By Doug Phillips

Tom Lee was a man who always had a sparkle in his eyes and a Gospel message on his tongue. His family is one of those that people describe as “energy givers.” When Tom, his bride and his family of thirteen children would arrive in town, it always meant encouragement.

Last night as tornado storm winds approached the Lee home in Alabama, Tom gathered his wife and thirteen children in the den. They huddled and they prayed. Two minutes later the tornado descended upon them. The house was instantly destroyed as beams and cinder blocks rained down upon them.

But in his last great act of fatherhood, Tom Lee had the presence of mind to throw himself on top of his children, including his first-born son Jordan. Looking up at his father Jordan saw the blood in his father’s mouth and witnessed as the breath began to leave his father, but was able to hear the last words of his father’s crying out to God for the safety of his family. Then the spirit left the body of Tom Lee.

There were other injuries including children trapped under a piano and between beams. Medical assistance was nowhere in sight for many hours. There was just too much damage in the valley, too few support teams, and inaccessibility was a problem. Eventually they came.

This is where the Lee children were trapped from 6:30 p.m. to 2:00 a.m.

This morning some children have been released from the hospital while others are still being evaluated for injuries.

Jordan Lee has not had time to grieve. The mantle of responsibility has been placed upon him immediately. Shortly after his father’s death, and while some children could not be rescued without assistance, Jordan called his friends—members of the Vision Forum staff, Kevin Turley; my former co-elder at our local church, Bob Welch; and others. Like his father, Jordan had a manly presence of mind and was able to take the necessary steps to see that his mother, brothers, and sisters would be rescued.

It was a late night here in San Antonio, in North Carolina, in Tennessee, and elsewhere as we worked together to get teams organized to drive through the night and bring assistance to the Lee family and others who have been devastated.

This morning the teams arrived. Reports are coming in from the ground. Just moments before posting this article, Vision Forum Ministries conference coordinator Kevin Turley described the scene as total devastation. He is presently helping a woman who is screaming looking for her daughter and grandchildren on a plot of land which once contained a house and is now completely flattened.

The woman was standing outside and screaming for help:

“They are gone...they are gone!” she wailed. “I told them to leave and they would not leave...!”

Several of the men who were my teammates for the Into the Amazon Expedition have been working through the night and are also on the location as of now. Food, clothing, and medical supplies are in great need, but especially water.

It is clear that the police and local authorities are overwhelmed and unable to handle the scope of the problem.

“Thank God, The body of Christ has been activated,” Kevin just told me. “We are getting calls and reports of tractors, trucks, and Christians from all around who are on their way to bring help.”

The Tom Lee family

More reports to follow.

Posted by Doug Phillips on April 28, 2011 | Permalink

Posted by Doug Phillips on April 28, 2011 | Permalink

Jordan Lee, second from the right. He was a tremendous help for Vision Forum MInistries at the Jamestown Quadricentennial in 2007.

Posted by Doug Phillips on April 28, 2011 | Permalink

A Panorama of Flattened Homes in a Valley Populated With Many Home Educating Christian Families from Douglas Phillips on Vimeo.

Posted by Doug Phillips on April 28, 2011 | Permalink

By Doug Phillips

When news of an imminent Tornado arrived, Aaron Crawford volunteered his home as a shelter to his friends. The father of nine children, including a three week old infant, Mr. Crawford is part of a strong community of Christians and home educators living in the area of Alabama most directly impacted by the tornados.

Known for their hospitality, the Crawford home has been the place of many gatherings for Christians including a wedding reception for Vision Forum designer, Justin Turley and his wife, Melissa.

Yesterday would be the last day to be hospitable in their home—-but it was the ultimate act of hospitality.

With few moments to spare, three other families gathered with the Crawfords for safety in the basement of their home. That number included more than 25 children.

Then it hit.

Mr. Crawford described the tornado as shaking the home for “30 to 40 seconds at most.”

Two men stood at the door between the basement and the first floor. Throwing their bodies against the wall as human braces. They strained to keep the door closed as the house shook to its very foundations.

Near by nine children crammed underneath a stairwell. A old brick fireplace collapsed and fell through the floor. No one was injured. In other rooms families huddled together praying for what seemed like the longest minute of their lives.

And then it stopped—-an eerie calm.

The men opened the door. Where once a there were walls, and pictures and furniture and beds and a kitchen, now there was nothing—-nothing, but broad daylight. The house was completely gone but all lives were saved.

“I don’t care if I get out of here in my underwear...we are alive! ” Mr. Crawford rejoiced, “I don’t need any of this stuff.”

“Our homes are literally flat, trees are uprooted everywhere-it is unrecognizable. (We live on the same property as my parents and their home is gone too.)....but God is mighty to save—-all is not lost.”

“He is the picture of gratitude,” Vision Forum Ministries conference coordinator Kevin Turley explained by phone to me from the location of the disaster.

