Syria, Prayer and Fasting

On Saturday Pope Francis joined 100,000 people gathered in St. Peter's Square for a four-hour prayer vigil. The vigil was in response to the pope's call for a day of prayer and fasting for peace. The focus of this call for peace is, of course, on the civil war in Syria and the planned strike now being debated here in the U.S. Throughout the world the Church's bishops joined Pope Francis in proclaiming the fast and holding similar prayer vigils. The response, however, extended well beyond the Church. Even in St. Peter's Square the crowd was swelled by many non-Christians who expressed solidarity with the pope. One man, a Hindu, said, "This is already a success, the fact that all of us here, Hindus, Christians, Buddhists, atheists made an effort to fast, not to do many things, and come here from all over Italy and Europe. This is already a success." Muslims, too, were present. Indeed, several hundred members of Italy's Arab community joined in the prayers. And in Damascus, in the very heart of Syria, the grand mufti wrote a letter thanking Pope Fancis for all he had done and invited Muslims to fast as well. In his remarks to the crowd the pope said,

"This evening I ask the Lord that we Christians, and our brothers and sisters of other religions and every man and woman of good will, cry out forcefully: Viloence and war are never the way to peace." 

Earlier in the week the pope issued a plea for peace in the plain and clear language to which we have become accustomed:

"There are so many conflicts in this world which cause me great suffering and worry, but in these days my heart is deeply wounded in particular by what is happening in Syria and anguished by the dramatic developments which are looming. I appeal strongly for peace, an appeal which arises from deep within me. How much suffering, how much devastation, how much pain has the use of arms carried in its wake in that martyred country, especially among civilians and the unarmed! I think of many children who will not see the light of the future! With utmost firmness I condemn the use of chemical weapons: I tell you that those terrible images from recent days are burned into my mind and heart. There is a judgment of God and of history upon our actions which are inescapable."

The pope offers the world a strong moral argument favoring restraint. But there are also geopolitical arguments that should be raised. At this point we must ask ourselves whether a strike on Syria will achieve anything positive. Will it lessen the fighting? Will it stop the civil war? Will it stop the use of chemical weapons by either the Assad regime or the rebels or both? Will it bring about a significant shift in the balance of power in the country and the region? If an air strike leads to the eventual end of the Assad regime, what will replace it? Who exactly are the rebels and what are their motivations and goals? Are any of the armed rebels truly moderates? If we attack Syria, what might be the short- and long-term ramifications on our key ally in the region, Israel? How will Assad's ally, Iran, react? And then there's the wild card, Russia, a nation ruled today by a former KGB apparatchik. Can anyone predict the full range of unintended consequences of an American attack on Syria?

The fact that the answers to these questions do not come easily only reinforces Pope Francis's argument for restraint. That few if any of these questions have been answered publicly by the Obama administration is additional cause for concern. Indeed, one gets the idea that strategic issues are decidedly secondary, that the president's primary motivation is to save face, to salvage his personal credibility regardless of the consequences.

The above comments were written last Sunday morning before the real weirdness set in, before Secretary of State Kerry's gaff, before Putin's diplomatic coup, before the president's odd speech to the nation, before Putin's New York Times op-ed...before this strange concatenation of events. It all leads me to believe that prayer and fasting have had a positive result. Keep it up. And while you're praying, take a moment to read this story about Fatima and world peace.

Syria and Ducks and Tebow and Democrats and Abortion and God

The Kerrys and Assads Enjoy Dinner at a Happier Time

The news today overflows with strange stories. Most of the world seems focused on Syria and the current location of the "red line" President Obama continues to draw in the shifting sands of the Mideast. I can see no good outcome from the situation the president has created for our nation. Whether Barack Obama initiates a limited, short-term, focused attack on the regime of Syrian dictator, Bashar al-Assad, or ultimately decides to walk away from the whole thing, the result will be pretty much the same: the United States will appear weak and ineffective. This will not turn out well and could lead to something much worse.

In a recent post I confessed a fondness for the family starring in the A&E reality show, "Duck Dynasty." And if the ratings are any measure, it would seem much of the country likes them as well. This is to be expected since, despite their obvious oddness, the members of this extended family love each other and love the Lord. They break bread together; they laugh and criticize and argue and joke and work together; they hunt and fish and play togther; and they pray together. There are still a lot of Americans who appreciate all this and the positive family values depicted in this show. And because such values are a rarity on television today, I expect the show will continue to be successful.

The Duck Dynasty Family at Prayer

Yesterday Tim Tebow was released by the New England Patriots. I had hoped he'd make the team as its third quarterback, but this was apparently not to be. And inexplicably neither Bill Belichick nor Robert Kraft called me yesterday to ask for my advice and consent. Go figure!

Tebow, of course, has generated all kinds of commentary since his NFL debut with the Denver Broncos two years ago. Much of that commentary has been highly negative. If the pundits are to be believed, the criticism of this young man is centered on what they perceive to be his lack of pro quarterback skills. But this is a red herring. He may not be a top-tier pro quarterback, but the media's real objection to Tebow is something else entirely. This is obvious because most of the public criticism centers on his supposed "polarization." And why do they believe he's so polarizing? That's simple. Tim Tebow is a believing Christian who lives his faith and lets others know it. This is not something public figures are supposed to do. Christians can be tolerated but only if they never proselytize.

The truth is, many in the media hate Tebow simply because they depise Christianity. They despise Christianity because it collides with their atheistic/agnostic worldview. Indeed, I suspect many of these haters of Christianity also hate the very idea of God, especially a God who calls on them to "Repent and believe in the Gospel." Pray for them. And pray, too, for all those nominal Christians who are just as uneasy about the Tim Tebows of the world who refuse to hide their faith under a bushel basket.

Tim Tebow may never again play professional football, but I am confident in believing he will go on to do great things.

Now a word to all those pro-life Democrats out there. Yes, there are some. I know this because I've met them and they proudly proclaim both their allegiance to the Democrat party and their pro-life beliefs. The fact that they've never voted for a pro-life candidate at any level of government does not seem to bother them. One would think that many of these Democrats are pro-life because of their religious belief in the sanctity of human life created by a loving God. Some believing Democrats, however, disagree. At a party function in Iowa, one of the faithful, an activist named Midge Slater, spent some time in public prayer thanking God for his gift of abortion. In Ms. Slater's words:

"We give thanks, Oh Lord, for the doctors, both current and future, who provide quality abortion care...We pray for increased financial support for low-income women to access contraception, abortion and childcare."  [Why they would need childcare is not explained.]...we pray for women in developing nations, that they may know the power of self-determination. May they have access to employment, education, birth control and abortion....we pray for the families who have chosen. May they know the blessing of choice..."

And then she added: "We pray for women who have been made afraid by their paternalistic religion." Yes, can't you just see all those Catholic women quaking in fear because popes, bishops, priests (and deacons?) refuse to stop calling abortion a sin. I've included a video of this prayer service below.



This is the state of your party today, pro-life Democrats. It's leadership has enthusiastically overseen the killing of over 50 million unborn infants since 1973. I'm not suggesting you register as Republicans tomorrow. Heaven knows how ineffective Republican leadership has been. But I do ask you to send your party a pro-life message and, at the very least, register as an independent. In truth, I can't see the party changing its stance on any life issues because its activist leadership truly believes that abortion trumps everything else.

Pax et bonum...