May 2007 Archives

It was an honor to preach twice, and back to back, with my good friend and yokefellow in the bonds of Christ, Dr. Voddie Baucham, last night at the American Vision Worldview Conference in North Carolina. Numerous sacred cows were slain by the Word of God as Voddie applied biblical orthodoxy to practical issues of orthopraxy.

Posted by Doug Phillips on May 31, 2007 | Permalink

Boys [should be] inured from childhood to trifling risks and slight dangers of every possible description, such as tumbling into ponds and off of trees, etc., in order to strengthen their nervous system.... They ought to practice leaping >off heights into deep water. They ought never to hesitate to cross a stream over a narrow unsafe plank for fear of a ducking. They ought never to decline to climb up a tree, to pull fruit merely because there is a possibility of their falling off and breaking their necks. I firmly believe that boys were intended to encounter all kinds of risks, in order to prepare them to meet and grapple with risks and dangers incident to man’s career with cool, cautious self-possession.... —R.M. Ballantyne, The Gorilla Hunters

He was perhaps the most influential writer of boys’ literature of his generation. He was also a devout Christian of the Scottish Covenanter kind and the only outspoken advocate for Christian boyhood to have a monument paid for and dedicated in his honor by grateful children.

His name was R.M. Ballantyne, and he not only inspired a generation of writers to take up their pens in defense of the ideals of biblical manhood, but he changed the lives of hundreds of thousands of boys for the better with his globe-trekking adventure stories that emphasized Christian character in the face of adversity.

In the twentieth century, many publishers declined to carry Ballantyne because of his strong biblical emphasis. Others hoped to capitalize on the past popularity of his books, but required that Ballantyne’s overt Gospel Christianity be stricken from his storylines.

Now, Vision Forum is pleased to introduce R.M. Ballantyne to twenty-first century children. Our Ballantyne Christian Adventure Library comes complete with the faith-affirming Christianity of the original volumes, just as intended by the author. And we are pleased to announce that the first ten volumes are hot off the press!

Now you can travel to The Coral Island, where you can learn how a group of Christian boys shipwrecked in the South Pacific rely on godly wisdom, biblical insight, and plucky courage to outwit and overcome pirates. Or you can trace one lad’s heroic adventures through the Canadian outback in The Young Fur Traders. Or fight your way through polar bears and trek through some of the most perilous terrain known to man in search of the very top of the world in The Giant of the North. Or search for the most ferocious of jungle animals found in darkest Africa in The Gorilla Hunters. You can even walk again with the undaunted Scottish Covenanters in their quest to have no king over their church but Jesus Christ Himself in Hunted and Harried.

These are just a few of the stories you will encounter in the first ten volumes of Vision Forum’s new series — the Ballantyne Christian Adventure Library.

Click here to read the individual book descriptions or to purchase the set.

Ballantyne — An Antidote to the ‘Slothful, Uninspired Boy Syndrome’

Do you have a boy who needs a little inspiration? Give him Ballantyne!

In the pages of these masterful literary adventures, your son will learn about the preciousness of time and the Christian boy’s call to action. He will learn that only godly character will win the day, and he will learn what it means to be a man with a Gospel mission. And he will learn this in the context of high adventure and the chivalric code of nobility. Eric Quayle, author of The Collector’s Book of Boy’s Stories explained that Ballantyne’s characters:

...rescued helpless natives from a cruel death at the hands of cannibals, or dashed through smoke and flames to the side of the swooning heroine, or plunged without a moment’s hesitation into the shark infested waters for the sake of an injured friend. And, at the end of their courageous display of selfless devotion to duty, they modestly refused to accept any thanks from the victims of the drama other than perhaps a firm shake of a gratefully outstretched hand of the one who had been snatched from the jaws of a fearful death.

How He Became ‘Ballantyne the Brave’

He earned his title from Robert Louis Stevenson, author of* Kidnapped. But for Ballantyne, Stevenson might never have made his travels through the Pacific where, notably, he wrote his masterpiece *Treasure Island. Reading Ballantyne’s The Coral Island at age fifteen sparked in Stevenson both his life-long love for the South Seas, and a fierce devotion to his fellow Scot. Stevenson even included Ballantyne in the introduction to his book Treasure Island, where he dubbed this proponent of Gospel Christianity and boyhood adventure, “Ballantyne the Brave.” The title stuck.