Mr. Crawford’s Words are telling about the power of faith in Jesus Christ in the midst of great loss:

“There is only one thing I know...my God is faithful, gracious and might to save. Underneath all the destruction there is a brewing peace that things are going to be OK because of the God I serve. Even while the roads were still blocked, friends, church family and people from all over started pouring in-walking miles through the treacherous darkness and debris to bring in supplies-food, blankets, generators-people even from other states. I am overwhelmed.”

Friends and employees of Vision Forum Ministries are on the ground working now with Peter Bradrick on disaster relief efforts. The greatest needs now are for water and supplies. More information on how you can help will be forthcoming.

Tornado Disaster: Crawford Home Devastated from Douglas Phillips on Vimeo.

Posted by Doug Phillips on April 28, 2011 | Permalink

Virginia Sings a Sailor Ballad from Douglas Phillips on Vimeo.

With thanks to Charlies Zahm!

Posted by Doug Phillips on April 27, 2011 | Permalink

Men follow courage. But where are the courageous leaders? Where are the men who self-consciously and consistently place principle over politics? Even more rare is the man who understands that our Republican system of government and the best laws which have historically governed this land are the outgrowth of that ethical foundation which is found in biblical Christianity. This is an ethical foundation which opposes tyranny by limiting the role of the state, by honoring the independence and integrity of the jurisdictions of the family and the Church, and by maximizing individual freedom in the context of a law order which reflects the transcendent moral law of God.

These are my words, not those of Texas Representative David Simpson, but judging from his critics, his enemies, and the remarkably principled stands he has been taking, the freshman congressman from Longview may well prove to be the most courageous elected official of the year, and the man most likely to inspire the burgeoning movement of Americans looking for hope in a sea of Democratic and Republican statist politicians.

Take time and read the following article documenting how this freshman is coming under fire. Note the condescension and disapproval of members of his own party when Rep. Simpson puts principle over pork. It is a telling sign of the times, but also a huge encouragement to those of us who realize that the Lord is not done with this nation. I have included my own commentary in all-caps between the comments.

Freshman Making Few Friends at Capitol

by Tim Eaton

AUSTIN-AMERICAN STATESMAN

It’s not that Rep. David Simpson hates puppies.

But when the conservative Republican from Longview fought against the so-called puppy mill bill last week, he cemented his reputation as a renegade, an ideologue and someone who would not shy away from getting sideways with the Texas House’s most senior members, Democrat and Republican.

“I guess I don’t know what a freshman’s supposed to do,” Simpson, 49, said in an interview last week from behind a desk where a large bronze eagle perches. “The people didn’t send me here to sit down and shut up.”

I AM SO GRATEFUL FOR AN OLD-FASHIONED DAVEY CROCKETTESQUE LAWMAKER THAT MEANS BUSINESS, NOT BUSINESS AS USUAL.

In fighting the puppy mill bill, Simpson squared off against the majority of the House, not just the bill’s author, Rep. Senfronia Thompson, D-Houston, one of the chamber’s longest-serving members.

The bill to protect animals in large breeding operations was on the fast-track local and consent calendar, the home for bills that have broad support and no fiscal implications.

Simpson ultimately achieved his goal of knocking the bill off the consent calendar, saying it would use state funds for employees. But it was a lonely fight, and he drew a lot of criticism.

HERE IS A TRUE CONSTITUTIONALIST, A REPRESENTATIVE WHO OPPOSES BILLS THAT ARE IMPLICITLY SOCIALIST BECAUSE THEY IMPROPERLY REDISTRIBUTE WEALTH.

Simpson was “trying to be a genius when he’s not one,” Thompson said. “I feel sorry for his kids. When they start reading history, this is going to be an embarrassment.”

WHAT ARE WE TO THINK OF LEADERS WHO RESORT TO KINDERGARTEN VERBAL ABUSE ABOUT THE INTELLIGENCE OF THEIR COLLEAGUES, WHO VERBALLY PICK ON THE CHILDREN OF AN ELECTED REPRESENTATIVE, AND WHO AND RESORT TO SUCH CONDESCENSION?

A Republican, Jim Keffer of Eastland, piled on, telling the House chamber that Simpson’s move impugned Thompson and the legislative process.

Taking on Thompson not only has left Simpson alienated — which he said is OK with him — but it also has brought harsh rebuke, he said.

“I was threatened by one particular person that my bills would not get out of committee,” he said.

He refused to say who threatened him.

THIS IS THE PRICE OF GODLY LEADERSHIP.

Earlier controversy

Challenging the puppy bill isn’t the only example of Simpson’s startling actions.

It started at the beginning of the session, when he opposed the re-election of House Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio. A clip of Simpson praying for a “godly and humble leader of the Texas House” ended up on the national faux news program “The Daily Show.”

Simpson befuddled observers across the Capitol again when he opposed the Republicans’ budget bill, House Bill 1.

He was one of two Republicans to vote no on the measure.

THANK YOU, DAVID SIMPSON.

