April 2006 Archives

A refreshing alternative to both cultural retreatism and cultural syncretism.

Our Mission: Taking every thought [and frame] captive to the lordship of Jesus Christ.

Posted by Doug Phillips on April 29, 2006 | Permalink

Posted by Doug Phillips on April 29, 2006 | Permalink

This next year, the Vision Forum family catalog will feature several new items in our Beautiful Girlhood Collection, including two new dolls and accompanying historical dresses. It is a real joy to announce we will also be featuring a section on one of the most interesting and courageous heroines of the last two hundred years — the Christian Princess Ka’iulani of Hawaii. For years I have been sharing her story with audiences around the nation and in the South Pacific. Today, I would like to share a few thoughts on the beautiful, but all-too-short life of a princess who modeled femininity, grace, intelligence, skill, and devotion to Christ.

She was known as Pua o Hawaii (“Hawaii’s Flower”). A devout believer, Christian poet, and the last great hope of the Hawaiian monarchy, Princess Victoria Ka’iulani Cleghorn came from amazing stock. Born October 16, 1875, her full name was Victoria Ka’iulani Kalaninuiahilapalapa Kawêkiui Lunalilo. The only daughter to Princess Likelike (King Kalakaua’s sister) and Scottish merchant Archibald Cleghorn (later Governor of Oahu), Ka’iulani was fifty percent Scot and fifty percent Hawaiian royal blood. From her earliest days, Ka’iulani was raised with a deep sense of responsibility to the heritage of both “tribes and tongues and nations.”

More importantly, she was self-consciously trained as a Christian princess. Of her life purpose and sense of Christian duty, Theo Davies (family friend, guardian, and protector of Ka’iulani during her visit to America) wrote:

“Kaiulani is not an idle nor a butterfly girl, and she will want to take life earnestly.... Another thing, and most important, is that Ka’iulani is not a mere worldling; she feels that her life is to be one of service to the King of Kings, and that she is to help her own people live near Him. It is a solemn question to ask how you can help Ka’iulani in this work.... I know it is Ka’iulani’s great desire to help the Hawaiian girls into lives of Christianity and purity.”

A Father and Daughter Relationship to Be Remembered

For most of her childhood and young adulthood, Princess Ka’iulani was constantly at the side of her father Archibald Cleghorn. Her mother died when she was but a girl, so her devoted father took the princess with him around the world for advanced training in England and Scotland. Their relationship as father and daughter was legendary in their own day, and now serves modern generations as an example of what can be accomplished for Christ when fathers disciple their daughters, and when daughters wholeheartedly embrace the righteous visions of their fathers.

A woman of striking beauty, but known for her personal restraint and grace, the princess spoke numerous languages and would redefine for the American people what it meant to be a Christian of Pacific island descent. During her trip to the United States, she would stun the American people (who were anticipating an uneducated savage) with her nobility, manners, talent, and courage when she traveled to plead the cause of her people against the unlawful overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy by heavy-handed American businessmen and imperialists.

A Skilled, Gracious Christian Princess

Ka’iulani skills were diverse and accomplished. An equestrian, gardener, poet, painter, and noteworthy seamstress, the princess was one of the most artistically and practically trained women of her generation. By young adulthood, the princess had earned a reputation as an expert surfer (in the true tradition of the Hawaiian monarchy). She was able to develop and accomplish great proficiency in her surfing skills, and was known for fearlessly going great distances out beyond the reefs.

The gratitude of the princess for her dual Scottish and Kanaka Maoli ancestry was evidenced in the comfort and familiarity she demonstrated with both cultures. A true Victorian and Hawaiian Royal, Ka’iulani was at ease eating poi and raw fish or holding elegant afternoon teas. She loved feminine clothing and had a knack for making practically anything she sewed look majestic.

Ka’iulani and Robert Louis Stevenson

By the age of thirteen, Princess Ka’iulani had found a dear friend in the writer Robert Louis Stevenson, who delighted her with wonderful stories and poetry. Ka’iulani was Stevenson’s “little royal maid,” and dearly beloved in his eyes. Once Ka’iulani had written:

Mr. Stevenson: Dear Sir: Your kind note has come. I thank you for it. Papa and I would like to have you come to our home on Tuesday next for dinner and Papa promises good Scotch “kaukau” for all you folks. My pony Fairie has a cold today so I cannot go riding. When you come please bring your flute. I am your most affectionate and obedient friend. Ka’iulani C.