They Loved Him So Much, He Received His Own Memorial

No author, including the much-beloved G.A. Henty, ever received a more overwhelming response from young boys at the time of his death. It was during 1858, shortly after The Coral Island’s publication, that Ballantyne first experienced the agreeable but embarrassing sensation of being followed through the streets of Edinburgh by admiring youngsters, and his autograph became the prize possession of many a keen Scot lad. When the news of R.M. Ballantyne’s death reached Britain in 1894, it sent shockwaves through the world of schoolboys. At first the news was met with incredulity, and then with heartfelt dismay by his tens of thousands of young readers.

Eric Quayle described it this way:

The immense popularity of the scores of books he had written for the young men of his day had created a legend regarding their author that made them eager to subscribe to what they hoped would be a lasting monument to perpetuate his name. Led by the boys of Harrow School, a movement started almost immediately when the news of his death reached England. They voted to raise a fund to erect a marble edifice so that later generations would remember the name of the man who had brought them so many hours of excitement and pleasure. Within a few months, over six hundred pounds ($1,440) had been collected in schools throughout the country, mostly in hard won pennies and sixpence from the pockets of teenage boys. Such a spontaneous gesture by the impecunious schoolboys of Victoria’s Britain is without precedent and nothing of similar nature has ever occurred from that day onwards.

The Ballantyne Christian Adventure Library

One of Vision Forum’s primary missions is to equip families with tools to help them inspire boys and girls toward courageous manhood and noble womanhood. This means finding literature that challenges the cynicism of our modern age with transcendent biblical truths that give hope to our children. In the annals of nineteenth century Christian adventure literature, nothing fits that bill better than the writings of Robert Michael Ballantyne.

One of my favorite pastimes is reading the books of G.A. Henty and R.M. Ballantyne. I have read more than eighty Hentys which my father has given me, and have completed nearly twenty books by Ballantyne. Henty’s books are manly adventure stories for boys set in different periods of history. Ballantyne writes the same sort of stories but sets them in wonderful and exotic geographical locations. One thing I really like about Ballantyne is the fact that his stories are explicitly Christian. The heroes of the stories believe in the Bible, lead people to Christ, and demonstrate the kind of Christian character which I know is important. I hope other boys will enjoy the stories as much as I have. —Joshua Phillips, Age 14

Ballantyne was not just another writer of the Victorian age who penned exciting historic fiction. His strong and uncompromising Christian presuppositions undergird all his stories. He encouraged his readers to put their trust in God for this life and the next, and taught in his stories that the one safeguard against evil is the redemptive love of God.

This is why republishing the Ballantyne Christian Adventure Library fulfills a long-time dream for Vision Forum. It is why we are so pleased to release the first ten books in our series of more than sixty volumes to be printed in the months and years ahead. It is why we have produced each Ballantyne book with quality and care, offering today’s readers Smythe-sewn hardbound books that will be enjoyed by generations of readers to come. And it is why we encourage you to make “Ballantyne the Brave” your own family’s faithful friend and adventure guide, confident that the man who broke tens of thousands of boys’ hearts with his passing will inspire yours with his literary return.

The Ballantyne Christian Adventure Library includes the following ten titles:

• Blue Lights

• The Coral Island

• Deep Down

• The Giant of the North

• The Gorilla Hunters

• Hunted and Harried

• Martin Rattler

• The Pirate City

• Red Rooney

• The Young Fur Traders

Introductory Special: Save 32% When You Buy the Ten Volume Set by June 5

Normally, each Smythe-sewn, hardback book in the Ballantyne Christian Adventure Library retails for $22. If you were to purchase each of these books individually, the total price would be $220. However, for one week only during this introductory special offer, Vision Forum is offering the entire ten-volume set for $149, plus shipping. That’s just $15 apiece for these beautifully bound, substantial, hardback, collectible books. This is a savings of $71 from the retail per-book price — 32% off. Offer expires at midnight on Tuesday, June 5 (CDT).

Click here to read the individual book descriptions or to purchase the set.

Posted by Doug Phillips on May 30, 2007 | Permalink

“In the total expanse of human life there is not a single square inch of which the Christ, who alone is sovereign, does not declare, ‘That is mine!’” -Abraham Kuyper (1837-1920)

Posted by Doug Phillips on May 29, 2007 | Permalink

Posted by Doug Phillips on May 26, 2007 | Permalink

ABC News—What happened in the town of Hooksett, N.H., is no rumor.

Four town employees with 46 years of service between them were fired, in part for gossiping and discussing rumors of an improper relationship between the town administrator and another employee that Hooksett residents now agree were not true.

The administrator complained, and after an investigation the town council fired the women, finding, “Gossip, whispering, and an unfriendly environment are causing poor morale and interfering with the efficient performance of town business.”

To view the rest of the article click here.

Posted by Doug Phillips on May 25, 2007 | Permalink

Wow.

