#2166 (12/14) "Even the Best Laws Cannot Save Our Society. Here’s What We Need."

"EVEN THE BEST LAWS CANNOT SAVE OUR SOCIETY. HERE'S WHAT WE NEED." - Walter E. Williams / December 13, 2017 / http://dailysignal.com/2017/12/13/even-best-laws-cannot-save-society-heres-need/

Since the 1960s, American culture has lost many of the customs and moral values that once brought order and stability. (Photo: iStock Photos)

I’m approaching my 82nd birthday, and my daughter will occasionally suggest that modernity is perplexing to me because I’m from prehistoric times. As such, it points to one of the unavoidable problems of youth—namely, the temptation to think that today’s behavioral standards have always been. Let’s look at a few of the differences between yesteryear and today.

One of those differences is the treatment of women.
    There are awesome physical strength differences between men and women. To create and maintain civil relationships between the sexes is to drum into boys, starting from very young ages, that they are not to use violence against a woman for any reason.
    Special respect is given women. Yesteryear even the lowest of lowdown men would not curse or use foul language to or in the presence of women. To see a man sitting on a crowded bus or trolley car while a woman is standing used to be unthinkable. It was deemed common decency for a man to give up his seat for a woman or elderly person.

Today young people use foul language in front of—and often to—adults and teachers. It’s not just foul language. Many youngsters feel that it’s acceptable to assault teachers.
     Just recently, 45 Pennsylvania teachers resigned because of student violence. Back in what my daughter calls prehistoric times, the use of foul language to an adult or teacher would have meant a smack across the face. Of course, today a parent taking such corrective action risks being reported to a local child protective service and even being arrested.
    The modern parental or teacher response to misbehavior is to call for “time out.” In other words, what we’ve taught miscreants of all ages is that they can impose physical pain on others and not suffer physical pain themselves. That’s an open invitation to bad behavior.

It has always been considered a good idea to refrain from sexual intercourse until marriage or at least adulthood. 
    During the sexual revolution of the 1960s, lessons of abstinence were ridiculed, considered passé, and replaced with lessons about condoms, birth control pills, and abortion.
Out-of-wedlock childbirths are no longer seen as shameful and a disgrace. As a result, the rate of illegitimate births among whites is over 30 percent, and among blacks, it’s over 70 percent.

For over a half-century, the nation’s liberals—along with the education establishment, pseudo-intellectuals, and the courts—have waged war on traditions, customs, and moral values.
    Many in today’s generation have been counseled to believe that there are no moral absolutes. Instead, what’s moral or immoral, right or wrong, is a matter of convenience, personal opinion, or what is or is not criminal.

Society’s first line of defense is not the law but customs, traditions, and moral values. Customs, traditions, and moral values are those important thou-shalt-nots, such as thou shalt not murder, shalt not steal, shalt not lie, and shalt not cheat. They also include respect for parents, teachers, and others in authority, plus those courtesies one might read in Emily Post’s rules of etiquette.
    These behavioral norms—mostly transmitted by example, word of mouth, and religious teachings—represent a body of wisdom distilled over the ages through experience, trial and error, and looking at what works and what doesn’t. The importance of customs, traditions, and moral values as a means of regulating behavior is that people behave themselves even if nobody’s watching.

There are not enough cops. Laws can never replace these restraints on personal conduct in producing a civilized society. At best, the police and the criminal justice system are the last desperate lines of defense for a civilized society.
    Unfortunately, customs, traditions, and moral values have been discarded without an appreciation for the role they played in creating a civilized society, and now we’re paying the price—and that includes the recent revelations regarding the treatment of women.

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Walter E. Williams is a professor of economics at George Mason University.

#2165 (12/13) "Rethinking Relations - A Return to Virtue in the Wake of Scandal?"

"RETHINKING RELATIONS - A RETURN TO VIRTUE IN THE WAKE OF SCANDAL?" - by: Eric Metaxas &  Stan Guthrie; Breakpoint.org, Dec. 8, 2017; http://www.breakpoint.org/2017/12/breakpoint-rethinking-relations/

Given the headlines today, lots of secular folks are starting to wonder if they ought to rethink sex. Wow—ya think?

