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

Posted by Doug Phillips on August 27, 2008 | Permalink

Is there any clearly distinguishable difference between the message Hillary Clinton gave last night at the Democratic National Convention, and the social and political philosophy of most Evangelicals?

To my supporters, to my champions, to my sisterhood of the traveling pantsuits...

... from the bottom of my heart, thank you. Thank you, because you never gave in and you never gave up. And together we made history...

...in 2008, [John McCain] still thinks it’s OK when women don’t earn equal pay for equal work.

Now, with an agenda like that, it makes perfect sense that George Bush and John McCain will be together next week in the Twin Cities, because these days they’re awfully hard to tell apart.

You know, America is still around after 232 years because we have risen to every challenge in every new time, changing to be faithful to our values of equal opportunity for all and the common good. And I know what that can mean for every man, woman, and child in America.

I’m a United States senator because, in 1848, a group of courageous women, and a few brave men, gathered in Seneca Falls, New York, many traveling for days and nights to participate in the first convention on women’s rights in our history. And so dawned a struggle for the right to vote that would last 72 years, handed down by mother to daughter to granddaughter, and a few sons and grandsons along the way.

These women and men looked into their daughters’ eyes and imagined a fairer and freer world and found the strength to fight, to rally, to picket, to endure ridicule and harassment, and brave violence and jail.

And after so many decades, 88 years ago on this very day, the 19th Amendment, giving women the right to vote, became enshrined in our Constitution.

My mother was born before women could vote. My daughter got to vote for her mother for president. This is the story of America, of women and men who defy the odds and never give up.

So how do we give this country back to them? By following the example of a brave New Yorker, a woman who risked her lives to bring slaves to freedom along the Underground Railroad.

On that path to freedom, Harriet Tubman had one piece of advice: “If you hear the dogs, keep going. If you see the torches in the woods, keep going. If there’s shouting after you, keep going. Don’t ever stop. Keep going. If you want a taste of freedom, keep going.”

And even in the darkest moments, that is what Americans have done. We have found the faith to keep going.

With what do you agree, and what do you disagree in Mrs. Clinton’s comments? Write me a tight, brief commentary, and if it is interesting, I will publish it.

Posted by Doug Phillips on August 27, 2008 | Permalink

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

Posted by Doug Phillips on August 26, 2008 | Permalink

Gracious ladies, enter here. Vicious man-haters, beware. Camilia Brown is in the house, and her words are health to the homemaker, but hateful to the rapacious feminist. Camilla is part of the league of gracious, responsible lady bloggers, and the following is from an article entitled “12 Things You Should Not Do To Your Husband.” Read at your own risk:

1. DO NOT treat your husband as one of your children. You are not running the household he is. So no matter how busy you think you are or how many tasks you might have to perform at once you should not address your husband in this way: “Honey come here! Do this! Hold that! Grab this! Deal with this or that!” Now I am all for asking our husbands for help when he is available to give it, but bossing him around is not becoming to a wife. We must conduct ourselves as his help meet and not treat him as if the reverse were true.

2. DO NOT act as if you are more spiritual than he is. I honestly have a hard time with women who act as if they are the spiritual leaders of their family; as if they are doing all the spiritual reformation in the family while their husbands are busy with other pursuits and just tag along with regard to spiritual matters. We’ve all heard women say things like: “Well God told me this is the best for our family so I had to take the decision, because my husband is not there yet... I am praying for him though!” Even if it were true that a woman might be more spiritual than her husband, this attitude is a usurpation of the authority that God has given the family. There is never room for this kind of behavior in a Christian home. Honestly, my thoughts are that women who set themselves up as spiritual gurus in the family and brag of being more spiritual or knowledgeable than anyone else have proved themselves to be the contrary.

3. DO NOT talk over him and in a gathering DO NOT talk more than he does. If he doesn’t talk much than talk even less. It is just not becoming to women to do all the talking as if they speak for the family.

4. DO NOT complain about him to others. Don’t make him look foolish in front of anyone and don’t talk about his weaknesses to anyone.

5. DO NOT compare him with other men. You married an individual with different qualities, different style and vision. He is not like anyone else. He is the man that God has given you the task of loving and serving, and you should consider it an honor to be able to carry out that duty. Note to unmarried ladies: Make a list with the qualities a future husband MUST have to avoid your being totally dissatisfied. If it was not that important before you got married don’t nag him or be dissatisfied about it after you get married.

6. DO NOT nag him continuously about a matter. Did you hear the expression? DRIP! DRIP! DRIP!? I don’t like it when the children come even close to being drips, so I am sure no husband would appreciate it either.

7. DO NOT make him feel he doesn’t measure up to your expectations. Encourage, don’t criticize and most important...be content!