Posted by Doug Phillips on May 24, 2007 | Permalink

Announcing the “Jamestown Quadricentennial ENN Contest”

Each day across the country there are events transpiring—events which shape the lives of ordinary people—the most important events in the world. For over eleven months an elite team of cub reporters from all around America have been cataloging, documenting, and reporting these important stories that are being overlooked by the rest of the world. This, ladies and gentlemen, is the Everyday News Network and our national team of reporters. My name is Newsie McGrady, and in honor of the faithful labors of my fellow reporters and the 150+ episodes which they have now produced, I am proud to announce our first annual Anniversary Competition!

This is the year of America’s 400th birthday and the theme of our Anniversary Competition will be the Jamestown Quadricentennial and the Providence of God in the past 400 years of American History. Come to Jamestown! Interview speakers. Document what you learn. Explain your family’s costumes on camera. Film a story about Pocahontas, John Smith, or Elias Boudinot. Tell us how you are celebrating America’s birthday, show us how you are studying American history, document the story of an important player in the founding of America: then send it to me and I will select one of you for the grand prize!

For that honorable individual who is chosen as the winner of our competition, I will send you a $250 gift certificate from the Vision Forum!

Boys and Girls, if you’ve got what it takes, I need YOU to join me as a cub reporter for the Everyday News Network. I need YOUR help to document the most important stories happening just in your backyard or in your living room. I need YOUR reporting of everyday news. If you think you can be an ace reporter then join me and send in your episode highlighting an aspect of America’s 400th birthday before June 23rd. It’s easy, I’ll show you how.

See ya in Jamestown,

Newsie

(To view this video clip, you must have QuickTime 7 installed.)

Posted by Doug Phillips on May 22, 2007 | Permalink

Posted by Doug Phillips on May 21, 2007 | Permalink

“What if the inscription on the monuments erected over the dead be rendered illegible by time, and the monuments themselves be in fragments; yet is there a glory encircling those ruins, and arising from the earth on which those adventurers trod, which decay cannot reach, and which the lapse of centuries can only make more imposing. We are to do them reverence, and in the silent homage of the heart to utter thanksgiving and praise to our Heavenly Parent for the great benefits which, under His good providence, their hardy and successful adventures have conferred upon us and upon the world.” —President John Tyler on the role of monuments and the duty to remember, 1857, at the 250th Jubilee of Jamestown

This year, one monument will be erected for America’s 400th birthday. And the state has nothing to do with it. (For the first time in our nation’s history, officials have decided not to erect official markers of gratitude on the occasion of a centennial celebration.) The monument is the Jamestown Children’s Memorial, and it is the first American monument dedicated by children, based expressly on Holy Scripture and the Fifth Commandment, and dedicated to honoring the Lord for His work through our Jamestown founding fathers. Underneath the monument will be a time capsule to be opened on the 500th anniversary of America’s birth. The capsule contains the names of the children who made the monument possible. It also contains words of encouragement and exhortations from Holy Scripture for the children of the twenty-second century.

The Jamestown Children’s Memorial will be paid for by the one-dollar donations of the grateful children of America, with help from the generous donations of other donors who are making this special testimony of thanksgiving a reality.

Thanks be to the Lord — we are pleased to report that God has kindly raised up a generous donor who is making a matching grant for $20,000 available for the Jamestown Children’s Memorial, and for the purpose of helping Vision Forum Ministries raise the resources necessary for our efforts at historic preservation of the providential record of God through Jamestown in 2007. The offer provides that if we are able to raise $20,000 for the Jamestown Children’s Memorial in a timely manner, that our donor will match those gifts with an additional $20,000. If you would like to help make this matching gift a reality, please feel free to visit our Web site for information on online donations.

Posted by Doug Phillips on May 19, 2007 | Permalink

A VISIONARY GIANT — MY FRIEND, JERRY FALWELL — HAS DIED

By Howard Phillips

My friend, Dr. Jerry Falwell, died today (May 15).

I met Jerry in 1977 when, together with Ed McAteer, Field Director of The Conservative Caucus, I drove at high speed from Vienna, Virginia to Lynchburg, so as not to be late for what was to have been a 15- or 20-minute meeting with Dr. Falwell. It turned into a three-hour discussion in which we persuaded Jerry to mount a pro-active defense against those who were attacking Christian principles, Christian values, and public policies based on Biblical law.

During a series of meetings, I proposed that the name of a new organization which Jerry would lead be the “Moral Majority”. In this, I was supported by several of Dr. Falwell’s colleagues, including Arthur DeMoss (head of the Lincoln National Life Insurance Company).