Unless you’ve been under a rock for the last few weeks, you’ve heard about the plethora of #MeToo reports of sexual harassment and abuse perpetrated by politicians, actors, and the news media. The accused run the gamut from liberal to conservative, Christian to skeptic. While the stories are different in detail and gravity, there’s a common thread—people in positions of power, mostly men, taking advantage of less powerful people, mostly females, to satiate their sexual whims.

Many secularists and cheerleaders of the sexual revolution are now shocked that so many people are giving free rein to what one writer calls the “brutality of the male libido.” In surveying the wreckage, it’s hard to miss the bitter irony here. I’m reminded of C. S. Lewis in “The Abolition of Man” in which he writes, “In a sort of ghastly simplicity we remove the organ and demand the function.  We make men without chests and expect of them virtue and enterprise. We laugh at honor and are shocked to find traitors in our midst.”

But I’m glad that growing numbers are finally beginning to wake up to the ugly results of their secular worldview. A great example is an opinion piece called “Let’s Rethink Sex” by Christine Emba in The Washington Post. Emba, an opinion writer and editor there, correctly notes that the culture got off track in matters sexual by making the dual assumption that we all deserve a certain amount of sex, and that nothing should get in the way of us satisfying our desires—“even,” she says, “when reciprocity is unclear.”
    “It’s not that sex in and of itself is the problem,” Emba writes. “But the idea that pursuing one’s sexual imperatives should take precedence over workplace rules, lines of power or even just appropriate social behavior is what allows predators to justify sexual harassment and assault.” Amazingly, she says that we ought to return to some of the old virtues—including “prudence, temperance, respect and even love.” Well, imagine that! So far, so good.
    But Emba, who has started down the path of wisdom, is hesitant to go too far, saying, “It’s unlikely that we’ll return to a society in which sexual encounters outside of marriage are disallowed or even discouraged—that sex train has already left the fornication station, if it was ever properly there to begin with.”

Okay, but why not return? As Lewis also wrote, “We all want progress. But progress means getting nearer to the place where you want to be. And if you have taken a wrong turning then to go forward does not get you any nearer. If you are on the wrong road progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road.”

So if we’re to rethink sex as Emba and others are beginning to advocate, it makes perfect sense to look to the One who gave us sex in the first place, God Himself, and see what He says about it—and it’s certainly not about satisfying our selfish desires.Way back in the book of Genesis, we see the two main functions of sex identified by theologians across the spectrum of Christianity—the unitive and the procreative—and they are inseparably linked with marriage.
    “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.” That’s the unitive aspect of sex, bringing husband and wife together for mutual benefit. “Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain”—that is the procreative aspect, which far too often in our culture has been completely divorced from the sex act—with disastrous results.

So come to BreakPoint.org and I’ll link you to Emba’s article. What a great discussion starter to engage our secular friends and acquaintances—but only under appropriate circumstances, of course. Let the re-thinking begin.

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RESOURCES - As Eric has pointed out, the consequences of the secular worldview on sexuality are now coming to light. As Christians, we can use this moment to encourage those in our spheres of influence to “rethink sex” in terms of human flourishing—and to point them to the One who gave us this gift in the first place.
"Let’s rethink sex" - Christine Emba | Washington Post | November 26, 2017; https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/lets-rethink-sex/2017/11/26/d8546a86-d2d5-11e7-b62d-d9345ced896d_story.htm
The Abolition of Man - C. S. Lewis; http://www.colsoncenterstore.org/Product.asp?sku=2191_0060652942

#2164 (12/12) "GLAAD's Tidings Grate Joy"

"GLAAD's TIDINGSS GRATE JOY" - Tony Perkins, Washington Update, December 11, 2017; http://www.frc.org/updatearticle/20171211/glaad-tidings

For a party who argues there's no war on Christmas, the secular Left sure spends a lot of time talking about one! From smart-alecky op-eds to condescending cartoons, it's starting to feel like some liberals are more obsessed with the idea than anyone. But considering the wildly enthusiastic response to Donald Trump in Pensacola, maybe they're right to be worried.