He opposed the bill largely over what he called corporate welfare.

“HB 1 did not cut the most obvious nonessential programs,” such as business subsidies and incentives, he said. Our government “was instituted to promote the general welfare instead of handing out favors to particular industries in a few concentrated areas,” he wrote on his website.

ANOTHER EXAMPLE THAT HE IS A MAN OF PRINCIPLE.

Recently, Simpson spoke against a bill pushed by a fellow conservative , Rep. Leo Berman, R-Tyler.

Berman had wide support for a bill to help curb crystal meth cooking operations by modernizing the way pharmacists collect names of people buying pseudoephedrine, an ingredient in meth production.

Simpson said it was too much of an encroachment on personal information.

I AM DEEPLY GRATEFUL TO SEE SOMEONE REMIND AMERICANS THAT THE “ENDS DO NOT JUSTIFY THE MEANS.” WE MAY NOT SUSPEND OUR LIBERTIES, OR THE PROCEDURAL DUE PROCESS THAT OUR FOUNDING FATHERS WON FOR US, IN THE NAME OF SAFETY

Berman was nice when he spoke of Simpson’s dissent.

“He misses the boat on some occasions,” Berman said. “He’s a freshman, and he’s learning.”

Creating his own role

Most members of the Legislature will tell you that getting along is a big part of being an effective politician in the Texas House.

But Simpson sees things a bit differently. He seems to believe that he should stick to his principles instead of making friends.

Back in his district, some people support his work.

Keith Rothra, the Republican Party chairman in Gregg County, said Simpson tends more toward libertarianism than conservatism, and he campaigned on the promise of working toward small government and conservative ideals. And he’s lived up to his pledges.

“You can’t knock a guy for doing what he promised,” Rothra said.

But many more people from the district, some of whom hold important elected positions, said they are worried that Simpson’s behavior is bad for the district.

Longview Mayor Jay Dean, a Republican, said he is concerned that the clash with longer-serving lawmakers could make it difficult to pass other district-friendly bills .

“You have to pick and choose your battles to get things done in the Legislature,” he said.

Most of Simpson’s bills don’t deal with issues specific to his district. They have more to do with broader ideals.

He has filed a measure to allow guns on college campuses, he was joint author on a bill for raw milk, and he filed another that deals with abortion.

FREEDOM FROM CRIMINALS; FREEDOM FROM STATISTS; FREEDOM FROM THE MURDER OF CHILDREN.

He also has authored a bill to curb what he sees as overreaching security at airports.

“The first passion I have is the first duty of government, and that’s to protect life or allow for the protection of life,” he said. “Right now, government is doing lots of things; it’s invading our privacy, and I’m very much concerned about that.”

DAVID SIMPSON FOR PRESIDENT!

Rooted in faith

It doesn’t take long when talking to Simpson to realize the root of his actions.

As a Reformed Baptist and graduate of the Trinity Ministerial Academy of Montville, N.J., Simpson said his actions are first meant to please his Maker — to whom he refers often.

With a slow, East Texas delivery of words and a heavy head that often draws his eyes to the ground, Simpson peppers conversations with Bible verses, and he turns his palms upward sometimes when talking about God.

Rep. Jason Isaac, R-Dripping Springs, who sits next to Simpson on the House floor, noted that Simpson often says lawmakers were sent to Austin to “punish wrongdoers” — an idea Simpson says is straight from the Bible.

Simpson said that “we punish those who harm other people, and then we get out of the way” of those who don’t.

Those religious beliefs have been central to some of the Capitol chatter surrounding Simpson.

Earlier in the session, Simpson managed to get members talking about two incidents in which he was said to have laid hands on a couple of unsuspecting members to heal what ailed them: a bad heart and a throbbing head.

None of the members would comment on the record when asked about it, and Simpson dodged repeated attempts to explain the events, saying little more than “I am not a charismatic.”

Life back home

The other central part of Simpson’s life is his large immediate family.

He has a wife and seven children — ages 7, 11, 17, 18, 20, 22 and 24. His kids have all been home-schooled or attended private schools, he said....

Because of his quickly earned reputation, Simpson is already being talked about by some people, such as the puppy mill bill’s author, as someone who is so polarizing that he might not return next session.

“I just don’t think people will be sending him back,” Thompson said.

But Simpson said he can only do what he thinks is right, and the electorate will like it or not.

“If they are pleased, they’ll re-elect me,” he said. “If not, I’ll go back to planting and cultivating pine timber full time.”

DAVID SIMPSON MAY HAVE EARNED THE HACKLES OF THE POLITICIANS, BUT HE IS EARNING THE APPRECIATION OF FREEDOM-LOVING TEXANS.

Posted by Doug Phillips on April 26, 2011 | Permalink

For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse. (Romans 1:20)

A Christian Response to Earth Day

All men are religious because all men have an object of worship. All men have faith in something. In the end, men will either worship and serve the creature, or they will worship and serve the Creator. But they will worship something.

