Bayly's daily

I get it that followers wonder why on earth I bother with Wheaton College? The horse is dead, right? Get off it.

But Jesus didn’t abandon the church of His time. He rebuked Pharisees to warn His sheep. This was critical part of His caring for sheep without shepherds.

Do the same.

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Abt Bloomington’s Safe Streets for All attempts to harass car driver until everyone rides walks, bikes, or rides horses: motor vehicle laws should be kept @ state level. Go to Germany & see what it’s like to drive where traffic rules/robots are dystopian Red Light Cameras Working as Intended: They're Making Money.

Bloomington’s government needs DOGE. For traffic and roads and zoning and parking and schools and annexation…

Speaking of annexation, let’s appeal to State House for secession of all of us west of City Hall. We’ll call it Liberty Tree or Freedom.

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Here’s Guardian reporting Rachel Maddow’s public condemnation of her MSNBC bosses:

“On Monday night, Maddow appeared to criticize MSNBC for the recent programming shake-ups and the treatment of its staff during a monologue on her show.”

“Appeared?” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oc-tliFjToc

“Trans Cult Inside the NSA”

“There is a very small number of them, but they wield an enormous amount of power. Outside of the sick stuff, you also see a prevalent Marxist philosophy going on… They hate capitalism. They hate Christians.” Whistleblower: There’s a Trans Cult Inside the NSA

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If we belong to Jesus, we have mortal enemies. The NSA is a “high place.”

“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12).

There is no wickedness so directly opposed to God as the man who kills his manhood. This is self-murder. The man who kills his sex kills his personhood. He kills the man God made him. So when the Christian names his sin and warns him, he hates the Christian. If suicide is insanity, his hatred of the Christian is insane.

All trans hate Christians. As they hate God, so they hate the people of God.

The unashamed ones, that is. Are you ashamed of Jesus’ words, “from the beginning He made them male and female?” Which is to say, does anyone hate you?

At the key moment, SenGraham is standing tall: “I’ve never been more proud of President Trump for showing the American people and the world you don’t trifle with this man. He was very positive, he was very upbeat, he wanted to get a ceasefire, he wants to end the war. And Zelensky felt like he needed to debate Trump in the Oval Office. (Vice President) JD (Vance) was awesome. This is a missed opportunity

”Zelensky is either going to have to fundamentally change or go. I can’t believe most Americans, after what they saw today, would want to be partners with Zelensky. Ukraine is an important ally that fought like tigers. I don’t want Putin to win, I want to help you train, but it’s hard to help people who seem unable to realize the moment they’re in.”

Graham interviewed on Fox News.

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Evangelicals must admit PresTrump more zealous agnst sexual debauchery than our pastors. Exhibit 1: PCA never disciplined Revoicers. Exhibit 2: Association Certified Biblical Counselors condemns reparative therapy. Exhibit 3: everything @ Wheaton College.

Where are our shepherds?

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At the Roman Catholic Prayer Breakfast just now, VPVance sold “the sacramental life.”

Keep in mind that Roman Catholicism is neither New Testament Church practice and doctrine, nor its Protestant resurrection. “Sacramental life” is not Jesus’ life of faith, and Pope Francis is no one’s “holy father.”

VPVance says here that the “Catholic Church is a technology.”

Yes. Precisely.

https://www.c-span.org/program/public-affairs-event/vice-president-vance-speaks-at-national-catholic-prayer-breakfast/656387

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Death of “Fourth Estate” is costly for all of us, but absolutely necessary.

"Americans are now divided into rough thirds, with 31% trusting media a great deal or a fair amount, 33% saying they do “not [trust it] very much,” and 36% saying they have no trust at all in it.” Five Key Insights Into Americans' Views of the News Media

“Journalists are content to write for each other & abt 30% of the public. The echo chamber is getting smaller & smaller. So r staffs on the outlets. W/out public trust, media is just talking to itself as public turns to citizen journalists & new media.” The Press Falls to Another Record Low in Public Trust – JONATHAN TURLEY

I have been reading the New Testament lately with an eye towards sacramentalism lately, and I’m really struck by how silent the NT is on most aspects of it. Over and over the emphasis is on repentance, faith and obedience. And yet somehow whole swathes of Christianity are given over to sacramentalism.

