in the palm of my hand.

This was my first practical introduction to free market economics.

(As a side note, the best part about my summer job at Moutoux Orchard was an event that would foreshadow part of my life work. At some point during the summer I discovered an amazing secret which had been hidden, or perhaps just long forgotten by the people of my community. The aged and ailing patriarch of the family who owned the farm was the cub reporter (an avowed evolutionist) who first broke the “Scopes Monkey Trial” story, bringing it to national prominence and the pages of history. I was given one opportunity to interview the former journalist, who was now frail, crotchety, and in his late eighties.)

Though the value in Federal Reserve notes of my gold coin would rise dramatically, I was preoccupied during the gold surge of 1980, and missed an opportunity to make nearly 300% on my coin.

In 1983 I was an “impoverished” college student in need of cash. I reluctantly brought the coin to a dealer and exchanged it for Federal Reserve notes. I remember having a sinking feeling at the time. The whole transaction seemed remarkably anti-climactic. I was not comforted by the cash in my hands. It felt as if I had just sold part of my childhood. Unbeknownst to me, the coin had ceased to be an investment and had become more of a symbol to me, a sentimental reminder of my father’s counsel and an unforgettable character-shaping summer.

More than two decades have passed since I sold my first Krugerrand. Today I enjoy teaching my own children about the very simple work and investment principles which my father taught to me, including an appreciation for hard money as a historically triumphant and God-blessed medium of exchange.

About once every month or so I take my children en masse to the local coin dealer for my own version of a fair exchange. I ask the dealer to take ten minutes to give my children a history lesson about the coins, or to teach them principles for valuing silver or gold dollars, and, in exchange, I will purchase from him a few silver coins. We all walk away happy — a profitable mixture of creative home education and financial investment.

Today was a great day to reflect on the golden lessons of the 1970s and early 80’s. Not only did the dollar tumble to a record low against the euro, but gold surpassed $433 an ounce, setting a sixteen year record high.

This lead financial analysts to comment that the gold market is starting to resemble its form in 1970s. In fact, today’s high made the current rally the second-longest since bullion was freely floated in 1971. Of course, there is one big difference between the gold surge of the 70’s and the present market. During the 1970’s, inflation was principally responsible for rising gold prices. This time the gold market is responding to national and international lack of confidence in the American dollar.

Today’s high of nearly $434 represents a 70 per cent rise over the past 42 months. True, we are a long way from $850 for an ounce of gold, but even those investment analysts who have traditionally been uncomfortable with gold, can not help but notice the trends: It appears that we are on the brink of setting the record as the longest gold rally of the modern era.

In any event, if you bought gold sometime over the last four years — congratulations! You made a wise investment. That’s great news. Now, here is better news: Gold and silver are great, but the wisdom and knowledge of the Lord is infinitely better (Proverbs 16:16).

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 5, 2004 | Permalink

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 4, 2004 | Permalink

The two institutions which built the American Republic were the Christian family and the colonial pulpit. From our early days in Jamestown and Plymouth, and throughout our history well into the 19th century, before selecting their civil leaders, families gathered in their local congregations for sermons on the duties of the magistrate before the Lord, and the criterion whereby citizen may select such men for office. These messages were called Election Day sermons, and they were the vehicle whereby the local church communicated to the Christian people of the land the God-ordained vision for selecting as leaders only those men who fear the Lord.

This Sunday I preached an election sermon in my local church. To see the outline click here.

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 4, 2004 | Permalink

The Associated Press today reports:

PHILADELPHIA — The Republican expected to chair the Senate Judiciary Committee next year bluntly warned newly re-elected President Bush today against putting forth Supreme Court nominees who would seek to overturn abortion rights or are otherwise too conservative to win confirmation...

“When you talk about judges who would change the right of a woman to choose, overturn Roe v. Wade, I think that is unlikely,” Specter said, referring to the landmark 1973 Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion.

“The president is well aware of what happened, when a bunch of his nominees were sent up, with the filibuster,” Specter added, referring to Senate Democrats’ success over the past four years in blocking the confirmation of many of Bush’s conservative judicial picks.”... And I would expect the president to be mindful of the considerations which I am mentioning.”

With at least three Supreme Court justices rumored to be eyeing retirement, including ailing Chief Justice William Rehnquist, Specter, 74, would have broad authority to reshape the nation’s highest court. He would have wide latitude to schedule hearings, call for votes and make the process as easy or as hard as he wants...

A self-proclaimed moderate, he helped kill President Reagan’s nomination of Robert Bork to the Supreme Court and of Jeff Sessions to a federal judgeship. Specter called both nominees too extreme on civil rights issues. Sessions later became a Republican senator from Alabama and now sits on the Judiciary Committee with Specter.