In the 18th century, many began to worship the mind. The religion of that day was rationalism. In the 19th century, this god morphed into scientism. But science failed to provide the answers to ultimate questions. The men of the 20th century looked for a more immediate solution to the problems of humanity — they chose to worship the State. This failed. Statism proved to be a harsh taskmaster. In the absence of any real solutions from rationalism, scientism, and statism, men fixed their attention on a new god — or rather, an ancient God that just needed a new facelift.

That god is the earth.

21st-century men are earth worshippers. They are sanitized pantheists. Of course, they don’t call themselves pantheists or earth worshippers, but religious devotion to the material world is the essence of this modern faith.

This religious devotion to the material world as god comes in many shapes and sizes, but it has become ubiquitous in our culture. The new pantheism is at the heart of the green movement. It is reflected in the priorities of Hollywood, in the agenda of politicians, and in the curriculums of the government schools. It is found in the marketing campaign of Madison Avenue, in the reality TV shows of cable television, and sadly, even in pulpits across the nation. The worship of the creation has become a defining undercurrent in our culture, even as it is reshaping many of the cultures of the modern world.

And this is one reason why this Friday, April 22, millions of people (perhaps billions) representing the countries of the United Nations will stop to celebrate the high holy day of this religion as they pay homage to the earth God. Of Earth Day, evolutionary anthropologist Margaret Meade once explained that:

EARTH DAY is the first holy day which transcends all national borders, yet preserves all geographical integrities, spans mountains and oceans and time belts, and yet brings people all over the world into one resonating accord, is devoted to the preservation of the harmony in nature and yet draws upon the triumphs of technology, the measurement of time, and instantaneous communication through space. EARTH DAY draws on astronomical phenomena in a new way — which is also the most ancient way — by using the vernal Equinox, the time when the Sun crosses the equator making the length of night and day equal in all parts of the earth. To this point in the annual calendar, EARTH DAY attaches no local or divisive set of symbols, no statement of the truth or superiority of one way of life over another.

Should Christians care about the earth? Not only must we care about it, we have a holy duty to engage the earth. The difference between the objectives of biblical Christianity and radical environmentalism can be found in the religious assumptions of both groups.

Four Lies of the Radical Environmentalist Movement

With Earth Day comes billions of dollars worth of environmentalist propaganda driven by their religious worldview. Some of the themes you can expect to hear repeated this year include the following:

1. The Earth Is Our Mother: The very expression “Mother Earth” is popular parlance in our culture and reflects the old pagan longing to worship the physical world. Modern environmentalists, with their devotion to the idea that man is just another life-form to spring from the womb of the earth on the evolutionary journey of life, speak openly about earth being the mother of man.
2. Human Life Has No Greater Intrinsic Value Than Animal Life: The notion that man is an insignificant blip in the universe and that our planet is almost as insignificant as man is an oft-repeated concept of the modern environmentalist movement. Radical environmentalists complain about the carbon footprints of humans, and the sin of “Speciesism” — man discriminating against lower life-forms.
3. The Greatest Crisis Facing Humans is the Despoiling of the Earth: From the media campaigns of former Vice President Al Gore, to the film agenda of Avatar, radical environmentalists want you to believe that the single greatest problem facing humanity is the environmental destruction of earth.
4. Absent a Radical Shift in Private Practice and Public Policy, the Environmental Crisis Will Lead to the End of Life on Earth: Modern pantheists care deeply about the future. One thing is clear: Radical envioronmentalists have their own eschatology. They see the end of the world coming because of nuclear waste, global warming, the loss of rainforest in the Amazon, or any of a host of perceived environmental hazards.

Four Christian Assumptions About the Earth

1. The Earth is Witness to the Power and Authority of God the Creator Who Alone May Be Worshipped: The Bible teaches that the very existence of the earth is a reminder to all men of the eternal power and Godhood of Christ, so that they are without excuse (Romans 1:20). It reminds us that as long as the earth continues, the promises of God will remain faithful (Genesis 8:22; Deuteronomy 7:9). Significantly, the Bible warns us that the consequence for man rejecting the witness of creation is that he worships creation itself (Romans 1:22-25).
2. The Earth Was Made for the Glory of God and the Benefit of Man Who Was Made the Pinnacle of Creation and of Infinitely Greater Value than Animals or the Earth Itself: Man is the pinnacle of creation and has more eternal value than the earth or any of the creatures who live on it (Psalm 8:5). Man is not a carbon footprint; he is the image-bearer of God. This means that the most “insignificant” human life (insignificant only in the eyes of man) is of inestimably greater value than that of a blue whale, a snail darter, a spotted owl, a mountain, or a tree.
3. The Earth Has Been Placed under Man who Has a Moral Obligation to Subdue it and to Exercise Wise Stewardship over the Earth: Man is God’s appointed steward on earth, and his core mission is to be His agent of dominion over it. Toward this end, God has placed all things under man to be used for his benefit and to be carefully stewarded and cultivated for God’s glory. “Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet” (Psalm 8:6).
4. The Earth is Not the Problem: The reason why the earth suffers is because of man’s sin that has plunged the earth into judgment. Man brought death and judgment to earth. In fact, the whole creation is groaning and waiting redemption (Romans 8:22-23). Despite the righteous judgment of God on earth, He is merciful and promises the continuation of the seasons and the fundamental stability of the planet until the end of time (Genesis 8:22), at which there will be a new heaven and new earth (2 Peter 3:13).