With almost 80 minutes of material at his Florida rally, the president wasn't exactly lacking for applause lines. But it only took two -- "Merry Christmas!" -- to send the crowd into a cheering frenzy. For reasons the liberal media will never understand, this crusade on Christmas is a success for the same reason Donald Trump is president: because it taps into a deep frustration that America's common values are being mocked and marginalized. Look at the NFL's scramble to stay afloat when patriotism was attacked, or how shoppers responded when Target opened its doors to the gender-free fringe. Through it all, liberals have been so consumed with moving the country into radical territory that they haven't stopped long enough to look over their shoulder and see if anyone's following them. And apart from their surrogates in the media, most aren't.

Now, a year after voters said the Democratic Party didn't understand them, the Left's lampooning of Christmas shows they still don't. And not just on the holidays -- but on the entire concept of religious liberty (which, if liberals bothered to look under the surface, is what this entire revolution is about). Donald Trump gets it. He's been leading the free exercise parade since he moved into the office, making "protecting religious liberty," as he said to Pensacola Friday, one of the biggest priorities of his term. "We have stopped the government attacks on our Judeo-Christian values," he explained, "because we know that families and churches, not government officials, know best how to create a strong and loving community... Above all else," he went on, "we know this: America doesn't worship government. We worship God." The applause was so deafening, Trump couldn't continue.

Unfortunately for the president, the government is just one part of the attack on our values. The political Left is the real threat, slowly wrapping its tentacles around powerful pockets of the media, business community, our schools, and sports. The squeeze is on for conservatives in America, who, extremists will tell you, don't even deserve to be heard. Over the weekend, NBC "Today" host Megyn Kelly came under fire for something as innocent as interviewing Christian baker Jack Phillips, the man at the center of the biggest religious liberty case in a generation. Why? According to the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), because he thinks differently than liberals do. "Today Megyn Kelly allowed her morning show to be nothing more than a Trojan Horse to push the talking points of a known anti-LGBTQ group, Alliance Defending Freedom, into homes across America... Megyn Kelly is clearly choosing sides," GLAAD tweeted later. "That's not responsible journalism."

Responsible journalism, apparently, is ignoring that there are two sides to every debate. As far as some on the Left are concerned, if you can't win the argument, silence it. If you can't create conformity, force it. Lately, liberals have been quite successful at arguing that what Christians believe is no longer relevant or no intelligent person thinks this way. The only trouble with this Rules for Radicals mentality is that it doesn't account for the push-back conservatives, emboldened by Trump, have started to give it. Still, that message is amplified by their friends in the media, giving the dangerous illusion that everyday Americans -- who still believe in basics like biology -- are outnumbered.

Even former Houston Mayor Annise Parker, an open LGBT activist who just took the helm of the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund and Institute, brags that her side has "already won the war." In an interview about her new job with The Blade, she crowed that the radical transformation of America is all but unstoppable. "I think we're going to make much faster progress [on transgender issues]," Parker insisted. "I think we're going to win the war. In fact, we've already won the war, but... we can't take our foot off the pedal. All of the things we've been doing for the last 45 years since Stonewall basically throwing ourselves into the political process, showing up, voting, protesting when necessary, we still have to keep doing it." In her new job, Parker can finally do publicly what she was attempting to do personally as mayor: unleash an all-out assault against freedom and truth. Looking back on her controversial days in Houston, she talked about her failure to pass a gender-less bathroom order.
    "This latest anti-trans movement really, I think, unfortunately, wasn't launched in Houston, but our HERO campaign [the 2015 campaign to preserve the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance] was where it really flowered. We had right-wing groups from all over the country, pouring money and resources in Houston. We had the right-wing ideologues coming through, the Mike Huckabees and Ted Cruzes coming though Houston and doing trans-bashing in Houston, and then they took it on the road to North Carolina and back to Texas with the statewide bathroom bill."
    Even now, she still doesn't see anything wrong with punishing and censoring pastors, which she tried to do with her infamous sermon subpoenas. The Blade reporter asked her about it, remembering that "there was this big argument that was infringing upon these pastors' religious liberty." She claimed it happened without her knowledge but admitted, "I didn't think it was wrong, but I rescinded it simply because it created too much of a peripheral issue. But that had to do with litigation around HERO. It wasn't anything to do with RFRA [Religious Freedom Restoration Act] or the ability to discriminate."