Jerry and I worked closely on a great many projects.

In 1978, The Conservative Caucus (TCC) was about to unleash a 2 million piece mailing to help line up votes against the Jimmy Carter-Howard Baker Panama Canal Treaties. The only problem was the printer had produced the contents of the mailing in such a manner that they could not be inserted by machine in the outer envelopes.

I mentioned the problem to Dr. Falwell, and he immediately offered to make available 200 of his volunteers to handstuff the envelopes. They promptly did so and we got out the mailing on time.

In 1980, Dr. Falwell and I were part of a small group that met with Ronald Reagan on the day when he would choose his Vice Presidential running mate. Dr. Falwell was pushing Jack Kemp. I was promoting Jesse Helms, but before we left the meeting I realized that, under pressure from Nancy Reagan and Jim Baker, the GOP nominee had already decided to select George H. W. Bush.

In 1981, at a meeting of the Council for National Policy, Jerry pulled me aside and told me he had decided to support Vice President Bush to be Reagan’s successor at the 1988 Presidential Nominating Convention. I protested, saying that Bush stood for a great many things with which both Jerry and I profoundly disagreed. Jerry replied that, by backing Vice President Bush early on, he would gain his confidence and have greater influence over his policies.

In 1983, when my friend, Congressman Lawrence Patton McDonald, was murdered by the Soviet Union in their shootdown of the Korean Airliner 007, I ran a memorial service at Constitution Hall at which Dr. Falwell was a major speaker. He made available his jet to transport me and McDonald’s widow to the memorial service.

In 1986, shortly after I returned from leading a group of American conservatives to South Africa, several South African individuals turned up on my doorstep wanting to tell their story about Communist terrorism in their native land. One was a woman who had been disfigured by an African National Congress bomb in a railway station. Others were John and Cindy Leontsenis, leaders of a group called Victims Against Terrorism. They had fled Chile when Salvadore Allende was on the verge of turning that country over to Fidel Castro. The visitor with the most anguished experience was a woman whose husband and two sons had been necklaced (in other words burned to death with tires around their necks) by Nelson Mandela’s thugs.

I brought their accounts to the attention of Ted Koppel, who was running “Nightline” and with whom, at that point, I had a cordial relationship.

Our visit to Koppel’s Green Room was on the same day when there were soccer riots in Belgium, and Koppel refused to pay any heed to the accounts of my guests, indicating that their stories of terrorism did not comport with his personal priorities.

I then contacted Dr. Falwell and his able associate, Ron Godwin, and, immediately, Jerry invited my visitors to speak that Sunday at a taping of his “Old Time Gospel Hour”. He also arranged for them to be interviewed on the local ABC TV affiliate in Lynchburg. In every way he was extraordinarily gracious.

In subsequent years, I had a number of excellent discussions and meetings with Dr. Falwell.

Just a few days before his death, Jerry had an extended conversation with my oldest son, Doug, and had agreed to be the keynote speaker at Doug’s Jamestown celebration during the second week of June. He even said he would bring several hundred students from Liberty University to participate in the celebration.

Jerry Falwell was a terrific family man, a wonderful preacher, a great visionary, and a successful administrator.

His Thomas Road Baptist Church, which I have visited on several occasions, now has 24,000-plus members. Liberty University has about 15,000 students on campus and another 15,000 people who participate in a long-distance learning program.

This is just a small bit of what Dr. Falwell did with his time and his energy. My condolences go out to his wife, Macel, and his three children — one of whom, Jonathan, is now executive pastor at Thomas Road Baptist Church. His daughter, Jeannie, is a physician and his son, Jerry, Jr., is a successful attorney and realtor.

Posted by Doug Phillips on May 19, 2007 | Permalink

Posted by Doug Phillips on May 18, 2007 | Permalink

Deep within the ancient lands of the Jamestown, Williamsburg, Yorktown triangle, rests a treasure of historic proportions.

Hidden somewhere near or by the ancient landmarks of our colonial forefathers, lies a trove of buried treasure. Golden treasure.

Resting within a bolted wooden chest are 400 solid gold coins with a value in the tens of thousands of dollars.

Whoever cracks the mystery of the Jamestown 400 becomes the sole owner of the treasure trove.

But to crack the code and find the 400 gold coins, you must take a journey through history that will reveal America’s greatest national treasure - the providential hand of God in the life of this nation.

Go to WorldNetDaily to see the rest of my article.

Posted by Doug Phillips on May 18, 2007 | Permalink

Posted by Doug Phillips on May 16, 2007 | Permalink

For its faithful coverage of breaking events with the Jamestown Quadricentennial.

