About

Posted by Eric F. Langborgh on May 13, 2006

UPDATED — 10/03/08

Borg Blog is the personal blog of Eric Langborgh.

Briefly:

• I am the proud husband of one and father of three
• I am a Reformed Christian and a member of Christ Church of of Arlington (PCA), serving on the Christian Education Committee
• I am an account executive for ClearWord Communications Group, Inc. — consulting with conservative and free-market non-profit organizations on their high-dollar, direct response fundraising programs and campaigns.
• In my previous job at the Bill of Rights Institute I had the opportunity to write several essays for use in high school classrooms on America’s Founding Fathers and their influence on and views of the Bill of Rights
• I have had more than 50 articles and essays published — mostly from my days with Accuracy in Academia — and have delivered a number of speeches on a variety of subjects dealing with the U.S. Constitution, American history, politics, education, and more — most of which can be accessed here and here

It should go without saying that the views I express here do not necessarily represent those of my employer, church, or any other assorted organizations or organisms I am associated with.

In more detail:

I started this blog in 2004 primarily as a repository for my own thoughts on a variety of issues — church and discipleship, history and current events, baseball and gardening, great food and fellowship, good beer and fine wine, etc  - and to capture special family moments and memories so that we could always look back on them.  It is also a way to share these things with our loved ones. 

Over time, this blog has evolved.  Though these things remain important aspects of this blog, and posts will occasionally reflect that original purpose, the primary mission of Borg Blog now is much more focused.  And that is summed up in the phrase: “THE THEME IS FREEDOM.”

“The Theme is Freedom” is a phrase I borrow from the title of one of M. Stanton Evans’s great books, found here.  (To learn more about this book, read the transcript from Stan’s 2/5/05 interview on CSPAN’s Booknotes with Brian Lamb).  Stan was a mentor of mine, from my time at the National Journalism Center, of which he was the founder and director.

Borg Blog is dedicated to advancing freedom:  The freedom we can find only in Christ Jesus, whose sacrifice delivers us from sin and death, the curse of the Fall.  And the virtues of political and economic freedom, for the advance of the Gospel but also for the material and creative well-being of all people. 

Freedom, then, is both a means and an end.  It is not the ultimate good.  Beauty, prosperity, opportunity, relationship with God and neighbor — and the magnificent privilege to take part in glorifying the Lord and proclaiming His message of redemption to the world — these, to varying and relative degrees, are of greater importance.  But to a large degree and in most cases, those great ends are dependent on freedom.  But freedom is also good in and of itself, as it alone as a standard for human interaction recognizes the inherent worth of all individuals and the sovereignty of God in the workings of the world. 

As Frederic Bastiat put it in the conclusion of The Law, “Liberty is an acknowledgement of faith in God and his works.” Coercive systems of government that go beyond merely punishing the wrong-doer (Romans 13:1-7), and instead look to centralize socio-economic planning and forcibly mold society in one form or another, whatever name they go by, disrespect the individual and undermine other God-ordained systems of government, esp. the family and the church.  Further, they demonstrate a lack of faith in God’s sovereign goodness over all things.  The statist and the bureaucrat look upon themselves as the anointed ones, the elite.  But they are mere usurpers given to what Frederic Hayek termed the fatal conceit: the idea that “man is able to shape the world around him according to his wishes.”  They accomplish much more than they know, to the detriment of man’s well-being.  There is a better way, and that way is freedom. 

Background

I am the proud husband of Bonnie and father of Samuel (6), Margaret (5), and Rachel (2).

We are members of Christ Church of Arlington (PCA). Rev. Brian Webster is our pastor.  To take Doug Wilson’s phrase, I am a “Classical Protestant,  a High Church Puritan, a Sacramental Calvinist, a Soteriological Augustinian.” Given that part of what I do at this blog is handle the Scriptures in a public capacity, I take accountability to my elders seriously, as I explain in much greater depth in my post, “Blogs & the Practical Application of Sola Scriptura: By What Authority Do You Teach?”

As my employment history demonstrates (see below), I have a strong interest in American history, and esp. our Founding, and I believe America must return to the Constitution and our Founding principles if we are to remain great and free.  This background and this conviction serves to motivate much of what I write and post at this blog.

I am currently employed by ClearWord Communications Group, Inc. as an account executive, consulting with conservative non-profit organizations on their high-dollar, direct response fundraising programs and campaigns.

Prior to joining ClearWord in September 2007, I was the Director of Development for The American Civil Rights Union (ACRU), a national non-profit.  I also worked for six years — from Jan. 2001 to Jan. 2007 — at the Bill of Rights Institute, a national educational non-profit.  The last few years there I served as the Institute’s Director of Donor Relations. My initial position at the Institute was that of Education Programs Coordinator, planning constitutional seminars for high school teachers and writing Founder of the Month essays for use in class lessons.

From January 1999 to January 2001, I worked for Accuracy in Academia, a campus watchdog organization, as a program officer speaking at and coordinating numerous educational conferences at colleges and universities throughout the United States.  I also served as managing editor of their monthly newspaper, Campus Report.

My experience in the news industry also included an internship at the National Journalism Center, through which I worked as a reporter for the national conservative newsweekly, Human Events.

Over the course of my career I have had the opportunity to write several articles and deliver a number of speeches on a variety of subjects dealing with education, American history, politics, and more.  You can find most of those works here at this blog. 

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My hope is that all I write and post here will be used to extend God’s Glory and make known the riches and power of His majesty and kingdom — and wonderful grace He offers to us in freedom.  My prayer is that family, friends, and other guests who visit this blog will be edified to that end.