Unfortunately, these views -- GLAAD's and Annise Parker's -- aren't apparitions of the Obama administration. They now represent the heart and soul of the Left, whose full-throated intolerance is jettisoning biblical truth and thousands of years of human history -- in exchange for a view that's been popularized by the media and cultural elite. Has anyone stopped to think where we'd be if Hillary Clinton were president and Obama's radical agenda continued? Is there any doubt that the Left would have resumed the government-sanctioned punishment of anyone who dares to subscribe to biblical morality?

The "Never Trumpers" and others can continue to volley criticisms at the president, but to this point, Donald Trump has done more than any previous Republican president in most of our lives to reverse the destructive policies of his predecessor. Who knows when conservatives will have this opportunity again? Liberals, aided by a few spineless Republicans, are working hard to stop and stall this president. Now is the not the time to sit back or disengage. We must push harder than we've ever pushed before, lest we lose our chance to restore America to a firm foundation.

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#2163 (12/11) "The Inanity of Liberals' Fear-Mongering on Tax Reform"

"THE INANITY OF LIBERALS' FEARMONGERING ON TAX REFORM" - By Tony Perkins, Family Research Council, Dec. 6, 2017; http://www.frc.org/op-eds/the-inanity-of-liberals-fearmongering-on-tax-reform

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.On Monday night, the GOP tax bill took another step toward President Donald Trump’s desk when Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, R-Wis., named nine members to the conference committee, including Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady, R-Texas.

The Senate is expected to name its negotiators later this week as the two chambers work to reconcile their respective versions of the bill. As the bill moves forward, Democrats are becoming increasingly frantic—and apocalyptic—in their efforts to derail tax reform.
     “[This bill] is the worst bill in the history of the United States Congress,” claimed House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., during House floor debates on the tax bill. She clarified later during a press conference: “No, it is the end of the world … This is Armageddon.”

It’s unclear which parts of the GOP tax bill signal the four horsemen of Pelosi’s prophesied apocalypse. Maybe it’s the increase in the child tax credit, which the House bumped up to $1,600 per child (and the Senate raised even further to $2,000). This legislation would provide critical relief for working families, but for the Democrats, that relief goes hand in hand with our doom.

Or maybe Pelosi’s panic is due to the near total elimination of marriage penalties within the tax bill. For decades, married couples have been penalized by a tax code that incentivizes divorce. A divorced couple can often achieve a better tax result by receiving a tax break for payments between them than a married couple can.
    Marriage is the bedrock of our nation’s foundational structure, the family, and only when our families are strong can our economy thrive. The House GOP members recognized this when they also reduced the number of taxable income brackets to four, rather than the seven currently in law.

Another vilified proposal within the Republicans’ tax bill is the assault on the estate tax, also known as the “death tax,” which handicaps families, and particularly family-owned businesses, by imposing heavily on bequeathed assets. The House version of the tax bill doubles the death tax exclusion and repeals the tax permanently beginning in 2024, while the Senate’s version retains the tax, but doubles the exclusion from 2018-2025.
    The Democrats may disagree, but we find that the death tax places an unconscionable onus on small businesses, to say nothing of the emotional damage inflicted on grieving families who are forced to close their businesses’ doors, and we hope the final bill reflects the House’s language and fully repeals the death tax.

Pelosi and her compatriots on the left would have the American public believe that the Republicans are out to help only the richest and the biggest “fat cats,” as Pelosi called the wealthy repeatedly during her floor speeches against the GOP tax bill.

The bill is not perfect, and we urge members of Congress to include in the final bill the House language removing the government’s muzzle on churches via the Johnson Amendment, restoring free speech for churches and nonprofits.

But despite the Democrats’ fear-mongering and hyperbolic exclamations, the truth is that this bill does not spell the end of the world, but rather the end of an antiquated tax code that has crippled our economy and placed an undue burden on our nation’s families for decades.