8. DO NOT be afraid to bring to his attention sins that he should deal with or concerns that you might have in regard to his conduct. It is a wife’s duty to encourage her husband in his spiritual growth. While it is not the wife’s duty to assume the role of her husband’s conscience, she is the closest to him and can encourage him grow in ways that others cannot. Our husbands must trust that we are help meets to them and that we are honest and sober minded in our reproof.

9. DO NOT always speak your mind. This doesn’t mean we should not have an opinion, but most of the time it is better to hold our tongues rather than “state the facts.” Choose your words carefully in soberness, patience, and love. This does not mean that it is wrong to be open with your husband about your concerns or being honest when he asks our opinion. There is a greater respect and trust that your husband will show toward your opinion when you find this balance.

10. DO NOT seek out parallel lives with him. Become acquainted with whatever job he does and get involved if possible, even if by just listening to him talk about it. Don’t think about your husband’s pursuits in terms of: HIS career, HIS hobbies, HIS this, or HIS that. I hear women say: “Well he is busy with his pursuits and I with the children.” Yes we have different roles but we work together towards the same goal: to Glorify God in every area of our lives. You can’t be a proper help meet for your husband if you are not involved in everything he is doing whether you are interested or not.

11. DO NOT become too busy to listen to him or do things for him. When you start to have lots of children it can become really easy to do this, but remember you are made to be a help meet for him.

12. DO NOT let your appearance go because you have married him now. Make yourself pretty for him. Yes he loves you no matter what, but you made sure that you showed him that you care enough to look nice for him before you were married, you should care more, not less, after he actually becomes your husband. It is not a matter of keeping his affections, but rather continuing to give him all that we have to offer. 5 minutes a day is all it takes.

I have made my share of mistakes and still do. Many of them are listed above. I am still a work in progress, so please don’t take this to mean that I think I have arrived. I thought listing a few resolutions and observations, may be helpful to someone else.

Thank you, Camilia, for your courage and bold insights.

Posted by Doug Phillips on August 22, 2008 | Permalink

Richard Ramsey is a tremendous guy and one of the more promising filmmakers in the independent Christian film movement. His film The Oath was the $10,000 Jubilee winner in 2006. On his blog he describes what it is like to win grand prize at the SAICFF.

My guts were churning through that entire ceremony, up until the immediate moment before Doug Phillips said, “The Oath.” To be honest, I thought we were a contender. But there’s absolutely no way to know that you’re going to win something like that. There’s too many films, and 18-months of blood, sweat, and tears can really skew objectivity. I barely remember the walk up there, but I do remember standing up from my seat and turning to hug my wife, but she hadn’t stood up yet. She had already started crying.

Here is footage of the experience Richard describes.

I predict the blessed tension will be even greater at the next SAICFF in January 2009, as one filmmaker goes home with the grand prize Jubilee award for Best of Festival for $101,000.

Posted by Doug Phillips on August 22, 2008 | Permalink

An important lesson in homeschool mathematics and generational thinking.

Posted by Doug Phillips on August 20, 2008 | Permalink

The recent Presidential dialogue between McCain and Obama should remind Christians that the drafting of women is not beyond the pale in the years to come. Read this article published in 2004 for a broader perspective on the issue.

Posted by Doug Phillips on August 20, 2008 | Permalink

Over the years I have had the opportunity to encourage many parents in life-and-death situations with babies to fight for the life of their children—born and unborn—even when the counsel of skeptics within the medical establishment determines (a) that there is no hope, or (b) that adverse circumstances have made the life of the child not worth fighting for. My view is that all life is precious; that premeditated, self-conscious abortion (i.e. killing a baby through vivisection, burning, or some other horrific measure) is never justifiable; that there are almost always alternative considerations and opportunities available; and as long as there is life, there is hope because God is sovereign and is bigger than any medical crisis. Below is an incredible case of some parents who at the advice of their physicians determined to kill their baby because of internal bleeding. (Note the confusion and ambiguity in the article on the issue of the life and death of the child, i.e. if the five-month-old unborn child or “embryo” had truly been dead, the procedure would not be considered an abortion because the baby would have self-terminated through miscarriage.) Praise God, this baby survived the abortion—and even after being placed in a cooler.

The Jerusalem Post—The mother, 26, from a Western Galilee village, was in the fifth month of her pregnancy when she underwent a series of tests, during which it was discovered that she was suffering from internal bleeding and that the embryo had ceased to show signs of life.

The woman underwent an abortion and the baby, weighing 610 grams, was extracted from her womb without a pulse, hospital officials said.

A senior doctor pronounced the baby dead and she was transferred to the cooler.