Like Mark Twain, Stevenson’s journey to the beautiful Hawaiian island and his interaction with the Hawaiian royalty would serve as the basis for great literary inspiration in the form of essays and poetry. The author of A Child’s Garden of Verses; Treasure Island; Kidnapped, and The Black Arrow, Stevenson took time to pen the following verses in Princess Ka’iulani’s autograph album just before her departure to England:

“Forth from her land to mine she goes,
The Island maid, the Island rose;
Light of heart and bright of face:
The daughter of a double race.

Her islands here, in Southern sun,
Shall mourn their Kaiulani gone,
And I, in her dear banyan shade,
Look vainly for my little maid.

But our Scots islands far away
Shall glitter with unwonted day,
And cast for once their tempests by
To smile in Kaiulani’s eye.”

Ka’iulani Appeals to America in the Name of Christ

Contrary to the revisionist historians like James Michener and his uncharitable, offensive novel Hawaii, the early Christian missions movement to Hawaii represented one of the most God-blessed “first-wave” efforts at fulfilling the great commission in history. Regretfully, however, some noble men and women who brought Christianity to the Hawaiian islands did not succeed at winning the hearts of the third- and fourth-generation children of missionary descent to be born on Hawaii.

The consequences of this multi-generational failure were devastating. Some of the grandsons and great grandsons of the men and women who brought Christ and Christian culture to the Hawaiian islands, exchanged their ancestors’ legacy of love for the Hawaiian people for a gunboat diplomacy aimed at securing political power for themselves and the overthrow of the Christian monarchy. In one day, they destroyed the government. Their successful military and political actions were not merely unbiblical and unlawful, but dishonoring to the glorious legacy of Christian missions bequeathed to them by their ancestors.

At the time of the coup d’etat, Ka’iulani was traveling outside her nation. Grief-stricken, the princess would travel to the United States in the hopes of appealing to the President and other leaders to stop the ungodly seizure and impending annexation of her nation by America. Speaking to reporters in New York, the princess declared:

“Seventy years ago Christian America sent over Christian men and women to give religion and civilization to Hawaii. Today three of the sons of those missionaries are at your capitol asking you to undo their father’s work.... Today, I a poor, weak girl, with not one of my people near me and all these statesmen against me, have the strength to stand up for the rights of my people. Even now I can hear their wail in my heart, and it gives me strength and I am strong ... strong in the faith of God, strong in the knowledge that I am right, strong in the strength of seventy million people who in this free land will hear my cry....”

Although the princess was not successful in her appeals to have the monarchy restored, she did earn the love and appreciation of many. Of Ka’iulani, one newspaper wrote:

“She is beautiful.... There is no portrait that does justice to her expressive, small, proud face. She is exquisitely slender and graceful, holds herself like a princess, like a Hawaiian — and I know of no smile more descriptive of grace and dignity than this last.... Her accent says London; her figure says New York; her heart says Hawai’i.... But she is more than a beautiful pretender to an abdicated throne ... she has been made a woman of the world by the life she has led.”

The Death and Legacy of Ka’iulani

Despite her beauty, wisdom, and courage, the princess never saw the restoration of her beloved Hawaii. In God’s providence, the Lord saw fit to usher the brokenhearted princess into eternity in the year 1899, shortly after the annexation of her country. She was only twenty-three years old. Upon Ka’iulani’s death, her peacocks began a strange screeching that disrupted people for many miles.

The newspaper The Advertiser wrote: “And there passed away she who was the most beloved of the Hawaiian race.”

A Western paper observed:

“Everyone admired her attitude. They could not do otherwise. Her dignity, her pathetic resignation, her silent sorrow appealed to all. The natives loved her for her quiet, steadfast sympathy with their woe, her uncomplaining endurance of her own ... her queenly display of all necessary courtesy while holding herself aloof from undue intimacy. It was impossible not to love her.”

Today the Christian princess is memorialized in numerous beautiful ballads which reflect the nineteenth century Hawaiian form in which English and “Olelo Hawaii” are mixed together. Especially beautiful is the song Nani Wale o Ka’iulani which proclaims:

“Our love for you forever will remain... Nani wale o Ka’iulani, There’s beauty in the sound of your name. Kou aloha mau loa e Ka’iulani... Our love for you forever will remain... Precious flower in the misty rain...”