Conclusion

All men are religious because all men have an object of worship. In the end, they will worship and serve the creature, or they will worship and serve the Creator. But they will worship something.

Earth Day, and the radical environmental movement that spawned this high holy day of pantheism, are at war with the Gospel because they perpetuate false worship. The Christian response to the idolatry of Earth Day might be reduced to this simple thought: Jesus Christ is the Creator, and He alone is to be worshipped. He created man as the pinnacle of creation and determined that humans would be the only part of creation to be made in the very image of God, and that man as the image-bearer of God would rule over the earth.

On a practical level, this means that Christians need to stop allowing the radical environmentalist movement to define the issue. We must cease from being the tail and become the head on the question of our duties, privileges, and responsibilities vis-a-vis creation. The Bible has a great deal to say about our use of the resources of the world and our relationship to the earth. Of all people, Christians who honor the Creator should have a passion for creation. We are losing the debate through subversion, silence, lack of vision, and because of the Christian community’s fear of the God-ordained, perpetually valid, creation precept called “The Dominion Mandate.” This mandate directs man is to rule over the earth, subduing it and taking dominion over it for his benefit and for God’s glory. Implicit to the Dominion Mandate is the duty of man to cultivate, wisely manage, and carefully steward the planet.

Finally, man’s problems will never be solved through the elevation of human reason, the power of science, or the interventions of the state. Nor will rescuing the biosphere of planet earth save man or ensure him a future on this planet. You cannot save the earth. But human beings can be saved. And the only hope of salvation is found in Jesus Christ — the Creator! It is this Creator through whom we live and breathe and who by the very power of His word holds the worlds together. He will someday establish a new heaven and a new earth and will bring all of His people into Glory.

Doug Phillips recently returned from an expedition to the Amazon where he produced Into the Amazon, a study course with 7-part television-style episodes on the battle between radical environmentalism and biblical Christianity. To sign up for Into the Amazon, his exciting online virtual tour and study click here. To see the episode trailers, click here.

Posted by Doug Phillips on April 21, 2011 | Permalink

To My Friends:

Can you imagine having lived your entire life with the memory of one day—one day, returning to your dreams over and over again?

I have recorded hundreds of hours of interviews with the men of World War II and one story emerges: While the world has moved on with their lives, the hearts of the last remaining World War II survivors have never fully left the bloody beaches of their youth. 67 years have passed, but they still awake in the night with dreams of days like D-Day.

There they saw the unimaginable. There they experienced the unforgettable. There they held the hands of their best friends, and watched life slip away in a moment. There they saw the hopes and dreams of young fallen men on distant beaches, exchanged for the lives of the children of the present generation.

It is so true: Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13).

In my view, President Ronald Reagan was one of the last presidents to really get to the nub of the issue. His message at Pointe Du Hoc on the 40th anniversary of D-Day may be the most memorable speech ever given on the subject. I respectfully disagree with some of his points at the end of his message, but still feel that the overall vision he communicates is powerful and timely. It touches my heart to realize that all of the men to whom he was directly speaking at that time, with perhaps one or two exceptions, are gone today.

And now here we are in 2011. Twenty years have passed since Reagan honored these men by looking them in the eyes and speaking words of appreciation. Now it is our turn. And it is most assuredly the last moment in history to do so.

What a unique gift the Lord has given us to be able to leave one of the final records of Fifth Commandment gratitude to the men of the Second World War, and to sit our children on their laps and to connect the America that once was, with the children who will be fighting for our civilization in the future.

This is another reason why I want to thank to so many of you for the amazing letters and encouragement on our efforts in Normandy for our “A FInal Farewell.” They mean so much to Beall, me, and the staff of Vision Forum Ministries. When all is said and done we hope to (1) truly, profoundly honor the last living Normandy D-Day Veterans in an unforgettable manner; (2) produce a powerful video series on D-Day and the providence of God; and (3) create a tribute video that allows future generations to remember the last survivors and the experiences they had. Finally, I thank all of you who are showing your support by standing with our Kickstarter Campaign for “A Final Farewell.”