Mark it down as a suicide. No one forced them to squander their credibility the way they have.

I hope four years of Biden was worth it to them.

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No sermon should ever be unobjectionable. When we preach God’s words truthfully to sinful man, it must always be objectionable. His thoughts are not man’s thoughts, His ways not man’s ways. To man, the wisdom of God is foolishness.

Don’t dull the double-edged sword. Sharpen it.

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When preaching, we don’t add what is objectionable to Scripture. We simply protect what is there. We point it out & address it.

The most fundamental rule of hermeneutics is that we read our passage ourselves first, honestly recognizing our own objections to God’s actions & words.

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Among preachers of the church, Calvin wasn’t playing center field, first base, shortstop, or pitching. He wasn’t coaching or doing metrics. He was the catcher, squatting in the dirt. Not glamorous. Just dependable.

Read his sermons. His humble helpfulness is a work of God. Start here and don’t bother complaining about Banner of Truth’s ridiculous pricing (NOTE ADDED March 5: Thanks to Pastor Matt Shifflett for correcting me on this. I’m wrong—it’s only $40,) and refusal to provide e-texts.

I promise it’s worth every penny. Amazon.com

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Scripture regularly states God’s care for us in our mother’s womb: “You are He who brought me forth from the womb… You have been my God from my mother’s womb” (Ps. 22:9-10).

We don’t need the Bible to give us specific commands against abortion. God is there with that little one.

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Yesterday afternoon, we were joined by thirteen of our children and grandchildren for an afternoon performance of Bach’s Cantata “Gott Ist Zuversicht” (BWV 197). This wedding cantata was a perfectly fitting celebration of the forty-nine years Mary Lee and I have had together under God’s countless blessings (anniversary was Friday):

RECITATIVE:
And this happy life’s course
Will continue into late years.
For God’s goodness has no end.
It bestows much on you.
Yes, more than indeed the heart can desire.
Rely, for certain, on that.

CHORUS:
Sing, pray, and go on God’s paths;
Only carry out faithfully what duty is yours
And trust in Heaven’s rich blessings.
So it will become new in you every morning.
For whoever places his hope
In God, He does not abandon him.
(Video of above not allowed here is over on X and FB)

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This just sent out to Wheaton campus. Self-righteous. Pristine in their self-confidence. Impervious to criticism.

Seriously speaking, a fundamental characteristic of today’s Evangelicals is their ironclad confidence they themselves are the best judge of themselves.


From: Wheaton College Board of Trustees
Sent: Monday, March 3, 2025
To: FAC-STAFF-ADMIN-STU@LISTS.WHEATON.EDU
Subject: Wheaton’s Steadfast Purpose
Importance: High

Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff,

In recent weeks, Wheaton College leadership has received many communications from alumni and friends questioning our commitment to our historic mission as an evangelical Christian liberal arts college and whether our Christ-centered convictions are lived out in the classroom and across campus. We humbly receive this counsel and write to share directly with you our core mission and perspectives.

Wheaton College exists for one unchanging purpose: to serve Jesus Christ and His Kingdom. However imperfectly we execute our mission, this is who we endeavor to be, and we reaffirm that mission now.

Since our founding, Wheaton’s Christian convictions and commitment to rigorous thinking have never wavered. Our 1877-1878 College Catalog stated clearly: “Free discussion is encouraged in all these studies, and students are not expected to adopt without question the views of either textbook or teacher, but to think for themselves.”

Today Wheaton pursues spiritually grounded truth and scholarship by cultivating knowledge, reason, Christian character, love, and practical wisdom to strengthen the church and serve society worldwide. We integrate academic rigor with Christian faith to provide a Scripture-based education, strengthened through prayer, lived through service and evangelism, and grounded in community worship. Our graduates enter the world with sharpened minds and softened hearts, ready for lifelong intellectual inquiry and compassionate service for Jesus Christ (A Vision for Wheaton College Graduates).