Posted by Doug Phillips on April 28, 2006 | Permalink

Both my father and grandfather graduated from Harvard, the college built by the Puritans for the training of the clergy. (In the case of my grandfather, he graduated both from Harvard undergrad and from Harvard Medical School.) Dad and I are going back to Harvard in a few weeks to walk the old grounds. I am spending the better part of a week interviewing Dad and recording reminiscences from his youth. I also hope to glean from Dad new stories and insights which will help me to disciple my own sons.

I realize my time with my sons is not forever. As my own boys grow into noble manhood, the focus of many of my prayers is to seek the wisdom of God to train them to be honorable men of Christian vision. Apart from the Bible, this cannot be done. When filtered through the presuppositions of Holy Scripture, history is a also a tutor. History provides perspective. It allows us to think beyond the palsied secular American Christianity of the present generation to the victorious, visionary (though imperfect) Christianity of the Mathers and other great men who not only founded Harvard, but gave America our richest spiritual heritage. Today, Harvard is at war with God. Its religion is the worship of man. But once upon a time, some generationally-minded thinkers at Harvard College set noble Christian requirements for the young men under their care. The following are the rules required of such men upon entering Harvard.

1. When any scholar is able to understand Tully or such like classical author EXTEMPORE, and make and speak true Latin in verse and prose, SUO UT AIUNT MARTE, and decline perfectly the paradigms of nouns and verbs in the Greek tongue: let him then, and not before, be capable of admission into the College.
2. Let every student be plainly instructed and earnestly pressed to consider well, the main end of his life and studies is, “to know God and Jesus Christ which is eternal life,” John 17:3, and therefore to lay Christ in the bottom, as the only foundation of all sound knowledge and learning.And seeing the Lord only giveth wisdom, let everyone seriously set himself by prayer in secret to seek it of Him, Prov. 2:3.
3. Everyone shall so exercise himself in reading the scriptures twice a day, that he shall be ready to give such an account of his proficiency therein, both in theoretical observations of the language, and logic, and inpractical and spiritual truths, as his tutor shall require, according to his ability; seeing “the entrance of the Word giveth light, it giveth understanding to the simple, ” Psalm 119:130.
4. That they, eschewing all profanation of God’s name, attributes, word, ordinances, and times of worship, do study with good conscience, carefully to retain God, and the love of His truth in their minds. Else, let them know that (notwithstanding their learning) God may give them up “to strong delusions,” and in the end “to a reprobate mind,” 2Thes.2:11, 12; Rom. 1:28.
5. That they studiously redeem the time; observe the general hours appointed for all the students, and the special hours for their own classes; and then diligently attend the lectures, without any disturbance by word or gesture. And if in anything they doubt, they shall inquire, as of their fellows, so (in the case of “nonsatisfaction”), modestly of their tutors.
6. None shall, under any pretense whatsoever, frequent the company and society of such men as lead an unfit and dissolute life. Nor shall any without his tutor’s leave, or (in his absence) the call of parents or guardians, go abroad to other towns.
7. Every scholar shall be present in his tutor’s chamber at the seventh hour in the morninng, immediately after the sound of the bell, at his opening the scripture and prayer; so also at the fifth hour of the night, and then give account of his own private reading, as aforesaid in particular the third, and constantly attend lectures in the hall at the hours appointed. But if any (without necessary impediment) shall absent himself from prayer or lectures, he shall be liable to admonition, if he offend above once a week.
8. If any scholar shall be found to transgress any of the laws of God, or the school, after twice admonition, he shall be liable, if not ADULTUS, to correction; if ADULTUS, his name shall be given up to the overseers of the College, that he may be admonished at the public monthly act.

Posted by Doug Phillips on April 27, 2006 | Permalink

To receive a copy of my message, Manliness: What the Men of the Titanic Generation Had Which We Must Reclaim, make an online donation of any amount during the month of April to help the work of Vision Forum Ministries provide encouragement to the Christian family. This message gives a biblical and historical overview of the subject, including important thoughts from men like T.R. and Churchill. To those of you who are committed to praying for this ministry, I would like to mention that we have an immediate and specific need for which we are seeking the Lord’s help and for which we will be applying any online donations that may come in. Through a series of providential events, the Lord has opened the opportunity for Vision Forum to staff and build its own video production unit. This means, for the first time, we can hope to produce and distribute on DVD (without the usually prohibitive expense and burden of outsourcing) Gospel-proclaiming Vision Forum events which bring encouragement to the Christian the family. As I sat at last month’s Father and Daughter Retreat and heard some of the greatest messages I have heard to date, it grieved me that this event (and others like it) was not recorded on video for posterity. God has just now provided the talented manpower to build a video production team. Should He also provide the resources in the next week for the equipment, we will be ready to cover a series of important events that will be occurring in the months of May through July.