We have an opportunity to put the resources together to make this dream come true. But we really need your help this week. If we make our goal this week and next by raising about $30K more in pledges, we will be able to keep all the pledge money and create “A Final Farewell.” if not, we lose all the pledge money and our mission will be difficult to complete. If you have made a pledge already, would you consider asking another to do so? If you have not yet made a pledge, would you consider doing so today? Go here to make a pledge and learn more:

Persevero: Doug

P.S. This week I will be distributing an important article entitled “A Christian Response to Earth Day.” Look for it tomorrow. Would you take a moment, read it, and share it with your children? It is the duty of this generation to remind the world that we must worship the Creator and not the creation.

Posted by Doug Phillips on April 20, 2011 | Permalink

Visit our Kickstarter campaign here.

Thanks for your help making this dream come true.

Posted by Doug Phillips on April 19, 2011 | Permalink

Posted by Doug Phillips on April 17, 2011 | Permalink

Today is the 99th anniversary of the sinking of the R.M.S Titanic, an event immortalized in history as a moment in time when men understood that it was their duty to die for women and children. They did so because they recognized the virtues and priorities of Christendom, the worldview which defined Western Civilization before the advent of Modernity and Post-Modernity.

In the world of Christendom men and women were different. Both equal in the eyes of God, but of different positions and responsibilities. These differences were not matters of culture or convention, but creation ordinances. They ensured the nobility, dignity and honor of both sexes. And in this world, women were to be protected by men.

But does this doctrine make sense in a world of hyper-sensitized and overly psychologized men who stay at home changing the diapers while their wives die on battlefields in Baghdad? Does it make sense in a world in which men view women as competitors, rather than as mothers, future mothers, regents of the home, helpmeets, daughters of destiny, and objects of love in defense of whom great zeal and energy must be exerted?

Some of us believe that it DOES still matter. And tonight a representative group of those men who champion the doctrine of “women and children first” will gather with the Christian Boys’ and Men’s Titanic Society for our 15th anniversary dinner to honor the legacy of the faithful men of the Titanic. It is our 15th gathering, and tonight we prepare for the 100th anniversary which will take place next year. We will feast, bring poems, stories and share the reasons why as long as the breath of manhood lives in the lungs of Christian men, this principle will not be abandoned.

Posted by Doug Phillips on April 15, 2011 | Permalink

It is the end of an era. After this year, few if any men of D-Day will be returning to Normandy. But for one last moment in time, handfuls of our heroic fathers will return and Vision Forum Ministries will be giving them “A Final Farewell.” This is the story of one of the men returning with us.

Private Carter Returns to Normandy

On June 6, 1944, General Theodore Roosevelt Jr. hit Utah Beach at Normandy, leading the Army’s 4th Infantry Division. Roosevelt was the only general to land in the first wave on D-Day, and one of the first soldiers off his landing craft.

Carter Today and As a Private in the 1940s

Providentially, the 4th Division landed more than a mile south of their original target where the Germans were fortified more heavily. After personally conducting a reconnaissance of the area to the rear of the beach and realizing they were off course, Roosevelt declared, “We’ll start the war from right here!” The 4th Division secured the beachhead within a few short hours and then came to the relief of troops with the 82nd Airborne Division who were isolated at St.-Mère-Église.

The 4th Division needed reinforcements, and coming to their aid were many young privates, including Pfc. Donald H. Carter, an 18-year-old soldier from New York. Carter joined his fellow “Ivy Division” comrades for the 4th Division’s next major objective as part of Operation Overlord—the taking of the Port of Cherbourg, a coastal town in Normandy. The battle for Cherbourg was arduous, lasting more than three weeks, with the final Germans surrendering on June 29. Private Carter got a colorful memento from the hard-fought engagement—a Nazi flag that flew at Cherbourg.

Private Carter with Artillery Rounds in France

Carter’s fighting days had only just begun. He received five battle stars for his service in the following campaigns: Normandy, Northern France Ardennes, Rhineland, and Central Europe. These stars included some of the most intense battles of the war in Europe, including the St. Lo Breakthrough, the Battle of Hürtgen Forest, and the Battle of the Bulge—all of them in Patton’s Third Army. Carter also took part in the liberation of Paris which marked the end to Operation Overlord.

“This Will Be My Last Trip”

It’s been many decades since Carter fought for liberty on the beaches of Normandy and across Europe. For a long time he has desired to return to the battlefields of his youth. This D-Day, as part of the Normandy: A Final Farewell team, he is finally going back.

At 86 years of age, Carter and his wife have made plans to join Vision Forum Ministries and the Faith of Our Fathers Project for Normandy: A Final Farewell—our tribute to World War II’s last living heroes. Because Carter, like all remaining World War II veterans, is in the twilight of his life, he has told his children “This will be my last trip.”

Will you help us make Normandy: A Final Farewell a special time of remembrance and celebration for Pfc. Carter and other World War II veterans as we give honor to these faithful men?

How You Can Help

To learn how you can play an important role in making this event possible, please visit our Normandy: A Final Farewell project page on Kickstarter. There you will learn about our specific needs for the project, as well as the unique rewards we are offering to those who help us honor our last living World War II heroes this D-Day.

