Author: fundyreformed

Blue It Is

~ fundyreformed ~ 12 Comments

So I’ve changed my theme again. It’s still orange no more, but the Fadtastic theme had too many problems to work for me. Perhaps if they get fixed, I’ll bring that theme back. I like the color scheme.

Blue it is. And I mean it this time. The theme is staying around for another 6 months or so. I don’t even care what you readers think this time. I asked you all and look what you made me do! Change it again!

There are some downsides to this theme, and it will be different getting used to 1 sidebar again, but all in all its the best option.

My head is spinning with all the tweaking I’ve been doing lately, but I’m fixing some technical stuff I had overlooked in the past, so all is not lost. I even plan to post about some updates I’ve done to my aggregator feed. But I need to get back into the flow of the posting here, this technical stuff has me bottlenecked.

Hope you like blue! The picture is of the Grand Teton’s I think. I love mountains so I thought it went nicely with the new look.

Okay, I give in. What do you think?AddThis Social Bookmark Button

Why Mike Huckabee Can Win the General Election

~ fundyreformed ~ 17 Comments

Update: For a post which lays out the reasons why Huckabee is a genuine conservative and can appeal to all 3 conservative factions, check out this post from Evangelical Outpost (Joe Carter, with Matt Anderson and Justin Taylor).
Momentum is Mike Huckabee‘s friend right about now. He’s been riding it for quite some time.

Huckabee scored big in yesterday’s Iowa Straw Poll by finishing solidly in 2nd place, with 18% of the vote. Romney spent literally millions more than Huckabee, and won first place with only 31% of the vote, even though the two other big name, top tier candidates didn’t participate.

With characteristic charm, Huckabee remarked, “For us to finish second, for all intents and purposes, we won the Iowa straw poll. This is David and Goliath and one smooth stone.” (source, David Chalian of ABCNews.com). Huckabee may not be over exaggerating either.

Chris Cillizza on his Washington Post political blog “The Fix”, suggested that Huckabee may well be the biggest winner from the straw poll. And “The Blue State”, a progressive blog without bias, predicts “Mike Huckabee is about to receive a huge bounce in the polls after finishing second…“. Blue State went on to discuss how Huckabee can position himself as “the leading conservative alternative to the frontrunners“. After highlighting evidence which may suggest hundreds of voters actually changed their minds to vote for Huckabee, Noam Scheiber of The New Republic‘s political blog “The Plank”, went on to describe how, “The political press is absolutely head over heels for Huckabee.”

So with all the buzz surrounding Mike Huckabee and his bid for the Republican nomination, now might be a good time to raise the question: “Can Huckabee win the general election?” I suggest he can, for the following reasons.

  • With a Republican party lagging in morale and political viability, the best chance Republicans have for winning must be a united front. They would need a candidate who appeals both to their base and to middle-of-the-roaders. Huckabee is that man. Conservatives have nothing to fear, and moderates will warm to Huckabee’s optimistic emphasis on vertical politics.
  • Who can say what it takes to win on the big stage, but a healthy dose of charisma, charm, and a quick witted humor never hurt anyone. Huckabee has that and more. He has consistently over achieved in the debates, and displays a presidential tone.
  • Huckabee is not connected to Washington. And he’s a governor — a governor’s governor, really. With 10 1/2 years of executive experience to leverage, Huckabee will convince the public that America needs a proven leader.
  • Since Huckabee isn’t a Washington insider, he isn’t in Bush’s back pocket. He’s been loathe to openly criticize the sitting president, but one can tell he has some significant differences and disappointments with Bush. Republicans and Democrats alike will need to be assured that Huckabee doesn’t represent more of the same.
  • Huckabee is also one of the few Republican candidates with a full-orbed political plan for change. He emphasizes vertical politics and the importance of actually governing and getting things done (see this video clip of Huckabee on this very point).
  • What’s more he is extremely believable and likable. The media love him. He has a great story of losing 100 pounds, and he would also have an underdog turned contender storyline going into the general election.
  • And Huckabee is not a cookie-cutter Republican. Sure he is solidly pro life, but he emphasizes the need to support life from the womb to the grave and everyplace in between. He also is calling for Republicans to take the lead in the stewardship of our environment, and the fighting of corporate greed. He even advocates an emphasis on art & music education in public schools. As for his faith, he stresses that it will influence him to “do what’s right” in office.
  • Early media reports have tried to paint Huckabee as a member of the radical right, with him being an ordained Southern Baptist preacher and all. They’ve made much of his personal belief in God’s creation, over and against evolution. Yet Huckabee’s record will prove them wrong. He won election twice in a solidly democratic Arkansas, and worked with Democrats to get things done.
  • He has a clear across-the-aisle appeal. Huckabee, his bass guitar, and his quick wit proved enough to win applause and more in a must-see interview with Jon Stewart of Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show”.
  • To sum it all up, Huckabee is the only conservative who can genuinely appeal to his party’s base as well as reach out to independents and moderates. It’s like Huckabee says, although he’s a conservative, he’s not mad at everybody!