Posted by Doug Phillips on April 27, 2006 | Permalink

Click here to visit the new League of Grateful Sons Web site.

Posted by Doug Phillips on April 27, 2006 | Permalink

I shot this image on the way home from the Christian Heritage home educators conference of Washington state. Learn more about Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Ararat, and a creationist response to the false historical chronologies of evolutionism, at our 2006 History of the World Mega-Conference featuring Dr. John Morris and Dr. John Whitcomb, July 11-15.

Posted by Doug Phillips on April 27, 2006 | Permalink

Dear Mr. Phillips,

About a month ago I purchased The Wise Woman’s Guide to Blessing Her Husband’s Vision CD. Only until today I had a chance listen. I’m not a “religious” person, but more likely purchased the CD out of curiosity when I bought my son Christmas presents. (Yes, I have been trained throughout childhood to be a militant feminist. Gradually, I’ve been seeing some of the movement’s follies.) This sermon has made it abundantly clear what I have been doing wrong in my marriage. The second CD is so immersed with biblical information and common sense that I will probably have to listen to it again to absorb all of the information. Without dating myself, I can safely say that there are countless women under 30, not just myself, that have not been properly educated in their churches or homes about the true nature and purpose of marriage and the role of the spouse. This CD has cleared up so many questions about how men think. It makes perfect sense that you can’t have separate missions in a marriage, but until today, I didn’t know that.... My husband is deployed, but even now there are things that I can do better to enhance his mission. Thanks for helping me to realize this. Keep up the good works, they make a difference.

Sincerely,
Mrs. D.M.B.

Posted by Doug Phillips on April 27, 2006 | Permalink

Some space still available. Register soon to guarantee your spot.

Posted by Doug Phillips on April 26, 2006 | Permalink

The above is the headline on an article in today’s Washington Times concerning the maiming, killing and destruction of young women sent by the President to Iraq to fight and die — often leaving husbands and children to tend the heart at home.

A New Generation of Maimed Women

Her body had been maimed by war. Dawn Halfaker lay unconscious at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, her parents at her bedside and her future suddenly unsure. A rocket-propelled grenade had exploded in her Humvee, ravaging her arm and shoulder.In June 2004, she became the newest soldier to start down a path almost unknown in the United States: woman as combat amputee. She was part of a new generation of women who have lost pieces of themselves in war, experiencing the same physical trauma and psychological anguish as their malecounterparts.

My Response: I have great compassion for this dear woman, but less for those leaders who sold the manhood of this nation cheap for military expediency, and who have exchanged the flower of American femininity for the politically correct vision of G.I. Jane. Such behavior is unmanly.

A Historic First

The Iraq war is the first in which so many women have had so much exposure to combat — working in a wide array of jobs, with long deployments, in a place where hostile fire has no bounds. In all, more than 370 women have been wounded in action and 34 have been killed by hostile fire.

My Response: All this under our watch. The Church is asleep.

The First Female Combat Amputees in American History

The war has created what experts believe is the nation’s first group of female combat amputees. “We’re unaware of any female amputees from previous wars,” said historian Judy Bellafaire of the Women in Military Service for America Memorial Foundation, which researches such issues.

My Response: Until we repent and turn from our sin, it will get worse.

Conservatives Afraid to Appear Critical of President’s Policies

Surprising many political observers, the fact of female casualties has produced little public reaction. Before Iraq, many assumed that the sight of women in body bags or with missing limbs would provoke a wave of public revulsion. “On the whole, the country has not been concerned about female casualties,” said Charles Moskos of Northwestern University, a leading military sociologist. Politically, Moskos said, it is a no-win issue. Conservatives fear they will undermine support for the war if they speak out about wounded women, and liberals worry they will jeopardize support for women serving in combat roles by raising the subject, he said.

My Response: Shame on every pastor in America who has not taught from the pulpit the sin of sending women to war! Dear pastors, fear God more than man. May the Lord open the eyes of every Christian commentator and activist more concerned about partisan politics than the righteousness of God.

The Tragic Tale of One Mother Amputee

Two months after Dawn Halfaker was wounded, Juanita Wilson arrived on a stretcher at Walter Reed, her left arm in bandages, her hand gone. It was August 25, 2004, just days after a roadside bomb went off under Wilson’s Humvee. She came to the hospital as the Iraq war’s fourth female combat amputee — the first who was a mother.