Five hours later, the woman’s husband came to the hospital to take what he thought was his dead baby girl for burial.

When the baby was taken out of the cooler, she began to breathe. The premature baby was then taken to the intensive care ward, where doctors were attempting to save her life.

Read the Story HERE.

Posted by Doug Phillips on August 18, 2008 | Permalink

Posted by Doug Phillips on August 18, 2008 | Permalink

The purpose of God for the Christian family is continuity, growth, development, and dominion. Each family that stands in covenant with Christ through the representative headship of the husband/father is part of that growing kingdom. If a man wants to change the world for generations to come, let him look well to his duties in the family, and be the means of continuing or beginning, as the case may be a dynasty of God-honoring, Christ-serving, kingdom-advancing children, grandchildren, great grandchildren...The potential impact for the glory of God and the advance of His kingdom is exponential for the Christian family. The future belongs to families that exhibit multi-generational faithfulness and fruitfulness!

Bill Einwechter, A Biblical Vision for Multi-Generational Faithfulness as quoted in the “field report on the work of the national center for family integrated churches.”

Posted by Doug Phillips on August 16, 2008 | Permalink

Solved!

Posted by Doug Phillips on August 15, 2008 | Permalink

Associated Press— A tiny Texas school district may be the first in the nation to allow teachers and staff to pack guns for protection when classes begin later this month, a newspaper reported. Read the story here.

Posted by Doug Phillips on August 15, 2008 | Permalink

This is an example of the type of letters we often receive about the SAICFF and tapes like Hollywood’s Most Despised Villain:

My parents have been involved with Vision Forum for quite a while now. I am 25 and I was never at all interested in even hearing the different audio sets they had to offer. I listened to a few and then I came across the Hollywood’s Most Despised Villain, and to be honest I was not sure what to think.

The Lord has been working in my life about the type of media that I ingest, but I never really took the whole “be ye Holy for I am Holy” serious. To make a long story short, I have listened to that CD 5 times and counting. There is so much information to absorb, and I am verifying everything I can by research, and just remembering movies I have seen now, it is becoming so clear that there has been a bent agenda from the start. But I never took a stand because I hate legalism and never wanted to be labeled such...I am on a mission to expose (not that it will change the industry) but I want to let the Christian community in on what is going on. I want to do everything I can to win the lost and strengthen the Brothers in Christ. I want to be able to tell Christ at the end of my race that I have absolutely nothing left.

Shaun

P.S. I absolutely love film, (the ones that can glorify God). If you could point me in the right direction I would be grateful.

Posted by Doug Phillips on August 15, 2008 | Permalink

Well, there are cute kiddos and then there are cute kiddos. This one wins the prize. He recently attended the 2008 Vision Forum Ministries Father and Son Retreat. But he came to the attention of our ENN viewers as the “host” of one of our most popular episodes. In the real world (i.e. when he is not an ENN reporter) this young man is a genuine firebrand for the Gospel. Make sure to watch him here and prepare to be delighted!

Posted by Doug Phillips on August 14, 2008 | Permalink

One of the most significant influences on my life was a very precious Sovereign Grace Baptist pastor from New Jersey who opened the words of life and took great efforts to disciple me as a young man, first as a teacher, later as a pastor, and always as a spiritual father. I can never thank him enough for his example, his courage, and his love to me. Whatever the question on the table, his response was always: “What sayeth the Scriptures?”

My dear pastor introduced me to many important doctrines of the faith, as well as to some of the great heroes of the faith alive today. One of those men was Dr. John Whitcomb, co-author of The Genesis Flood, along with Dr. Henry Morris. My pastor had been a top student at Grace Theological Seminary in Winona Lake, where he mentored under Dr. Whitcomb. He would not only introduce me to Dr. Whitcomb, but provided me with his classroom notes from his time as a student with Dr. Whitcomb, and many of Dr. Whitcomb’s books. If my memory is correct, I first started listening to tapes from Dr. Whitcomb in my late teen years. At the age of forty-three I continue to listen to his messages and thrill at his unflinching, no-compromise defense of the Word of God.

In 2006, I had the honor of hosting Dr. Whitcomb at the Vision Forum Ministries History of the World Mega-Conference. It was a dream come true to have both Dr. Whitcomb and Dr. John Morris (son of Dr. Henry Morris and my good friend from years of co-laboring with him at ICR “Back to Genesis” conferences) keynote at our event. If you have never heard Dr. Whitcomb teach, now is the time to remedy that omission. Vision Forum has posted a clip from his message “The World That Perished,” delivered at the History of the World Mega-Conference. Watch one of the great defenders of the Faith from the 20th century, and pray for him as his ministry continues.

Posted by Doug Phillips on August 14, 2008 | Permalink