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Orange No More

~ fundyreformed ~ 31 Comments

Were any of you all sick of orange too?

I have been yearning for a blog design change for a while now. And I had been hoping to get rid of some of the clutter in my sidebar. I don’t know if I succeeded in that, but I am happy with the new look.

I wonder if anyone remembers the old Blogger version of this blog? Red, gray, and some tan — remember? Then who could forget the olive green garb the blog took on as I moved my blog to WordPress, July of last year. Since March, I was using the three column orange themed design that hopefully you remember quite well.

Well, this then is Fundamentally Reformed 4.0! I really like the color scheme and overall design. I am going to have to get used to having just one post display on the home page, however. That’s the main drawback, but there really aren’t any other choices I like for a three column design that uses widgets. Besides, this theme lends itself well to the use of more pages. And that is where I wanted to go with the blog.

I am planning to update each of the pages (they run along the top of the blog, under the header) in the near future. The one requiring the most work is the “Topics” page. I hope to list all the discussion topics I’ve had with the blog. It will be something like a site map, when I get finished with it. I’m hoping it will be a great place to start with, for those first coming across my blog.

Well, I’ve introduced the new design. It was my easiest design transition yet! If any of you have helpful suggestions, or constructive critique, please let me know. I’m glad you all read my blog. But my blog is, mine after all! And I like the design change.

Oh, and “Regler joe”, you can have your orange!

Baptism & Young Children

~ fundyreformed ~ 4 Comments

A quick update here. Grudem responded to Piper’s rebuttal of Grudem’s change of his position on baptism and church membership. (That sentence is a mouthful!)

Then Justin Taylor followed that up by highlighting two helpful articles by Vern Poythress. The first one is called “Indifferentism and Rigorism in the Church: With Implications for Baptizing Small Children“, and explores two attitudes to church membership and the nature of faith in little children (ages 2 and up). What Poythress says concerning the church in that paper is worth thinking through irrespective of the baptism position altogether — especially for us fundamentalist types.

The second paper is more overtly connected to paedobaptism (Vern Poythress is paedo), and is entitled “Linking Small Children with Infants in the Theology of Baptizing“. It explores the implications of Jesus’ reception of the little children and the nature of our experiencing Jesus in the company of the saints every time we gather in corporate worship.

Both of the articles by Poythress are well worth your time. He is very humble and brings up some excellent points. What he says can also be taken to heart even without opening membership to those of the opposite baptismal position. I’d be interested to hear any of your thoughts on the articles!

Barry Bonds: A Bonafide Bid for "Baseball's Best"

~ fundyreformed ~ 8 Comments

Having lived in the San Francisco Bay area for a couple of years, I grew to appreciate Barry Bonds. For the past five or six years as I’ve more closely followed his career, what continuously amazes me is how he stands head and shoulders above the rest.   No one is as feared a hitter as Bonds, and no one earns more walks.

Despite the chorus of rolling eyes, sighs, and moans which I’m receiving right now, let me briefly explain my point of view, and point you to an excellent piece on Bonds and his greatness.

Bonds has never been proven guilty of steroid-use, albeit from the news you’d have thought they already have a jail cell waiting for him. But can steroids really improve your swing? Can steroids earn you the batting crown? Can steroids gain you such a fear among the league’s elite pitchers?

Tony Gwynn, a baseball great of unstained reputation, made a comment a few years back. He claimed Bonds had the purest swing in baseball. Coming from baseball’s best hope for a .400 season in the last twenty years, this compliment by Gwynn seems quite signficant. And Gwynn spent many years playing in Bonds’ division, so he saw Bonds more often than most.

Further, steroid use has historically been widespread throughout baseball. And if it isn’t steroids, its something else. Players from Ruth’s era and on have continually used anything they could to improve their abilities. Bonds is no exception. And again, nothing illegal has been proven.

Under intense scrutiny of late, and amid the fiercest pitching schemes with the ever common intentional walk, Bonds has nevertheless continued to be at the top of the game. And not just in home run numbers. His OPS (on base percentage + slugging percentage), has been miles ahead of the rest of the league for the last several years.

Perhaps because he makes the other sluggers look like underclassmen, and because he is a maverick who doesn’t appreciate nosy reporters, Bonds has gained a lot of ill will. And the steroid suspicion adds to all this. So no one likes Bonds.

Like him or not, you’ve got to admit he is one of the greatest hitters of all time.

Not convinced? Read a very good and fact-filled treatment of Bonds by Kent Brandenburg, here. This piece also speaks to the mistaken thoughts surrounding Bonds increasing in his hat size and body build over the years. If any of you novice writers out there are going to dis Bonds (hey, I’m novice too), you ought to at least read this piece by Brandenburg. Its quite convincing, although this assessment does come from someone already firmly planted in Bonds’ peanut gallery!