Help Us Honor World War II’s Last Living Heroes

To visit our official Normandy: A Final Farewell website, click here.

Posted by Doug Phillips on April 15, 2011 | Permalink

Last year Vision Forum Minustries’ The Baby Conference explored the brave new world of modern bio-medical ethics. Our only answer to the chaos of modern ethics to go back to the Bible. Today, we have this bizarre report, care of CNN:

Los Angeles (CNN) — Zsa Zsa Gabor’s husband wants his 94-year-old wife to become a mother again using an egg donor, artificial insemination and a surrogate mother, Prince Frederic von Anhalt told CNN Thursday.

“I’ve gone through the initial steps of donor matching and blood work and next week the donation process will begin,” von Anhalt said.

Gabor’s only child, Francesca Hilton, described herself as shocked when told of the plan Thursday.

“That’s just weird,” Hilton said.

Von Anhalt, 67, said he is working with Dr. Mark Surry of the Southern California Reproductive Center in Beverly Hills. CNN calls to the center have not been returned.

CNN Health: Relax! It won’t happen

Gabor has suffered major health problems in the last year, including hip replacement surgery and a leg amputation. She has been unable to walk since a 2002 car accident.

“I’m a retired guy,” von Anhalt said. “I can take care of it.”

Gabor talked about adding a new baby to the family when they got married 25 years ago, and she brought the topic up again in recent months, he said.

One reason is their desire to have someone carry on the famous Gabor name. None of her two sisters left an heir and her only child does not use the Gabor name, von Anhalt said.

Francesca Hilton, 64, is Gabor’s only child, the product of her second marriage to hotel magnate Conrad Hilton.

She told CNN that her full name is Constance Francesca Gabor Hilton.

The process, which includes finding an egg donor and a surrogate mother to give birth to the baby, will cost about $100,000, von Anhalt estimated.

The prince, who acquired his royal title when he was adopted as an adult by a German woman, is Gabor’s ninth husband.

He has complained in recent months about financial burdens caused by his wife’s hospitalizations. While he put their Bel Air, California mansion up for sale earlier this year, he said he is not actively marketing it.

“In life you need something to live for,” he said. “If my wife passes away before me, I have nothing to live for.”

The Hungarian-born actress, the second of the three celebrated Gabor sisters, is famous for her many marriages and strong personality as well as her acting prowess.

Her more prominent films include John Huston’s Toulouse-Lautrec biopic, “Moulin Rouge,” in 1952, “The Story of Three Loves” in 1953, “The Girl in the Kremlin” in 1957, and Orson Welles’ 1958 cult classic, “Touch of Evil.”

Posted by Doug Phillips on April 14, 2011 | Permalink

Remember to pray for Ken Ham. Arguably, he is the most important and influential defender of Christian orthodoxy on the questions of origins in the world today. Last month a home school convention eliminated him from speaking and published character attacks on him on the Internet after he spoke out against a teacher and curriculum being marketed to home educators that teaches that Adam was not a real person and that children should be shielded from discussions of sin. This month, he was targeted by a TSA official and member of various Atheist organizations for an immoral attack to his public Facebook account. The article of the letter is discussed below. Make sure to click the link to read the whole article.

TSA Officer Admits Plot to Post Porn on Christian Site

On April 10, Bob Seashols, a Coordination Center Officer for the Transportation and Security Administration (TSA) at the Richmond International Airport (RIC) and an administrator for Atheists United’s Facebook page, took part in a coordinated effort to populate pornographic images, extreme profanity, and sexually explicit anti-Christian hate-speech on the Facebook page of Ken Ham, an internationally known Christian ministry leader who serves as president of Answers in Genesis-U.S (AiG) and the popular Creation Museum, located near Cincinnati, Ohio.

Sunday afternoon visitors to Mr. Ham’s “public person” Facebook site found pages of sexually explicit commentary aimed at mocking him and deriding Jesus Christ and the Christian faith. The Internet-based Facebook assault, directed from four different Facebook accounts, involved pornographic and sadomasochistic imagery.

When interviewed about his role in what he described as a “blitz” against Ken Ham, Seashols stated: “Somebody posted . . . an .....statement that Ken Ham made [on an Atheist forum], and that raised our hackles. . . . It was retaliation.”

Read the entire article here.

Posted by Doug Phillips on April 14, 2011 | Permalink

This week John Horn just posted a really interesting poll on Ballantyne the Brave, “how many books do you read at a time”? Or do you double up your reading? I can’t wait to see the final results! My personal preference has been to focus on one book at a time, however when I am trying cut through a stack of books I sometimes having to double up on my reading. What are your thoughts? The poll ends on the 15th so there are only two more days to tell us what you think! You can write your comments to the BTB team at Ballantynethebrave@gmail.com ~Joshua Titus

[To see the rest of John Horn’s post visit BallantynetheBrave.com/blog]

Posted by Doug Phillips on April 13, 2011 | Permalink

Check Your Gear, Check Your Weapon! from Douglas Phillips on Vimeo.