Posted by Doug Phillips on May 16, 2007 | Permalink

With seconds before midnight, the first finalists appear on the verge of completion.

Posted by Doug Phillips on May 15, 2007 | Permalink

We are experiencing intense traffic overload on our J400 backend and the system is temporarily clogged.

The hunt will be extended two hours to compensate for the problem.

Posted by Doug Phillips on May 15, 2007 | Permalink

It is with tremendous anguish that I report to you the recent news of the death of Dr. Jerry Falwell, Chancellor of Liberty University, friend of the Phillips family. The news is altogether more painful for me because I just recently enjoyed a thirty-minute telephone conversation with him, reviewing our family history together and talking about plans for the future. When I spoke with him on the phone, he sounded as fresh, jovial, and enthusiastic as he did the first time my family visited him at Thomas Rhodes Baptist Church in the early 1970s. His impact on the United States of America is widely known, but his personal impact on my family and me for thirty years is a matter of tender remembrance. Dr. Falwell was one of the keynotes for our Jamestown Quadricentennial Celebration, but my first and foremost reason for visiting with him on the telephone recently was to thank him with as much specificity as possible for his thirty years of kindness to my father, my family, and me. I certainly never imagined when we spoke that that would be the last time I would hear his voice this side of heaven.

This news is overwhelming to me. I am not able at present to offer the proper tribute to the life of this remarkable man, but I purpose to soon, after I collect my thoughts and prayerfully consider the best way to do so. For now, I offer my heartfelt condolences to his family even as I rejoice in the knowledge that there is one more soul in the presence of Jesus Christ.

Posted by Doug Phillips on May 15, 2007 | Permalink

Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein. Jeremiah 6:16

And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. Genesis 1:28

Posted by Doug Phillips on May 14, 2007 | Permalink

Posted by Doug Phillips on May 14, 2007 | Permalink

The above sponsored message is a llama-gram for those who may still be confused.

Posted by Doug Phillips on May 14, 2007 | Permalink

On Friday, May 11, the Pittsburgh Tribune Review addressed an age-old debate concerning the possible location of a cache of buried gold left behind by General Edward Braddock at the time of the French and Indian War.

For more than 250 years, rumors of buried gold from Gen. Edward Braddock’s campaign during the French and Indian War have stirred men’s imaginations. The gold coin was to be used as payroll for the 2,400 British and American troops who journeyed with Braddock in June and July of 1755 during his expedition from Fort Cumberland, Md., to Fort Duquesne.

After Braddock was mortally wounded by the French during the battle of Monongahela (now Braddock, Pa) and his army retreated to a site near Fort Necessity in Fayette County, the $25,000 of British gold was never seen again.

Posted by Doug Phillips on May 14, 2007 | Permalink

Last year I shared the beautiful story of the marriage of Peter and Kelly Bradrick. If you have not read their wedding vows and shared their story with your children, tonight would be a good night. This weekend at the Arlington Home School Book Fair, sponsored by Kirk and Beverly McCord, Beall and I were reminded of the preciousness of multi-generational faithfulness with couples like Peter and Kelly. Peter was just a young tike, more than two decades ago when he attended the very first Arlington Home School Book Fair with his parents, home education legends, Michael and Susan Bradrick. You may recall that Kelly is the daughter of Scott Brown, a powerful preacher of the Word, loving pastor and director of the National Center for Family Integrated Churches.

This weekend Peter attended the Arlington Home School Book Fair as my faithful assistant, but he brought his bride and their precious baby (still in the womb) to the event. That is three generations over nearly a quarter of a century at the same home education event. It is my firm conviction that couples like Peter and Kelly represent the best and the brightest of the generational work of the Lord through the modern home education movement. Thanks be to God that he has blessed them with new life.

Would you join me in praying for them and their baby as they await with anticipation the arrival of God’s “reward,” and for all the mother’s blessed with the fruit of the womb who are presently awaiting the hope of new life in their arms.

Posted by Doug Phillips on May 13, 2007 | Permalink

When the clock strikes midnight on Tuesday, May 15, a seven-month journey will come to an end for all but one hundred of the thousands of individuals who have participated in the Jamestown 400: Our National Treasure Hunt.

As the months have ticked by, many have dropped off, one by one. They did not persevere.

But many more have proven themselves indefatigable and indispensable men and women. They have persevered.

One of them will leave Jamestown with four hundred solid gold coins. More importantly, they will have the satisfaction of proving themselves to be a top amateur sleuth and a history buff extraordinaire of God’s providence.