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#2162 (12/10) SUNDAY SPECIAL: "Depression and God’s Grace - You Are Not Alone"

"DEPRESSION AND GOD'S GRACE - YOU ARE NOT ALONE" - by: Eric Metaxas &  Stan Guthrie; Breakpoint.org, Nov. 30, 2017; http://www.breakpoint.org/2017/11/breakpoint-depression-gods-grace/ [AS I SEE IT: Does it seem strange to be posting an article about depression during the Christmas season? Well, we all know the truth is that Christmas can be a time for many people to become depressed to some degree. In the midst of all the celebratory activities, it's natural to look back on the past year, on where we are at now in life, and be dissatisfied and discouraged - even as Christians. It's important that we be real with others if we are struggling - and we just may be surprised at how many others are also struggling. (I've had episodes.) But most importantly, we need to be real with God - spending time in prayer and in His Word. And above all, we mustn't let Satan use depression to draw us away from God. Christmas should remind us that He IS always there, and He is not silent regarding the pain we carry. - Stan]

If you’re dealing with depression, you might as well know there are no quick fixes, but there is always God’s grace.
    Those who suffer from depression sometimes feel as if they’re all alone. Take it from me—I felt that way because I have struggled with depression for years. According to the American Psychiatric Association, about one in fifteen adults experiences depression each year. And one in six will be touched by the cold hand of depression at some point in life. Women are more susceptible to depression than men, with one in three expected to have a major depressive episode in her lifetime.

The APA calls depression “a common and serious medical illness that negatively affects how you feel, the way you think and how you act. … Depression causes feelings of sadness and/or a loss of interest in activities once enjoyed. It can lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems and can decrease a person’s ability to function at work and at home.”

Even Christians get depressed, of course; as I mentioned, I’ve dealt with it. It’s part of living in a broken and fallen world. For a woman named Lily Burana, bouts of depression, anxiety, and insomnia began when she was a toddler, and being raised in a church did not make them go away. “My depression, still unnamed, deepened as I grew older,” she writes in a piece for Christianity Today. “I became less interested in church, and by adolescence, depression, sarcasm, and cynicism had become my holy trinity, which might sound impressively edgy if it weren’t so miserable.”
    Eventually, Lily dropped out of school, and out of church, winding up in New York City’s East Village, where she hung out with an assortment of what she calls “freaks, losers, ragers, and least-of-these-ers.” Lily says she began a journey that landed her somewhere between “spiritual but not religious” and “New Age dilettante,” as she tried paganism, yoga, and agnosticism. But nothing satisfied her bright mind or tamed her gnawing depression.
    “But a few years ago,” Lily writes, “when a dangerously deep and rocky depressive spell had me in its grips, I teetered on the brink of suicide. Even with the cosmetic appointments of a full and happy life—husband, family, health, career—I felt desperate, alone, scarred, stained, and worthless.”

That’s when God broke through—not by miraculously erasing depression as if it were a stray pencil line, but by gently speaking to her heart. Biblical teaching and fellowship reminded Lily that not only did God love her—He accepted her. Dialing back the self-condemnation, she began a process of being “restored by grace.” She’s on a journey of healing now, saying, “[I]t feels like comfort, acceptance, and resilience. A place to retreat, to just sit, breathe, and be.”
    Lily still battles depression, and uses medication to help control the dark moods. “But I can’t lay full credit for my wellbeing at the feet of Big Pharma,” Lily says, “for nothing has helped me recover more than receiving God’s grace.”

Lily says that depression threw her into God’s arms, so let me ask you—has it thrown you into His arms? Let’s stop with all the facades. Depression is an unwelcome fact of life for many of us. But being depressed doesn’t mean your faith in the Lord is defective. It can be an invitation to present your pain as an offering to the One who understands that pain better than anyone.

As Marshall Segal of desiringGod.org writes, “While many are lost to their depression—helplessly wandering in their own darkness—Christians have somewhere to turn, truths to rehearse until our hearts catch up with the faith in our minds. Not only did Christ save and deliver the brokenhearted, but he experiences all the pains and temptations we face and more.”

So if you’re depressed, please, please remember you are not alone. It’s okay to show others your hurt. And hear me: There is no shame in seeking professional help. I certainly have. And know that God sees and promises to meet you in your hurt with His love and grace.

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Resources - Depression affects people from all walks of life, as Eric points out. But help can come from many sources, especially the grace of God offered through the local body of Christ. Read more of Lily Burana’s journey by checking out the resources linked below.