What else does Wheaton do to ensure an authentically Christian campus environment? All Wheaton employees affirm annually and adhere to our clear, biblically-grounded doctrinal and evangelical Statement of Faith, as well as the moral principles in our Community Covenant, which clarifies the promises that all students, faculty, and staff make to one another before God while living or serving on a residential campus (Institutional Commitments). These biblical imperatives include charity, truth-telling, the value of all human life from conception to death, chastity among the unmarried and the sanctity of marriage between a man and woman, and care for the poor and marginalized (Psalm 13‍9:1‍3-1‍6; 1 Cor. 6:‍18; Heb. 13‍:4; Gal. 6‍:1‍0).

Wheaton College unapologetically affirms a Christ-Centered Diversity Commitment to uphold Christian unity (John 17:‍20‍-23; 1 Cor. 1‍:10), embrace ethnic diversity as God’s design for humanity (Gal. 3‍:28‍-2‍9; Eph. 2:‍1-‍22; Rev. 7‍:9), and practice righteous racial reconciliation as we all participate in God’s redemptive purposes in Jesus Christ. Accordingly, we pursue peace, reconciliation, and justice according to the principles of Scripture (Ps. 8‍9:‍14, Mic. 6‍:8). This biblical approach to righteousness is rooted in the character of God which stands far apart from secular ideologies, policies and practices.

As an academic institution, Wheaton is deliberately non-partisan. Our recent social posts led some to question this commitment from opposite ends of the political spectrum, and we apologize for causing confusion. We invite our campus community to examine differing perspectives in the light of Scripture, to listen well to others, and to discuss political views freely, openly, and always with Christian charity (1 Pet. 3‍:1‍5). All of life, including contemporary political issues, must be viewed through the lens of God’s Word. Yet we acknowledge that even as committed Christians of good will endeavor to do this faithfully, differences in opinion remain and should be respected.

Our Christ at the Core general education curriculum provides a framework of biblical and academic knowledge and intellectual skills across disciplines that prepares students to fulfill their full range of future callings within the kingdom of God. As in the past, the faculty who teach this curriculum do not shy away from sometimes uncomfortable contemporary issues or secular perspectives but engage them with Christian charity, biblical conviction, and the strength of a Christian world view (Col. 1‍:1‍6-2‍0).

As the leaders of Wheaton College, and only by God’s all-encompassing grace, we will continue to execute our mission to graduate gifted Wheaton students who love Jesus, embrace their faith, and are ready to be Christ followers of consequence in a world that needs them. Fulfilling their kingdom callings is the best evidence of the successful execution of our mission.

We rely on God’s mercy for all the ways we fall short of his full purposes for Wheaton. We welcome constructive criticism as an opportunity for re-evaluation and improvement. Please join us in praying that Wheaton continues to maintain its evangelical identity, submission to biblical authority, and effective whole-person education for our students as they prepare to make a difference in the world For Christ and His Kingdom.

Philip Ryken, President

Dale Wong, Chair
For the Wheaton College Board of Trustees

Excuses excuses. My Dad used to say that an excuse was, “The skin of a reason, stuffed with a lie”. Harsh, in this case, but …

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Studies should never intimidate Christians so we obey scholars and disobey Scripture. This temptation is constant.

Stanford researchers announce that mothers of the 19th century were more important for their child’s intergenerational mobility than fathers. Mothers educated children at home, but when required schooling took children out from under their mothers, now placing them in mandatory public schooling, from 1890-1950 mothers’ influence was reduced.

But (this is their key finding) intergenerational mobility increased. That’s good, right?

No. The authority/spiritual nurture of our children by their Christian mothers are not to be sacrificed because Canaanite mothers don’t raise/teach their children well.

This sounds selfish, but it’s not. God opens the womb (and w/adoption, the heart) placing each son and daughter under their father and mother. His distinction between which mothers have which children is to be recognized and obeyed. We are given our children and are accountable to Him for our stewardship of these little ones, His blessings to us.

Christian fathers and mothers, do your work faithfully, remembering it was the Communists who broke apart the family bonds. Intentionally. They were atheists committed to destroying the most tender bonds of man formed and specified by God.

Christians have always recognized the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world.

Concerning our children, Christian faith and godliness is what we seek for our children and teach. Not class mobility.

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