From the beginning, Wilson decided she did not want her only child to see her so wounded. She talked to the 6-year-old by phone. “Mommy’s okay,” she assured the girl. “What are you doing at school now?”

It was only after four weeks that Wilson allowed her husband and child to travel from Hawaii, where the family had been stationed, for a visit. By then, Wilson was more mobile. She asked a nurse put makeup on her face, stowed her IV medications into a backpack she could wear and planned an outing to Chuck E. Cheese’s.

“Mommy, I’m sorry you got hurt,” her daughter, Kenyah, said when she arrived, hugging her. And then: “Mommy, I thought you died.”

The sort of mother who mailed her daughter penmanship exercises and math problems from the war zone, Wilson wanted Kenyah to stay focused on school and the ordinary concerns of being 6. “I wanted it to be like I was going to be okay when she saw me,” said Wilson, 32

To read the entire article, click here.

Posted by Doug Phillips on April 19, 2006 | Permalink

As a godly young girl I look up to kind and unselfish boys. I want to say thank you to all the men who gave there lives for women and children. So many men today are not kind or even think of giving up a seat for women. I went to my church and asked some boys in my sunday school group if they would give up their seats to women & children, they said NO! I will always admire and look up to those men who gave up there lives. Thank you so much! Blessings, Ashley M. 14

Posted by Doug Phillips on April 19, 2006 | Permalink

“One of the least visited memorials in Washington is a waterfront statue commemorating the men who died on the Titanic. Seventy-four percent of the women passengers survived the April 15, 1912, calamity, while 80 percent of the men perished. Why? Because the men followed the principle “women and children first.” The monument, an 18-foot granite male figure with arms outstretched to the side, was erected by “the women of America” in 1931 to show their gratitude. The inscription reads: “To the brave men who perished in the wreck of the Titanic.... They gave their lives that women and children might be saved.” ... [A]lmost no one remembers those men. Women no longer bring flowers to the [Men’s Titanic] statue on April 15 to honor their chivalry. The idea of male gallantry makes many women nervous, suggesting (as it does) that women require special protection. It implies the sexes are objectively different. It tells us that some things are best left to men. Gallantry is a virtue that dare not speak its name.” (Christina Hoff Sommers, Author of The War Against Boys, as quoted in her article “Being a Man,” The Weekly Standard, April 10, 2006)

Mrs. Sommers’ point is well taken, but for one glaring error. The men of the Titanic have not been forgotten — at least not by the fathers and sons of the Christian Boys’ and Men’s Titanic Society who gather annually on the anniversary of the demise of the great ship to remember the men who gave their lives for women and children. This year, more than two hundred fathers and sons met at Phillips Flagship Seafood House on the Potomac and — following an evening of rousing song, trivia, history, and grateful remembrances — gathered down the street at the most politically incorrect monument in Washington, D.C. just before midnight to pay our respects to men who froze to death in defense of women and children. Each year, we lift our voices in prayer that God would be so kind as to revive the spirit of manly self-sacrifice in the lives of our sons.

Bill Potter hands out carnations to our sons while a violin soloist plays “Nearer My God to Thee.” We then joined in prayerful song, lifting up six verses of the great hymn to the Lord, and in honor of Titanic band-leader Wallace Hartley and his men who continued to play up to the final moments before the Titanic submerged, so as to give comfort to those who did not receive seats on the lifeboats.

My favorite baritone, and America’s greatest maritime balladeer, Mr. Charlie Zahm regaled us with hymns to Christ, songs of the Titanic, and musical stories of bold manhood. Mr. Bill Brown (featured in The League of Grateful Sons) and his son Scott, made a presentation on manhood during World War II. The evening included a trivia contest for the boys and a message I presented entitled “Manliness: What the Titanic Generation Had that We Must Reclaim.”

Posted by Doug Phillips on April 18, 2006 | Permalink

“This acknowledgment of the Law of the Sea is the grandest exhibition that exists of the working of the code which protects the weaker element in the face of certain death, without taking not of their worthiness or fitness, and the most striking illustration of modern thought as compared with the ancient idea of “save himself who can.”...The Law of the Sea is chiseled on the tablets of Time and it can not be changed. One its endurance depends, to great extent the continuance of genuine manliness, the perpetuation of pure courage, the inspiration for unselfishness; it effaces all values that are outside the man and his character, and makes for brotherhood far more than all the sermons that can be preached.”