Its dusk in early June, 2011. Around you are men wearing the uniform of the United States and the insignia of Easy Company. The man in the film below addresses you. First, check your gear. Next, prepare to move out to St. Mere Eglise.

Where are you? You are part of the Vision Forum Ministries’ Faith of Our Fathers’ “A Final Farewell,” and an extra in our latest project: D-Day and the Providence of God.

Want to help us honor the vets of Normandy, give them “A Final Farewell” and tell the story of the providence of God through our historians and reenactors? Here is how. Visit our Kickstarter page here!

Posted by Doug Phillips on April 12, 2011 | Permalink

Posted by Doug Phillips on April 11, 2011 | Permalink

SAN ANTONIO, Texas — April 6, 2011 — This June 4-6, Vision Forum Ministries will conclude their ten-year Faith of Our Fathers Project with a Final Farewell from the beaches of Normandy as part of the 2011 D-Day anniversary celebration. Over the course of three days, World War II veterans will be honored on location in Normandy, France through several unique events, including an Evangelical Worship Service and a Grand Celebration, along with guided tours to strategic locations that were part of the Normandy invasion in 1944. A number of Normandy veterans will be joining the group and sharing their recollections of the historic landing that led to the Allies’ victory over the Nazis.

“The veterans of the Second World War are fast passing away,” remarked Doug Phillips, founder of the Faith of Our Fathers Project. “Soon they will be gone. Now is the time to honor World War II’s last living heroes. This is our goal this June through Normandy: A Final Farewell as we endeavor to show the providence of God in the greatest recorded amphibious invasion in history.

“If you were alive in 1830 and had one last opportunity to meet, honor, and thank the men that stood with Washington at Valley Forge, would it be a priority?” continued Phillips. “The Valley Forge of our generation was Normandy. And this may be the last year in all of history to thank veterans returning to the bloody beaches of their youth and chronicle their stories.”

The Faith of Our Fathers Project began a decade ago on the sixtieth anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor and has included such efforts as The League of Grateful Sons documentary which has been broadcast to millions around the world. League highlighted the journey of more than 80 veterans who fought on Iwo Jima as they journeyed back to Iwo’s black sand beaches for the sixtieth anniversary of this fierce fight with the Japanese.

“Our ten-year effort to honor World War II’s veterans will fittingly conclude on Normandy’s beaches where the Allies landed en masse and turned the tide against Nazi oppression,” Phillips noted. “While there have been many efforts to commemorate the Normandy invasion over the years through books, films, and on-location tributes, our event will be distinguished by a distinctly Christian witness as we endeavor to share a Gospel message of hope to the veterans and their families and link the generations of the present with the men of the past as we honor the faith of our fathers.”

Normandy: A Final Farewell will include special events which feature Gospel presentations, vintage WWII-era music, distinguished speakers and dignitaries, period impersonators, children dressed in vintage clothing, and the giving of special awards of honor. A unique tribute video will also be produced that chronicles the event for future generations. In addition, Vision Forum Ministries will be making ‘D-Day and the Providence of God Virtual Tour’ available on the web so that thousands can watch and enjoy key videos from the event over the Internet.

“Normandy: A Final Farewell is a large undertaking, and we welcome the support of those who believe in this project,” commented Phillips. “To learn how you can play an important role in making this event possible, visit our Normandy: A Final Farewell project page on Kickstarter. There you will learn more about our specific needs for the project as well as the featured rewards we are offering to our pledge partners.”

To learn more about Normandy: A Final, visit the official website: www.afinalfarewell.org

To interview Doug Phillips regarding this project, contact Wesley Strackbein by e-mail at press@visionforum.org or by phone at (210) 340-5250, ext. 222.

Posted by Doug Phillips on April 8, 2011 | Permalink

Imagine standing on Utah beach as hundreds of paratroopers land. You hear the hum of heavy machinery and gunfire. A detachment of men approach you. A twenty-something soldier with three stripes barks orders. You run for cover, but find yourself trekking through the country side with a detachment of men en route to a French city. Where are you?

It’s Normandy, June, 2011 and you are with the VF Faith and Freedom Tour!

The trip is now closed, but you can journey with our team of about 100 home educators and veterans via the Internet as we document the providence of God in D-Day, and give A Final Farewell to Normandy’s last living heroes. Learn about our kickstarter campaign.

Posted by Doug Phillips on April 7, 2011 | Permalink

Posted by Doug Phillips on April 5, 2011 | Permalink

Posted by Doug Phillips on April 2, 2011 | Permalink

Hundreds of gracious, respectful home educators are at the GHC convention wearing buttons communicating their support for Ken Ham. My speeches have been full with them. It is impressive to me that so many can express their grief and disapproval of the treatment of Ken in such an honorable manner.

Posted by Doug Phillips on April 1, 2011 | Permalink