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 4, 2004 | Permalink

One of the most important victories in the United States occurred on Tuesday with the Alabama Supreme Court. With more than a 200,000 vote edge over his opponent, Tom Parker (one of the featured speakers at Vision Forum’s Witherspoon School of Law and Public Policy) was elected justice of the Alabama Supreme Court.

Yes, Alabama voters have spoken. They watched as Roy Moore was thrown out of office. They could do nothing but witness this tragedy of justice (advanced in large part by Bill Pryor and his campaign manager and advisor Karl Rove). But Tom Parker gave Alabama voters the first opportunity to speak to the issue by running against the only incumbent on the Alabama Supreme Court running for re-election in 2004. This incumbent had supported the removal of the Ten Commandments monument and Roy Moore. Tom ran against hopeless odds— being outspent 5-1. He won a great victory in the primary. Yesterday, he won the general election and will assume the position as Associate Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court— the very court that fired him a year ago for his calling the federal order removing the Ten Commandments monument “Judicial Tyranny.”

Remember to pray for Tom and his wife Dottie. This husband and wife team are among the finest kind of Christians you will ever meet. A couple that lives and breathes the Word of God, they believes that being a Christian lawyer means more than passing out tracts to clients. Lawyers and judges must use the practice of law to advance the moral law of God.

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 4, 2004 | Permalink

As his first public act since receiving the election results, Vice President Dick Cheney invited his lesbian daughter and her “partner” to stand with him on national television for the official Bush/Cheney acceptance speech. This symbolic act of support for lesbian partnerships by the Vice President is representative of the tremendous “perception gap” between how the average American views the Administration’s stand on homosexuality, verses their actual policy positions and moral agenda.

Despite the Kerry/Edwards and Bush/Cheney advocacy for the lawfulness of homosexuality and the right of sodomites to have the protection of law through civil unions, the American people in eight states demonstrated that the common man stands to the political right of both the Democratic and Republican candidates for President. The citizens of eight states overwhelmingly supported laws with language which appear to ban civil unions for sodomites.

In fact, a total of 11 states approved constitutional amendments codifying marriage as an exclusively heterosexual institution. Voters in Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon and Utah all approved anti-same-sex marriage amendments by double-digit margins.

If the Bush Administration continues to feature homosexual couples on national television (as they also did when the homosexual Ambassador to Romania and his partner were introduced to the American people), then it will be incumbent on pastors to warn Christian parents not to expose their children to these images which are not only defiling, but frankly confusing to children who perceive the President as a moral and religious hero.

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 4, 2004 | Permalink

America re-elected her most famous pro-abortion Republican Senator Tuesday. Pro-partial birth abortion Arlen Specter will return to the Senate and is expected to take over the chairmanship of the crucially important Senate Judiciary Committee. If Specter remains true to his pledge and consistent with his track record, it means that pro-lifers should not expect to see the appointment and confirmation of judicial nominees to the federal courts and Supreme Court who will fight for the right of the unborn. The Specter victory was fueled by an intensive push from President Bush on behalf of the pro-abortion Senator.

Notwithstanding, President Bush’s vigorous support for the pro-partial birth abortion Senator, many Pennsylvania Republicans jumped party and supported Christian constitutionalist Jim Clymer of the United States Constitution Party in his bid for United States Senate. Mr. Clymer received more than 215,000 votes in the Pennsylvania Senatorial elections. He presented citizens of that state with the only candidate for Senate who believes it is criminal to burn a baby alive or knife it to pieces. Despite his ultimate loss, Mr. Clymer’s 215,000 plus votes represent the growing influence of the pro-Christian Constitution Party, as well as the repugnance of many Republicans to the carte blanche support by their party leaders of men who would use their office to facilitate the torture and mass execution of children.

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 3, 2004 | Permalink

Congratulations to George W. Bush, the President of the United States, on his landmark victory last night. The President now joins an elite group of Americans to be twice elected to the highest office in our land. He surpasses the election victories of John Adams and John Quincy Adams, the only other father and son presidential team in American history. The President “redeemed” his own father’s 1992 election defeat, by achieving what George Bush, Sr. was unable to achieve—a second presidential victory. Unlike the election of 2000, the President won both the popular and electoral college vote. Though the margin of victory over Senator John Kerry was nominal, high voter turnout gave the President the largest popular vote in history.

American Christians have a biblical duty to pray for, love, and honor the chief magistrate in our nation. We also have a duty to help our President by holding him accountable to his oath of office to uphold the Constitution, and his non-optional, biblical duties to uphold and enforce the moral law of God.

The Next Four Years
We must learn from history and experience. Republicans are significantly more conservative when they are out of office. With Republican control over the Senate, House and Executive Branch, key checks and balances are absent. Christians must rise above partisan loyalties, must remain informed on the issues, and must hold our friends accountable to an objective and transcendent standard. If we love the President, we can do nothing less.