"A Punk Rock Rebel Returns to Church" - Lily Burana| Christianity Today | October 20, 2017; http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2017/november/lily-burana-grace-amateurs-punk-rock-rebel-returns-church.html

"What Is Depression?" - American Psychiatric Association - https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/depression/what-is-depression
"Grace for Amateurs: Field Notes on a Journey Back to Faith" - Lily Burana | Thomas Nelson Publishers | October 2017 - http://www.colsoncenterstore.org/Product.asp?sku=9780718095987

#2161 (12/9) PRO-LIFE SAT: "Justice Dept. Launches Criminal Investigation of Planned Parenthood for Selling Aborted Baby Parts"

"JUSTICE DEPT. LAUNCHES CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION OF PLANNED PARENTHOOD FOR SELLING ABORTED BABY PARTS" -  Micaiah Bilger, Dec 8, 2017| http://www.lifenews.com/2017/12/08/justice-dept-launches-criminal-investigation-of-planned-parenthood-for-selling-aborted-baby-parts/

The U.S. Department of Justice officially is investigating whether the abortion chain Planned Parenthood sold aborted babies’ body parts for profit.

Fox News broke the story late Thursday after obtaining a letter from Justice Department Assistant Attorney General for Legislative Affairs Stephen Boyd requesting unredacted documents from the U.S. Senate committee that investigated the abortion chain last year.
The committee, as well as a U.S. House investigative committee, both recommended that the DOJ investigate Planned Parenthood after finding strong evidence that the abortion chain broke the law.
    The investigation came about as a result of a series of undercover videos by the Center for Medical Progress that exposed the baby body parts trade inside the nation’s largest abortion provider. “The Department of Justice … would like to request the Committee provide unredacted copies of records contained in the report, in order to further the Department’s ability to conduct a thorough and comprehensive assessment of that report based on the full range of information available,” Boyd wrote.

The department sent the letter, dated Dec. 7, to U.S. Sens. Charles Grassley and Dianne Feinstein, who led the committee, the Independent reports.“At this point, the records are intended for investigative use only – we understand that a resolution from the Senate may be required if the department were to use any of the unredacted materials in a formal legal proceeding, such as a grand jury,” Boyd continued.

Planned Parenthood repeatedly has denied all allegations of wrong-doing. A spokesperson refused to comment on the letter Thursday for the Independent.

David Daleiden of the Center for Medical Progress praised the move, pointing to the undercover videos showing how Planned Parenthood employees callously and flippantly negotiated the price of tiny baby hearts, lungs, livers and brains. “Since then, two Congressional investigations found even deeper wrongdoing and confirmed that Planned Parenthood Federation of America, several of their biggest affiliates, and multiple business partners broke the law in a profit-driven scheme to commodify dismembered baby body parts,” Daleiden said in a statement. “It is time for public officials to finally hold Planned Parenthood and their criminal abortion enterprise accountable under the law.” 

National pro-life leaders also were pleased about the confirmation of a federal investigation.
    “Women have been betrayed for too long by Planned Parenthood and lied to about the sale of fetal body parts. Taxpayers have had enough of Planned Parenthood’s use of taxpayer dollars to traffic body parts and commit crimes,” said Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life of America.
    Abby Johnson, former Planned Parenthood manager and current head of And Then There Were None, said: “This is long-awaited, good news. Planned Parenthood has actively participated in illegal activity, selling the body parts of aborted babies in exchange for profit. They’ve lied to the very women they purport to fight for. I saw it first-hand when I worked for the abortion giant and yet, they still manage to obtain over half a billion dollars a year in our tax dollars. Congress should immediately halt any money to the abortion giant until the FBI completes their investigation.”
    The abortion chain Planned Parenthood receives approximately half a billion taxpayer dollars every year, while performing about 320,000 abortions annually.

