Christian Carnival #179

Celebrating Independence Day, July 4 in the United States and Canada Day, July 1 in Canada (where else?).

I’ve loosely grouped the posts under these quotes from the Federalist Papers. If you can’t find the connection, don’t overwork your brain on the matter. It’s just an excuse to print some of my favorite quotes on July 4! I may have moved a post simply to balance the numbers.

Quick Administrative Notes: Speaking just for myself, it would help if everyone either used the submission form or included “Christian Carnival submission” in the subject line. My involvement in internet activities results in a huge amount of e-mail, most of which is sorted automatically. Some submissions that did not include “Christian Carnival” ended up where they didn’t belong, and I’m only assuming that I found them all.

As a further point, I did not include some posts. There were submissions that were good, but substantially out of the date range, as in months out. There were also submissions of interesting articles but from sites with no Christian identification that I could find. If your site is Christian, and you submitted a post that was not included, you’ll need to take your virtual light out from under the cyber-bushel-basket thus allowing readers to be aware of the fact.

That said, it was a joy to prepare this Christian Carnival. I always intend to read more entries, but hosting allows me to make it a duty to read them, and it’s a real pleasure. I’ve already selected several posts to comment on myself.

People

If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself. A dependence on the people is, no doubt, the primary control on the government; but experience has taught mankind the necessity of auxiliary precautions. — Alexander Hamilton, Federalist #51

Justin Merth presents Dealing with theological questions from your kids posted at In The Word.

Kathryn presents Church is Too Formal for Today posted at The Peculiar Club. Is the Church getting too casual?

Martin LaBar on Sun and Shield presents Immigration questions. It was written just before the apparent (second) death of the immigration bill in the US Senate, but the questions remain. Here’s his key point: “What is there about this issue that has galvanized some Christians into making this issue even more important than abortion? I really don’t understand this, or I’m afraid I do.”

Allen Bethea presents Expected End » Faith: The Sine Qua Non of God’s Blessing posted at Expected End. He says, “I have been studying the ‘Law of Attraction’ and I see some things in this way that resonate with my understanding of Christianity. Faith is the ground of our relationship with God.

Discernment

In the first place, there is not a syllable in the plan under consideration which DIRECTLY empowers the national courts to construe the laws according to the spirit of the Constitution, or which gives them any greater latitude in this respect than may be claimed by the courts of every State. I admit, however, that the Constitution ought to be the standard of construction for the laws, and that wherever there is an evident opposition, the laws ought to give place to the Constitution. But this doctrine is not deducible from any circumstance peculiar to the plan of the convention, but from the general theory of a limited Constitution; and as far as it is true, is equally applicable to most, if not to all the State governments. There can be no objection, therefore, on this account, to the federal judicature which will not lie against the local judicatures in general, and which will not serve to condemn every constitution that attempts to set bounds to legislative discretion. — Alexander Hamilton, Federalist #81

Nathanael presents The personally customizable Jesus, part 1 posted at Despair and Coffee.

Michael presents Waiting on God?s Timing posted at Chasing the Wind. Ever feel as if you’re prayers go unanswered? We have to learn to trust in God’s perfect timing. Wait for it, it will not linger. A study of the book of Habakkuk.

Mick presents Independence Day – July 4, 2007 posted at Romans 15:4 Project. Happy Independence Day America! “A nation ashamed of its ancestry will be despised by its posterity” Is America heading in the right direction, or is America despised because it has been ashamed of its Christian heritage?

Everyone knows what a “Dead End” sign looks like, and what it is for. But what about “dead end” signs in life? This week John pens a few thoughts about recognizing the wrong paths in life in his post Dead Ends at Light Along the Journey.

Debates

The latent causes of faction are thus sown in the nature of man; and we see them everywhere brought into different degrees of activity, according to the different circumstances of civil society. A zeal for different opinions concerning religion, concerning government, and many other points, as well of speculation as of practice; an attachment to different leaders ambitiously contending for pre-eminence and power; or to persons of other descriptions whose fortunes have been interesting to the human passions, have, in turn, divided mankind into parties, inflamed them with mutual animosity, and rendered them much more disposed to vex and oppress each other than to co-operate for their common good. So strong is this propensity of mankind to fall into mutual animosities, that where no substantial occasion presents itself, the most frivolous and fanciful distinctions have been sufficient to kindle their unfriendly passions and excite their most violent conflicts. James Madison, Federalist #10

Weekend Fisher starts with Jesus’ words “pray for those who persecute you” and continues with a liturgical responsive prayer for our enemies … and wonders why there isn’t a prayer for our enemies in our hymnals in Litany: for our enemies.

At Bounded Irrationality we find How Christians Should Vote in which Doug Forrester examines whether Christians should vote (briefly) and then how they should they decide their vote.

Jeremy Pierce presents Moderate Deontology: Voting for Giuliani posted at Parableman. If a pro-lifer votes for a pro-choice candidate, it is not necessarily a violation of the moral principles at stake.

Matthew Anderson presents Three Cheers and a Jeer: In Defense of Praise Songs posted at Mere Orthodoxy.

Rey from the Bible Archive addresses Justin’s “Christianty’s Downfall” series by answering a few of his earlier points with his post Dangerous
Fundamentalism

Business, Life, and Leadership

There are appearances to authorize a supposition that the adventurous spirit, which distinguishes the commercial character of America, has already excited uneasy sensations in several of the maritime powers of Europe. They seem to be apprehensive of our too great interference in that carrying trade, which is the support of their navigation and the foundation of their naval strength. Those of them which have colonies in America look forward to what this country is capable of becoming, with painful solicitude. They foresee the dangers that may threaten their American dominions from the neighborhood of States, which have all the dispositions, and would possess all the means, requisite to the creation of a powerful marine. Impressions of this kind will naturally indicate the policy of fostering divisions among us, and of depriving us, as far as possible, of an ACTIVE COMMERCE in our own bottoms. This would answer the threefold purpose of preventing our interference in their navigation, of monopolizing the profits of our trade, and of clipping the wings by which we might soar to a dangerous greatness. . . .

If we continue united, we may counteract a policy so unfriendly to our prosperity in a variety of ways. . . . — Alexander Hamilton, Federalist 11

Alli Diller presents Business Lessons from the ‘Wife of Noble Character’ posted at God & Mammon.

Brian Russell wrote Key Transitions for Missional Leaders on the Real Meal blog. In this essay, Brian describes key shifts that communities of faith need to make to embody a missional mindset in the 21st century.

Amanda presents A Simpler Way posted at Imago Dei. Get ready, because I’m going to start repainting what I know and do regarding Christianity.

Daniel Condurachi presents How To Stay Stong posted at Daniel Condurachi’s Blog.

Adam Faughn presents Why I Like “The One Year Bible” posted at The Faughn Family of Four.

And for our neighbors to the north . . .

Americans should never underestimate the constant pressure on Canada which the mere presence of the United States has produced. We’re different people from you and we’re different people because of you. Living next to you is in some ways like sleeping with an elephant. No matter how friendly and even-tempered is the beast, if I can call it that, one is effected by every twitch and grunt. It should not therefore be expected that this kind of nation, this Canada, should project itself as a mirror image of the United States. — Pierre Trudeau