Those who have solved a total of 32 special clues will be able to sleep tonight knowing that their sleuth skills will not be called upon until Monday morning at which time the final and most significant barrage of mysteries will be presented. Those who have yet to solve the clues should be reminded that having persevered thus far, it would be a great mistake to quit at the proverbial 11th hour.

Beginning on Monday, the final twenty-four hours plus of the Jamestown 400 will be a memorable sprint that will require each player to be on their best game. But it will be a sprint with a significant pay-off for the qualifying victors who will be invited to participate in a physical hunt in the Jamestown, Yorktown, Williamsburg Triangle.

They will be called upon to use the knowledge and skills they have acquired over the last seven months to think intelligently and crack a mystery which dates back to the early history of America. The race will not necessarily go to the swift, but to the wise and the persevering.

Long anticipated questions will be answered and a seven month puzzle will begin to assemble in a unified whole.

But when that clock does strike midnight, even if less than one hundred crack the final codes, that is it.

The Vision Forum “special ops” team responsible for the Jamestown 400 will be praying for our players this weekend. We regard you highly and have been dearly blessed to share this remarkable experience.

If you are a player, expect an important letter from us by Monday.

Posted by Doug Phillips on May 10, 2007 | Permalink

We are amazed and we are thankful.

We are blessed and overwhelmed by the outpouring of response from America to our Jamestown Quadricentennial. At this point, we have several thousands of registrants and have reached maximum capacity for our week-long pass.

Thanks to the providential mercy of the Lord we have been able to meet the current demand, and allow for additional registrants by expanding our venues on Wednesday and Thursday, thus allowing us to offer about 400 remaining four-day pass for the Jamestown Quadricentennial. We also have about 400 spots left for the weekend two-day pass.

I recommend that if you have been waiting to purchase a ticket that you do so soon, in order to ensure your spot. We are fairly confident that our event will reach maximum capacity sometime in the next two or three weeks, after which we will have to shut down ticket sales. Everything is first-come, first-serve.

To purchase a four day ticket pass or a two day pass visit this link.

Posted by Doug Phillips on May 10, 2007 | Permalink

The Moody Broadcasting Network will air Jamestown: A Quadricentennial Celebration this Saturday, May 12 at 1pm (CDT) and Sunday, May 13th at 4pm (CDT). I was delighted to be one of the featured spokesmen to be interviewed. Click here to learn more about it

Posted by Doug Phillips on May 10, 2007 | Permalink

This just in. Designed and sent to us from a friend of Vision Forum.

Posted by Doug Phillips on May 10, 2007 | Permalink

Posted by Doug Phillips on May 9, 2007 | Permalink

Posted by Doug Phillips on May 9, 2007 | Permalink

“For as long as I could remember, the small cottage on Castro Street had been home. The familiar background was there; Mama, Papa, my only brother, Nels. There was my sister Christine, closest to me in age, yet ever secret and withdrawn — and the littlest sister, Dagmar.

“There, too came the Aunts, Mama’s four sisters. Aunt Jenny, who was the oldest and the bossiest; Aunt Sigrid; Aunt Marta; and our maiden Aunt, Trina. The Aunts’ old bachelor uncle, my Great-uncle Chris — the ‘black Norwegian’ — came with his great impatience, his shouting and stamping. And brought mystery and excitement to our humdrum days.

“But most of all, I remember Mama.

“I remember that every Saturday night Mama would sit down by the scrubbed kitchen table and with much wrinkling of usually placid brows count out the money Papa had brought home in the little envelope....”

Posted by Doug Phillips on May 9, 2007 | Permalink

I am so delighted by the remarkable work of our Everyday News Network Reporters. Some of my favorite broadcasts include the stories of providence and perseverance in America’s history connected with this our quadricentennial year celebration.

Please take time to watch the reports from Daniel from the grave of America’s great founding father, Elias Boudinot. Also, you must watch the amazing broadcast by Lucas and Noah Joseph from inside (yes, I said inside) a diorama of the 1607 Jamestown Fort. Amazing.

Posted by Doug Phillips on May 9, 2007 | Permalink

As we approach the final leg of the Jamestown 400: Our National Treasure Hunt, I want to express my personal appreciation and gratitude for the many, many players who have committed so very much to this journey in historical discovery. Many thousands have played at one level or another. On our end, the Jamestown 400 team has poured our collective hearts into this once-in-a-century adventure. The fruits have been truly rewarding. We judge those fruits from the numerous testimonies of gratitude which we have received from individuals who have come to appreciate the providence of God in American history, and from the precious stories of families who have grown closer in the process of becoming amateur code-breakers and sleuths.