Frances Wayne, “Men of Brains and Millions sacrifice for Lowly Women,” The Denver Post, April 16, 1912

Posted by Doug Phillips on April 18, 2006 | Permalink

Joshua, Justice and Honor at the Titanic Mens’ Memorial on the 94th anniversary of the sinking of the R.M.S. Titanic.

Posted by Doug Phillips on April 18, 2006 | Permalink

An image of the Men’s Titanic Memorial, shot ninety-four years to the hour after the R.M.S. Titanic began to sink in the North Atlantic ice fields.

“You and I will be better in life and death because of the men’s good example. The real message of this great and overwhelming affliction is that it is the latest revelation of the power of the cross...The men who stood on that deck in the presence of disaster exhibited a power of self restraint, exhibited it so quietly too, that it can not be explained on any ground of mere evolution...but the Son of Man came into a world that was lost, and so the men upon the Titanic sacrificed themselves for the women and children. The women did not ask for the sacrifice but it was made. Those women who go about “shrieking for their rights” want something very different.” Sermon at St. Bartholomew’s Church, New York, Rev. Leighton Parks (1852-1938) April 21, 1912

It was a great honor to deliver a keynote entitled “Manliness” to more than two hundred fathers and sons gathered on the evening of April 14, 2006, for the Tenth Anniversary Celebration of the Christian Boys’ and Men’s Titanic Society.

The debate over the meaning and origin of manliness is ancient. Dr. Harvey Mansfield of Harvard argues that the Greek concept of Thumos was foundational to the development of the Western notion of manliness. The twentieth century reduced much of the debate over the existence and meaning of manliness to a debate of nature vs. nurture with social psychologists reducing viewing manliness as a learned societal convention, and neo-darwinians and evolutionary genoists debating over the extent to which this quality is essentially genetic.

In my message, I argue that these theories of manliness, from the ancient Greeks to the present day genoists, fall short. The Bible alone provides a sturdy and definitive philosophical and practical foundation for what could be called “the doctrine of manliness.” The Holy Bible not only addresses “the blessed man,” “the righteous man,” “the upright man,” and “the blameless man,” but it calls for the emergence of the manly man. It does this by negative and positive declarations and patterns, by direct exhortation and divine command.

Speaking to Job, God almighty declared: “Gird up thy loins now like a man: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me” (Job 40:7).

David prepared his son for leadership by exhorting him: “I go the way of all the earth. Be thou strong therefore, and shew thyself a man” (1 Kings 2:2).

The Apostle Paul explained: “Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit ye like men, be strong” (1 Corinthians 16:13).

The Bible describes the consequences and horrors of unmanliness: “As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths....Moreover the Lord saith, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with stretched forth necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet: Therefore the Lord will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and the Lord will discover their secret parts.” (Isaiah 3: 12, 16, 17)

In fact, it is from the Bible, not moral perverts like Aristotle and Plato, that we are able to understand the true meaning of manly virtues. We learn from Scripture that duty, self-sacrifice for the weak, principled action, faith which overcomes fear, and honorable conduct regardless of circumstance are essential elements of the individual who “quit[s]” himself like a man.

We live at a time of tremendous unmanliness. It is unmanly to send women to war. It is unmanly to view children as a burden, rather than a reward. It is unmanly to force our wives to exchange industrious, productive domesticity (e.g. Titus 2 and Proverbs 31) for independent careerism. It is unmanly to leave our daughters unprotected and uncovered before the world. It is unmanly for the fathers of this generation to surrender leadership at home, in the church, and in the gates of the land to the mothers of this generation. It is unmanly for men to be more concerned about their “needs” than their responsibilities. The list goes on.

In times like these, it is important not only that we remember and consider great historical examples of manliness, and that we understand the spiritual foundation for a godly vision of manliness, but that we rebuild a culture of virtuous, manly boyhood for the sake of our Gospel witness and for the future of our sons and daughters. Those of us committed to the cause must be prepared with manly resolve for great opposition. Manliness, with its implications for biblical patriarchy, is not for the weak of heart. Opposing an amazonian war machine, or female dominance over the local church, or the lifestyle which creates absentee fatherhood, or Margaret Sanger’s contraceptive vision to separate life from love, thus liberating men and women from God’s design for the womb—-is a formula for inspiring sustained opposition. Along the way, there will be malicious scoffers, slandering critics, and pompous purveyors of pop culture to ridicule advocates of biblical manliness. Such men long for the status quo.

They can have it.

We are men of warfare (Ephesians 6:12).