The expose’ videos catching Planned Parenthood officials selling the body parts of aborted babies have shocked the nation. Here is a list of all 14:[go to website of this article]

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#2160 (12/8) "Happy Holy Days from the Trumps"

"HAPPY HOLY DAYS FROM THE TRUMPS" - Tony Perkins, Washington Update, December 01, 2017; http://www.frc.org/updatearticle/20171201/happy-days [AS I SEE IT: I present this post as another example of how this President is a refreshing change from what we saw in former President Obama. The only minor thing I would take exception with in his speech is when he said "Each of us is a child of God..." In truth, we are all creations of God, and  we only become a child of God when we place our trust in Christ as our Savior and Lord. (John 1:12) - Stan]

There are few things as big as Donald Trump's personality -- but the National Christmas Tree comes close! At 50 feet, it loomed large over the crowd at last [Thurs.]night's lighting ceremony, almost as large as the debate about the holiday itself. For the Trumps, Thursday's event wasn't so much about flipping the switch on a giant evergreen, but about turning the page on eight years of sanitized celebrating.

"We're saying 'Merry Christmas' again," he said with gusto. And they aren't just saying it, they're embracing it. From the official White House Christmas card to red and green press conference signs, this is the December Donald Trump has been waiting for. "Today is a day that I've been looking very much forward to all year long. It's one that we have heard and we speak about and we dream about. And now, as the President of the United States, it's my tremendous honor to finally wish America and the world, a very merry Christmas," he told the crowd at the ellipse. With a bit of irony, Trump pointed back to the 1870 legislation signed by President Ulysses Grant making Christmas a federal holiday. "And I sort of feel we're doing that again. That's what's happening," he said.

But Christmas isn't the only thing making a comeback under President Trump -- so is the story behind it. In a speech that no one would ever mistake for Barack Obama's, the 45th president made it clear that this "is a holy season, the celebration of the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ... [That]," he went on, is "the most extraordinary gift of all -- the gift of God's love for all of humanity... Whatever our beliefs, we know that the birth of Jesus Christ and the story of this incredible life forever changed the course of human history. There's hardly an aspect of our lives today that His life has not touched -- art, music, culture, law and our respect for the sacred dignity of every person, everywhere in the world."

"Each one of us is a child of God," the president reminded Americans. "That is the true source of joy this time of the year... And so, this Christmas, we ask for God's blessings for our family and for our nation. We pray that our country will be a place where every child knows a home filled with love, a community rich with hope, and a nation blessed ..." These words were a breathtaking departure from recent Christmases past, they were completely lost on a media whose only headline appeared to be the empty chairs in the back of the viewing area. (A problem common to every president, Fox  points out -- with pictures to prove it.) For most of America, though, it was a refreshing break from the Left's pageants of political correctness. To millions of them, Donald Trump isn't just tapping into the frustration they feel about Christmas – but the mockery of every value they hold dear: marriage, family, faith, and patriotism.

As far as some liberals are concerned, believing in Jesus is as childish as believing in Santa. They're embarrassed by the "unsophistication" of Christianity. And, for years, they've done a bang-up job persuading others to feel likewise. "The opponents of 'Merry Christmas' and other uses of the word 'Christmas' know exactly what they are doing..." writes Dennis Prager. "They are disingenuous when they dismiss defenders of 'Merry Christmas' as fabricating some sort of 'war.' The Left in America, like the Left in Europe, wants to create a thoroughly secular society... That's why 'Merry Christmas' so bothers the anti-religious Left. It is perhaps the single most blatant reminder of just how religious America is. The 'Happy Holidays' advocates want it both ways," Prager argues. "They dismiss opponents as hysterical, while at the same time, relentlessly pushing to rid America of 'Merry Christmas.'"

Why? Because in the end, this isn't a war on Christmas. It's a war on Christ. Every time the nine letters of Christmas are used, people come face to face with the six that secularists are trying to drive out. So this is hardly a silly little controversy invented by hypersensitive Christians. It's the epitome of the fight for faith in America. And don't believe any liberal who says otherwise.

** If you want to reward retailers who aren't shying away from the reason for the season, check out American Family Association's Naughty and Nice list. [https://www.afa.net/projects/naughty-or-nice/2017-naughty-or-nice-list/To see who's Christmas-friendly, check out this list. Or, as our friends at 2nd Vote point out, you can simplify with their December hashtag: #AnywhereButTARGET.

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Hear President Trump's speech at the Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1c1t2Ee4vc&feature=youtu.be