Surprising side-effects of the Jamestown 400 include a number of industries which have been built around the game. One of my favorites can be found here. Make sure to check out the Dare Stone and Caesar Cipher t-shirts.

Posted by Doug Phillips on May 7, 2007 | Permalink

News.com—HAVING large families should be frowned upon as an environmental misdemeanour in the same way as frequent long-haul flights, driving a big car and failing to reuse plastic bags, says a report to be published today by a green think tank.

The paper by the Optimum Population Trust will say that if couples had two children instead of three they could cut their family’s carbon dioxide output by the equivalent of 620 return flights a year between London and New York.

“The greatest thing anyone in Britain could do to help the future of the planet would be to have one less child.”

Click here to read the whole article. Also, for a completely different perspective, check out our book Be Fruitful and Multiply and Children and the Dominion Mandate.

Posted by Doug Phillips on May 7, 2007 | Permalink

Chuck Norris explains why President Bush needs to tell the true Christian history of Jamestown in his weekly column for WND:

From Plymouth to Jamestown, I’ve already addressed in another WND article how Christian history is being revised and removed from early American origins, often to cater to our overly tolerant and secularly biased nation. I even read this past week how the president’s proclamation of the 400th anniversary of the Jamestown Settlement falls short of emphasizing our godly heritage.

Being friends of the Bush family, I know of their sincere Christian faith and appreciation of our national heritage. And I believe when the president visits Jamestown this Sunday, May 13, to celebrate our country’s birth, he will have the spiritual fortitude to proclaim its Christian legacy, despite its unpopularity or possible absence in his script.

President Bush has the grit and backbone to declare the Christian mission of Jamestown, as stated in the Virginia Colony Charter of 1606 by King James I, who called for the “propagating of Christian religion to such people as yet live in darkness and miserable ignorance of the true knowledge and worship of God.” Such a religious declaration needs repetition by the president and all of us, now more than ever, especially in a day when most seem adamant to build up “the wall of separation between church and state.”

Posted by Doug Phillips on May 7, 2007 | Permalink

Posted by Doug Phillips on May 4, 2007 | Permalink

According to the London Telegraph, Sir Cosmo Duff Gordon (pictured below at the 1908 Olympics) has been cleared of any charges of cowardice for his survival from the disaster of the R.M.S. Titanic.

He was one of the great blackguards of pre-First World War British society: Sir Cosmo Duff Gordon, the man who not only was said to have bought his way off the sinking Titanic, but then stopped his half-empty lifeboat from returning to pick up drowning passengers.

However, the history books might have to be rewritten. A letter discovered in a London attic appears to exonerate the Old Etonian baronet and fencing and pistol champion of either cowardice or callousness.

Travelling with Sir Cosmo and his wife, Lucy was Mabel Francatelli, Lady Duff Gordon’s secretary. In a long letter written by Miss Francatelli from New York a few days after the sinking, she gives a vivid account of their escape and rescue. She also says that Sir Cosmo behaved with complete generosity and integrity.

Sir Cosmo, his wife, and the secretary abandoned the Titanic with two other American passengers and seven stokers in an emergency lifeboat designed for 40 people.

Posted by Doug Phillips on May 4, 2007 | Permalink

WorldNetDaily reports that: “A presidential proclamation in honor of the 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown, Va., whose settlers were dispatched from England with the primary goal of furthering the Christian faith, doesn’t mention Christianity, and the leader of a group working to have that history accurately portrayed is troubled.

“‘America looks to our leaders in moments of historic importance to remind us of our foundations as a free people. Historically American presidents have taken the opportunity of the celebration of Jamestown to point out that this experiment in liberty was first dedicated to God,’ said Doug Phillips.”

Posted by Doug Phillips on May 4, 2007 | Permalink

In this case, the question is actually this: Who speaks for the descendants of Powhatan and his Empire?

The question is significant given the fact that the media is literally besieged this week with spokesmen claiming to be the true representatives of the descendants of American Indians and providing novel and sometimes fantastical interpretations of history — and demanding a non-celebration of our birthday.

In my weekly article for Worldnetdaily, I discuss the controversy regarding the Queen’s visit and the call of the Native Americans to have her apologize for the “invasion.”

One of the problems is the rise of the “new mythology” — an approach to history that openly rejects the academic, written, and primary source approach to historical interpretation in favor of the oral tradition of individuals claiming to be the true heirs and spokesmen for the Powhatan tradition.

A second component of the new mythology is the idea that there is one uniform voice of historical interpretation for the descendants to the Jamestown area Indians. My article addresses the problem with both errors in the new mythology of Jamestown.