Paralyzed by the fear of a Kerry victory, Christians have largely failed to speak truth to our President and to one another. We have made the issue John Kerry, rather than the objective standards of God to which all leaders are held to account. The present Administration has embraced civil unions and legal rights for sodomites, sending women into combat, the highest tax payer subsidies for Planned Parenthood in American history, and massive federal involvement in education, and he has denied the essence of the Christianity on national television by claiming that Islam can lead people to Heaven. By and large, Christians have refused to believe the truth, have refused to act on the truth, or have actively covered the truth because they have made their goal partisan outcomes rather than the righteousness of God which exalteth a nation.

We can not continue down this path for four more years. We should fear the impact on our nation of Christian compromise more than the spread of humanism. Because Christians are God’s chosen people, we have a special duty to rise above partisan interests and factionalism so that we can be the Lord’s representatives in this nation. We must be the first to praise a leader for righteous conduct and the first to hold leaders accountable for advocating policies which are an offense to the moral law of God. We must eschew the hypocritical and idolatrous tendency often found in our camp to berate Democrats for sins, but to cover, deny and even facilitate the sins of Republicans. We must be the one group that is known as truly independent of partisan factionalism. We must be the one group that always raises the righteous standard in the land.

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 3, 2004 | Permalink

1. God is still on the throne.

2. The Scriptures are still the only rule of action for Christians.

3. The duty of believers at the ballot box is the same today as it has always been. We may only select leaders who meet the Scriptural requirements for civil magistrate. Leaders need not be perfect, but they must be qualified.

4. The obedient response of the elect of God to the Lord Jesus Christ and His law-word, not partisan politics presidential election results, is the key to national blessing.

5. The results of the presidential election, regardless of who wins, will work together for the good of the elect of God.

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 2, 2004 | Permalink

“Providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers, and it is the duty, as well as the privilege and interest of our Christian nation , to select and prefer Christians for their rulers.” — John Jay, The Correspondence and Public Papers of John Jay

“Rulers are appointed for this very end - to be ministers of God for good. The people have a right to expect this from them and to require it, not as an act of grace, but as their reasonable due. It is the express of implicit condition upon which they were chosen and continued in public office, that they attend continually upon this very thing. There time, their abilities, their authority-by their acceptance of the public trust- are consecrated to the community, and cannot in justice be withheld...In justice to the people, and in faithfulness to God, they must either sustain it with fidelity, or resign the office.” — Samuel Cooke, A.M. of Cambridge, Mass, Election Sermon 1770

“This is the sole end for which God has ordained that magistrates should be appointed — that they may carry on his benevolent purposes in promoting the good and happiness of human society; and hence their power is said to be from God; that is, it is so while they employ it according to his will. But when they act against the good of society, they cannot be said to act by authority from God, any more than a servant can be said to act by his master’s authority while he acts directly contrary to his will.” — Beza (Calvin’s student)

“It is not easy to determine who are the more criminal. They who would make their way to places of power and trust by indirect means, or they who have so little concern for the welfare of their country as to harken to them.” — Jonathan Mayhew D.D. of Boston 1754

“Let each citizen remember at the moment he is offering his vote that he is not making a present or a compliment to please an individual — or at least that he ought not so to do; but that he is executing one of the most solemn trusts in human society for which he is accountable to God and his country.” — Samuel Adams, The Writings of Samuel Adams, 1781

“Civil magistrates must be just, ruling in the fear of God.” — Election Sermon of Charles Chauncey, 1747

“Look well to the characters and qualifications of those you elect and raise to office and places of trust.” — Matthias Burnett, Pastor of the First Baptist Church in Norwalk, An Election Sermon, Preached at Hartford, on the Day of the Anniversary Election, May 12, 1803

“In selecting men for office, let principle be your guide. Regard not the particular sect or denomination of the candidate — look to his character.” — Noah Webster, Letters to a Young Gentleman Commencing His Education to Which is Subjoined a Brief History of the United States (New Haven: S. Converse, 1823), p. 18.

“When you become entitled to exercise the right of voting for public officers, let it be impressed on your mind that God commands you to choose for rulers, “just men who will rule in the fear of God.” The preservation of government depends on the faithful discharge of this duty; if the citizens neglect their duty and place unprincipled men in office, the government will soon be corrupted; laws will be made, not for the public good so much as for selfish or local purposes; corrupt or incompetent men will be appointed to execute the laws; the public revenues will be sqandered on unworthy men; and the rights of the citizens will be violated or disregarded. If a republican government fails to secure public prosperity and happiness, it must be because the citizens neglect the divine commands, and elect bad men to make and administer the laws.” — Noah Webster, History of the United States (New Haven: Durrie & Peck, 1832), pp. 336-337, 49.