“We do not admire the man of timid peace. We admire the man who embodies victorious effort; the man who never wrongs his neighbor, who is prompt to help a friend, but who has those virile qualities necessary to win in the stern strife of actual life.” Teddy Roosevelt

To receive a copy of this message on manliness, make an online donation of any amount during the month of April to help the work of Vision Forum Ministries provide encouragement to the Christian family.

Posted by Doug Phillips on April 17, 2006 | Permalink

The Honorable Howard J. Phillips

“It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.”“Citizenship in a Republic,” Speech at the Sorbonne, Paris, April 23, 1910

Following the 10th Anniversary of the Christian Boy’s and Mens’ Titanic Society and our annual memorial dinner in honor of men who died because they put “women and children first,” I took my sons Honor, Justice and Joshua to enjoy a meal at the Old Ebbit Grill, a favorite breakfast spot of two former third party candidiates for President of the United States — Teddy Roosevelt and Howard Phillips.

Though unsuccessful in their third party candidacies (Bull Moose and Constitution Party), both men modelled the maxim quoted above, and in so doing, have inspired others to courageous leadership.

Teddy could not join us, being previously engaged with a permanent appointment in eternity, but my father Howard Phillips and mother Peggy (2005 Eagle Forum Homemaker of the Year) were there to sponsor the event and treat me to a traditional bowl of New England Clam Chowder and Eggs Benedict. Dad reminded us that nearly a century ago as crowds gathered outside the Old Ebbit Grill to watch Teddy enjoy a meal, Roosevelt would declare: “Let the people watch the President eat his breakfast.”

Breakfast discussion included our standard fare of history, law, theology, family geneology and Washington D.C. trivia, all dished out with copius amounts of laughter.

The Old Ebbitt Grill was founded in 1856 as an inn and restaurant. Its guest list reads like a Who’s Who of American History. President McKinley is said to have lived there during his tenure in Congress. Presidents Grant, Andrew Johnson, Cleveland, Theodore Roosevelt and Harding were regular patrons of the establishment. For many years. the tables in the Ebbitt were graced by a blue card that read: “Many other famous statesmen, naval and military heroes, too numerous to mention here, have been guests of the house.” Of particular interest to me is the decor of the Old Ebbit which includes wooden bears from the home Alexander Hamilton and numerous exotic taxidermy displays including my favorite, this walrus, a gift from T.R. himself.

God willing, the next time Dad and I will be together will be at the Generations Conference sponsored by the Highlands Study Center. Also speaking will be the father and son team of Dr. R.C. Sproul, Sr. and Jr. Our joint mission is to address the Fifth Commandment and its application to family and society. Those who will not be able to attend the Generations conference are strongly encouraged to come to our History of the World Mega-Conference on July 11-15th. Dad’s topics at the History of the World conference include an overview of the 20th Century, and a two-part message on the character, constitutional committment, and leadership style of each of the presidents of the United States.

Left to Right: Samuel, Honor, Howard, Johua, Justice, Peggy and Doug

Posted by Doug Phillips on April 17, 2006 | Permalink

Howard Honor Phillips and Howard J. Phillips at the 2006 Titanic Mens’ Memorial Dinner.

Posted by Doug Phillips on April 17, 2006 | Permalink

Ken Carpenter and Doug Phillips

Last year the Jubilee Award for Best Documentary went to veteran producer Ken Carpenter for A Journey Home. This last week I visited with Ken in San Antonio after he had wrapped production on a project he was shooting locally. Ken, a home schooling father of eight children, is the founder of Franklin Springs Family Media. Nestled in the rolling hills of Middle Tennessee, on the town square in historic Franklin, Franklin Springs Family Media “is established to provide families with top-quality DVDs that set forth a vision for the fullness of a God-honoring family life.” To learn more about Franklin Springs Media, or Ken’s latest production The Peasall Sisters: Family Harmony visit his Web site at www.franklinsprings.com.

Posted by Doug Phillips on April 17, 2006 | Permalink

The first All-Vision Forum fencing tournament took place this Wednesday on the occassion of the birthday of our Russian coach, Andrei Samorodov.

Bruno “the bear,” brings the fencers equivilent of a southpaw to his swordwork.

In the end, the tournament winner was awarded a saber.

After the tournament, Coach Samorodov was given a Russian/English Bible as a birthday present.

