Bøger af Dan Wolf

Two-thirds or more Americans today believe we are no longer on the right track. What has happened? How have we gotten here? We have lost our way; people understand this and are reacting to it. This is evidenced by Donald Trump's nomination and Britain's vote to exit the E.U. Do You Want To Be Free outlined both track's foundations. Specifically, two sets of principles that have existed for over two thousand years - individualism and collectivism. These are not only contradictory, but incompatible. The first relates to our purpose, the second does not. The first leads to our independence, the second to becoming dependent. Collectivism and Charity extends the initial analysis to the behavior we should see within a society on the right track, and how it differs from one on the wrong track. The key is charity. Self-sacrifice versus self-service. The first is rooted in virtue, the second in vice. No people give more to charity than Americans, but are we truly charitable today? I believe we once were, but the things that set us apart as a people are no longer passed on-they are no longer taught-the structures remain but are largely empty vessels. We are always one generation away from losing both our freedom and faith. It is the same with charity, if its underpinnings are not taught then it is easy to buy into collectivism's deception. There is a direct relationship between a society's governing principles and charity that requires understanding the languages of reason and faith. The book opens creating a "model of charity" and linking its supporting components to the principles in the previous work, but Collectivism and Charity stands on its own. It puts forth a hypothesis that charity is rooted in individualism. The book outlines charity's biblical principles and their development from the state religion societies through the Enlightenment, using Jonathan Edwards' writings to embody individualism, and those of John Locke collectivism. The relevant principles from their writings are contrasted and compared. The discussion recognizes education's importance, the book's next topic. It specifically looks at the last fifty years, a period corresponding to governance changes impacting education - of slipping from the right track onto the wrong track. No judgement is made. The facts are simply laid out and compared to the ideas put forth by Edwards and Locke, before laying out a possible solution to address the issues raised during the analysis. The work closes with supposing that maybe charity is really rooted in collectivism, and briefly looks at three periods from history where collectivism prevailed: (1) Henry VIII's becoming head of the Church of England, (2) the War for Independence and French Revolution, and (3) America's war on poverty. It closes with a brief look at the roles of individuals and charitable organizations, and some final thoughts on our responsibility for charity and what it entails. The choice is ours.

Our country has changed. Our founding principles are being over-written with a post-modern perspective. A world view where truth is no longer objective, but subjective. Man defining his own truth. This view is taught to our children. We hear it from our politicians in both parties. It is espoused and supported by our media and academics. The attempts to erase history by removing statues, culminating with the recent violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, are a result of that shift. Today's interfaith movement and events grow out of this new world order, but its source is far from new. Its root lies with the same pagan views as the Greek philosophers. We all share the same nature, and so are called to love and care for each other. Can we do this today without compromising our principles? Several interfaith events were held in Richmond. While their purpose was developing an understanding of Islam, in some respects the topic is irrelavent. How should Christians respond to this change? How do we remain in society whithout losing our faith?

Natural rights provide all societies moral foundation. They bind a people together because they are grounded in justice. Wherever justice is lacking, society's members become unbound-there is division. They no longer recognize a common set of rights, and therefore are no longer a people. Politicians talk endlessly today about our rights. Talk focusing on us. They tell us what we deserve and need, with the promise they'll deliver. Their message is sometimes echoed and amplified by the media and supported by academics. Is what they tell us true? How do we know? What rights do we really have? What is their basis? The answers matter. When society's moral foundation dissolves, it cannot be successful. It dies. America's Founders believed natural rights were important enough to sacrifice their lives for, when they were taken away and all other means of peaceful reconciliation had been exhausted. Generations since have done the same. What did they know? We are not born with knowledge of our rights. Learning is required for a people to become good and noble, to create the kind of knowledge that cannot be shaken by reason-wisdom. Wisdom requires internalizing what is right. Simply knowing our rights is insufficient. We must also understand why we have them and their purpose. It is in this spirit that A Handbook of Natural Rights explores these questions. The answers exist, and lead to you fulfilling your purpose.

Until recently, over sixty percent of Americans believed we were on the wrong track and have for the last three years. We face two main threats today. The first one is internal and the other primarily external. The first relates to our ability to control our own lives; the second our safety and security. Do You Want To Be Free and Collectivism and Charity examine the first threat. A significant part of the second threat is also an ideology. Islam. Is it merely a religion like Christianity or something more? We hear that extremists have highjacked Islam. Is this true, and if so, why? Why is the Middle East on fire? Is there something we are missing? How should we respond? These, and other related questions, are explored in A War for God.