Even the question of what constitutes a real American tribe, or a descendant of American Indian tribes, remains highly controversial. There are numerous applicants for federally recognized tribal status who have been rejected. The rejection means no reservation land, no financial benefits, and no possibility of becoming millionaires through Indian gambling casinos.

As to the question of who constitutes a descendant, huge controversies exist. Recently, the Cherokee nation voted out of their tribe a group of individuals who had previously been recognized as members of their nation — black Cherokee descendants of former Cherokee slaves. By denying these black Cherokees their tribal status, they prevent them from the possibility of cashing in on the tribal gambling benefits.

Click here to read the rest of the article

Posted by Doug Phillips on May 4, 2007 | Permalink

On behalf of Vision Forum and the Phillips family I want to thank the leadership of this last week’s Massachusetts HOPE state home school conference for making it such an outstanding and blessed event. Special thanks to the many precious and enthusaistic families who brought such joy to the event. It seemed as if the spirit of the Lord was moving in an unusual and blessed way. Perhaps the most encouraging part of the weekend were the numerous testimonies of families who had been turned around from pending divorce, and children who were reunited with their fathers and mothers, because of the message of family renewal, biblical manhood and womanhood, and multi-generational faithfulness.

Above is the William Levi family. Mr. Levi, is a Sudanese Christian who has been active in ministry to the people of his nation, and has worked with my brother Brad Phillips, president of the Persecution Project, which is active in Gospel mission work in the Sudan. I spoke at length with Mr. Levi who is at least a third or fourth generation Christian. He shared with me his intense love for his father who was brutally martyred by the Muslims, as was his mother.

My son Joshua is a wonderful personal assistant. Above, he checks out a screen just prior to my talk on “The Visionary Father’s Role in Home Education.” Other messages delivered included “The Wise Woman’s Guide to Blessing Her Husband’s Vision,” “Jamestown and Plymouth: America’s Legacy of Providence and Perseverence,” and “Defending the Faith Against Creation Comrpimises.”

What an encouragement to be with my friend Chris Klicka of Home School Legal Defense. Chris is one of the great home school heroes of the last twenty years, having personally invested his life in building this movement for the glory of God. Today, he suffers from MS, but has used the spiritual lessons and challenges of that experience to encourage tens of thousands to be victorious in Christ and to remember the most important things.

I am always so blessed to have a wonderful team at the Vision Forum. Above are some of the men who travelled to serve at the Mass Hope conference.

Posted by Doug Phillips on May 3, 2007 | Permalink

Learn more about The Influence of Older Children on Younger Children, also available as a part of the Fruit of the Gospel Audio Collection.

Posted by Doug Phillips on May 2, 2007 | Permalink

Citizen Magazine—Imagine all your friends being invited to a birthday party, and once they arrive, they’re forbidden to be happy. Instead of leading everyone in song, the hosts complain about the birth, criticize the parents and demand an apology from the guests. Welcome to the 400th anniversary commemoration of the founding of Jamestown—the English settlement in Virginia that is, for some liberals, ground zero for evil in America.

Click here for the rest of the article.

Posted by Doug Phillips on May 1, 2007 | Permalink

“Dear Vision Forum...I read this quote this morning and shared it with fellow hunters. We can all relate! Thought you all might enjoy it as well, (feel free to pass the message on to “Jack”!): “We scarcely lie down or rise up, but with expectation that the night or the day must produce some important event,” wrote one of Washington’s staff. (From the book “1776.” We are all praying for VF and its families!”

“Dear Vision Forum, I just wanted to say: Thank you all so much for putting together the Jamestown 400 hunt. It has been so much fun, and we can tell that you all put a lot of effort into it.”

“Dear Mr. Phillips. I have been participating in the Jamestown 400 since November. It has been a wonderful journey of learning and fun ~ one I will never forget. I was amazed to discover all about the “other” people who are never mentioned in history books. In many of those books, the BAD people are good, the good ones are bad, and the whole story is never told. Without this treasure hunt, I would have not known the true stories of Jamestown and Roanoke. That is the real reason that I am participating. Of course, if I won the gold, I would be ecstatic, but that is not the true treasure of this hunt. The real treasure is the knowledge and wisdom that everyone participating is gaining. Thank you so much for making this possible.”

“Dear Mr. Phillips, I just wanted to take this opportunity to express my thanks to you and the Vision Forum staff for organizing this exciting journey through history. To sum up, in a sentence, what this experience has given me would be a difficult choice. Above all the possibilities I could use to summarize my involvement, I would have to say that I am now better equipped to instruct my children on the biblical founding of our nation and the godly men that set their feet on the providential path set before them.”

Posted by Doug Phillips on May 1, 2007 | Permalink