Posted by Doug Phillips on April 7, 2006 | Permalink

Kirill “The Pointman”	Konstantin	Hyppolytus
Howardavitch	Sasha	Stanimir “The Saber”
Grigori “The Tower”	Bruno “The Bear”	Mihail Mihailavitch
Solzinitsin	Misha	Vladimir
Slava Muella

Posted by Doug Phillips on April 7, 2006 | Permalink

Posted by Doug Phillips on April 7, 2006 | Permalink

On of the traditions of the Father and Daughter Retreat is an afternoon picnic.

Dr. Gorman and his twin daughters, Lisa and Laura. (Unusual fact: There were more than a dozen twins at this year’s retreat.)

The Phillips girls enjoying chicken and barbecue.

The Ford girls.

The girls got to keep their picnic baskets.

The Murdaughs.

The cool of the afternoon.

Posted by Doug Phillips on April 7, 2006 | Permalink

From the 2006 Father and Daughter Retreat

Posted by Doug Phillips on April 7, 2006 | Permalink

At this year’s Vision Forum Ministries Father and Daughter Retreat, our “Unity Games” featured a challenging test to see how well daughters could follow the voice command of their fathers in and around an obstacle course.

Sometimes the course required that the girls jump blindfolded over obstacles.

This father prepares his daughters for the adventure.

Posted by Doug Phillips on April 6, 2006 | Permalink

Faces from the 2006 Father and Daughter Retreat

Posted by Doug Phillips on April 6, 2006 | Permalink

My next example of a princess is not a real princess. Though she’s a fictional character, this “princess” has a very real influence on the hearts and minds of girls today. But she does NOT fit the definition of a real princess. Though she defines the term for some girls, she profanes the true sense of the term. She was depicted as shallow, immature, irresponsible, selfish, consumed by fear of public opinion and the desire to conform, at the beginning and the end of the movie. Her few illustrations of character growth were shallow and did not indicate a real change of heart. Anna Botkin on The Princess Diaries

For many of us, the 2006 Father and Daughter Retreat seemed to reach a crescendo of practical and spiritual encouragement with the Saturday evening keynotes by Geoff Botkin and his two daughters Anna Sofia (pictured above) and Elizabeth, authors of the Vision Forum book So Much More. Anna Sofia told the compelling story of how her father discipled her using diverse and remarkable training opportunities geared at promoting the goal of noble, biblical womanhood. Most helpful was her careful explanation of the difference between the false vision of buffoon-like womanhood promoted by films like The Princess Diaries, or the feministic rebellion of Teddy Roosevelt’s eldest daughter Alice, which stand in strong opposition to the biblical womanhood of the Hawaiin Princess Kaiulani. Look for this important CD to be available from Vision Forum in the near future.

Posted by Doug Phillips on April 5, 2006 | Permalink

Perry Coghlan II and Perry Coghlan III enjoying the afternoon with their daughters at the Father and Daughter Retreat.

Posted by Doug Phillips on April 5, 2006 | Permalink

Fathers and daughters dressed in their best for the Saturday High Tea at the 2006 Father and Daughter Retreat. Among the more than 500 in attendance was a large contingent of military fathers. One of the officers in attendance shared with me his belief that the battle for the family is more perilous and takes more courage than the military battles of our present day.

Posted by Doug Phillips on April 4, 2006 | Permalink

It took many forms and expression, but one things was crystal clear—love was in the air at this year’s 2006 Vision Forum Ministry’s Father and Daughter Retreat.

There was a whole lot of hugging going on...

Some cuddlin’...

Some good ‘ole fashioned hand-holding...

A few very doting looks...

And daughter-trust on the shoulders of thoughtful fatherly reflection..

It was glorious to see so many manly fathers...

Comunicating strength and protection to their loyal daughters.

Posted by Doug Phillips on April 4, 2006 | Permalink

The Vision Forum Ministries Father and Daughter Retreat was also a place to make friends with like-minded families. Above: Faith Evangeline enjoys a short story from Elizabeth Botkin, author of So Much More.

Posted by Doug Phillips on April 4, 2006 | Permalink

The 2006 Father and Daughter Retreat was hosted at the beautiful Calloway Gardens, home of one of America’s finest butterfly conservatories.

The fathers and daughters were able to walk among thousands of butterflies representing dozens of species, including this remarkable Owl Butterfly.

The life of most butterflies is less than ten weeks. The are born eggs, become caterpillars, transform into pupas within the larvae, and ultimately metamorphosize into the beautiful creature pictured above.

This above picture shows different stages of the larvae.

Faith Evangeline loved holding these amazing insects.

Posted by Doug Phillips on April 4, 2006 | Permalink