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 2, 2004 | Permalink

Dear Vision Forum:

Ever since you announce that your 2005 catalog was finished and would soon be arriving to our homes, my children have been checking the mail daily. Today the catalog came and I had to force the children to wait while I had a chance to look at it. You would of though I was with holding a million dollars from them. As soon as I was done the children spent the entire evening looking through the catalog and dog eared their favorite pages. Thank you for all your hard work and your ministry, our family has been blessed by it so much by it.

Mrs. Anita K.

PS Our family are huge fans of your blog.

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 2, 2004 | Permalink

As we walk the grounds of Monticello, we are reminded by Mr. Jefferson’s attention to detail, his creativity and his vision. We are reminded that men must set their sights high to accomplish much. If this was true for Jefferson, how much more for the Redeemed of God.

Vision Forum ladies stop for an image on the luxurious lawn of Mr. Jefferson.

Our good friends, the Douglas Canfield family, whose beautiful 19th century gift print of the first prayer in Congress hangs in our dining room.

A special day for the Phillips family.

God bless the Jim Zes family and our mutual friends, David and Shirley Linton.

A contingent of the Marcus Servan family. Marcus, the family patriarch, serves the Lord as a devoted father of ten children and pastor in the OPC.

The gardens of Mr. Jefferson

The Allan Patty family enjoys lunch in the woods of Monticello

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 1, 2004 | Permalink

There are many ways in which a pro-life president can work to shut down the abortion industry in America. One of the most important approaches is to refuse to sign legislation which authorizes funding to pro-abortion organizations like Planned Parenthood. The above chart shows the funding for Planned Parenthood/family planning authorized by Presidents of the United States since Richard Nixon.

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 1, 2004 | Permalink

P’s Porridge Hot:

I saw your ad about “10 P’s in Pod” and smiled —— I have known Arnold Pent III for years and grew up with his wife and served in the same church with them for years. This book is great. I read it years ago. They continue to serve the Lord and are a blessing to behold as a family group. CSBNERN

From a Mother of 10 P’s (or F’s) in Her Pod: Carmon Freidrich

For a deeper look into the ins and outs and idiosyncrasies of large family life, Vision Forum has just published a book about a real-life big family, the Arnold Pents, who did carschooling before carschooling was cool. Think about the debt we owe to the pioneers of the homeschool movement who put their freedom on the line to teach their own children, then be in awe of people like the Pents, who were the Lewis and Clarks of the homeschool movement, mapping the trail that the pioneers followed.

Even though that trail was mapped and blazed, it’s still the road less traveled, and having a big family to take on the journey is, despite growing numbers of growing numbers, a path few ever find. It is not an easy path, but it’s not just for spiritual giants who have life’s great problems figured out. It’s for humble folks who know that they can’t figure out anything without the help of their Father in heaven, who knows all the answers and provides the groceries for those hungry mouths and the strength for our weary arms.

From Another Pot of P’s

Thanks for this article. I ordered it immediately. We are also “ten P’s” (Parrish’s and just had boy# 5 to go with the 3 sisters in August). We have ordered from Vision Forum before and do so enjoy what you are all doing. To Jesus Christ be the Glory!! In His Service, Richard

Adapted From My Introduction to 10 P’s

Future historians may look back on the Arnold Pent family and describe them as the “first modern home school family.” Long before there were any state home schooling organizations or curriculum fairs, Arnold Pent declared his independence from government education and his dependence on Jesus Christ in the training of his children.

No one told him to do this. He simply read the Bible and determined to follow the clear principles found within its pages and to be obedient to God — regardless of the consequences.

Like all great visionary leaders, Arnold Pent was a man with many wonderful directives for his family. The world would probably describe these initiatives as eccentricities, but they were not. In fact, Arnold Pent discovered something that all fathers would be well advised to consider: True Christian leadership in the household is born in the fire of adversity. The noblest and most God-blessed expressions of biblical fatherhood are cultivated always and only by taking the path less traveled.

I feel a special kinship to the Pent family. As a boy, I traveled constantly with my father, having visited forty-nine of the fifty states by the time I was eighteen. I sat with him for tens of thousands of miles and listened to books on tape, sermons, histories, and theology lectures. They were glorious times. We discussed everything, we saw great sights, and I always felt like I was a part of my father’s life mission. There is no doubt in my mind that my life was shaped by a father who made it his commitment to have me by his side and to daily speak words of life and love into my heart.

As I now seek to lead the 9 P’s (Phillips’)in my own pod, I will look back with eternal gratitude on the example of the 10 P’s who came before us.

Click here for more information on ‘Ten P’s in a Pod’

Posted by Doug Phillips on November 1, 2004 | Permalink