Thursday, June 7, 2012
The Demise of Western Civilization
Good Morning...
During the campaign of 2008, I had an ongoing debate with a Christian of the more liberal persuasion who claimed that President Obama would be great for the country...my point was that President Obama would be the most prolific abortion President in history...I must admit that I used some hyperbole when saying that "The streets would run with the blood of aborted babies"...however, four years later, we find that unfortunately, I was right...President Obama has removed the protection provisions for medical practioners who don't want to be involved in abortion...He has demanded that religious institutions provide abortion services to all employees in spite of obvious objections to that...now we find that abortion selection is now defended by President Obama and the House of Representatives Democrat members...Our civilization is being destroyed before our very eyes...Joel Rosenberg pegs it:
CULTURAL COLLAPSE? CANNIBALISM, "MOMMY PORN," GAY RIGHTS, ABORTION DRIVING U.S. HEADLINES THIS WEEK
What in the world is going on?
Joel C. Rosenberg
(Washington, D.C., June 7, 2012) -- Forget the stagnant American economy and our severe debt crisis and the rapidly mounting troubles in Greece and Spain, at least for a moment. Consider what's driving the news just this week:
* Pornography -- Did you know the #1, #2 and #3 books on Amazon today (June 6) are the "Fifty Shades of Grey" novels that are being widely described as "Mommy Porn" and have already sold more than 10 million copies in just six weeks? Yes, you read that right - 10 million copies in six weeks. (see "Hotel in 'Mommy Porn' novel offering 50 Shades-themed packages," Fox Oregon, May 23, 2012; "How 'Fifty Shades of Grey' Is Shaking Up the Business of the Romance Genre," The Daily Beast, June 6, 2012)
* Cannibalism -- "Exclusive: Causeway Cannibal Had Bible, Recently Smoked Pot When He Attacked," CBS Miami, June 6, 2012
* Cannibalism --- "Cannibal Copycat? Police Say Man High On Bath Salts Threatened To Eat Officer," CBS Tampa, June 6, 2012
* Cannibalism -- "Cannibalism Trend Can Feed On Itself, Experts Say: 6 Acts Of Human Consumption Draw Lurid Attention," ABC Indianapolis, June 6, 2012
* Gay Rights -- "Prop. 8: appeals courts set stage for Supreme Court review of gay marriage," Christian Science Monitor, June 6, 2012
* Abortion -- "President Obama, 168 House Members Defend Sex-Selection Abortion," National Right To Life news story, May 31, 2012
What in the world is going on? Yes, we face the very real possibility of an economic collapse in the not-too-distant future. But is it possibly we're already imploding culturally? The country is deep in a full blown political war between Democrats and Republicans, but do we honestly believe either party -- or either presidential nominee -- knows how to fix the mess we're in?And where is the Church? In a nation of tens of millions of self-professed born-again, evangelical Christians, how can we be in so much trouble? And is there any hope of turning this around?
Next week, on Tuesday, my new book release, "Implosion: Can America Recover From Our Economic and Spiritual Challenges In Time?" I was going to start writing about these moral and cultural issues then. But they cannot wait. Here are a few excerpts from the book:
* "These are not normal times. Americans have been gripped by a widespread and deeply rooted pessimism in recent years. They are open asking whether our nation can survive....A growing number of Americans fear that this period of our history is different and the crises we face today -- and those coming up over the horizon -- may be far worse than anything we have experienced in the past....Many Americans genuinely fear that God is preparing to removed his hand of protection and blessing from our country, or perhaps already has. The fear that unlike previous dark times in our national history, God may not intend to help us turn things around and get us back on the right track....
* "We must not kid ourselves. The evidence suggests we may very well be aboard the Titanic, heading for icebergs and inexplicably increasing our speed toward disaster. So many on board are unaware of the dangers fast approaching and not concerned in the slightest. We haven't hit the icebergs yet, but if we don't make a sharp turn fast, we soon will, and we will sink. Who will serve as our captain and crew going forward? Will they understand the gravity of the threat and have the wisdom, courage and speed to take appropriate action before it is too late? What is our role as passengers? Are we to succumb to decadence...."
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Butterfly!!!!!!!!
Hey...The following report is excellent! I couldn't have said it better myself!
Special Report: Caterpillars Can't Fly
In Defense of the Faith
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Jack Kinsella - Omega Letter Editor
The Bible identifies four intelligent, sentient (self-aware) spiritual creations of God. The first of the created beings are the angels.
"Praise ye Him, all His angels: praise ye Him, all His hosts. . . Let them praise the name of the LORD: for He commanded, and they were created." (Psalms 148:2,5)
The Bible further teaches that their home is in heaven (Matthew 24:36), their activity is both on earth and in heaven (Psalms 103:20, Luke 15:10, Hebrews 1:14) and their destiny is the Eternal City of Revelation 21:12.
"But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels. . ." (Hebrews 12:22)
Angels are unique creations of God, not to be confused with any other of God's created beings. Even though some fall, as was the case with Satan, the fallen angels remain angels throughout their existence. Their numbers are constant; they neither propagate nor die.
The second sentient creation of God was man. Man was created in perfection in both body and spirit and remained in fellowship with God until the Fall.
Adam’s physical descendents were known as Gentiles, from the Hebrew word “gowy” a word which means figuratively, “a troop of animals.”
Gentiles are born with both a living spirit and a sin nature. As soon as the sin nature comes to the forefront with the first deliberate sin, the spirit dies and must be reborn, or ‘born again.’
“For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.” (Romans 7:9)
“That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.” (John 3:7)
The spirit of a newly-born baby cannot knowingly sin, but it is “born of the flesh” – with a sin nature. When he is old enough and mature to understand sin and knowingly sins anyway, his spirit dies and must be “born again.”
Every person from Adam to Abraham was born a Gentile, albeit sinless, yet estranged from God at birth, at first too young to have fellowship, and then too sinful – alive in the flesh only, like a gowy, an animal.
As to their estate, from Adam until Christ, the Gentiles were:
"without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world." (Ephesians 2:12).
God created, through Abraham’s grandson Jacob, a new class of spiritual being out of the existing spiritually-dead Gentile (animals of flesh) stock that we know now as the Jew.
For 1500 years, they were known as the Children of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Israel) or ‘Israelites” until the Kingdom of Israel was destroyed by the Assyrians, leaving only the descendants of Judah and Benjamin in Judea.
Judea’s inhabitants were captured by Nebuchadnezzar and were known henceforth as ‘the Jews.’
They are the Children of the Promise – that ‘Promise’ being that God would take them out of the world of the Gentiles and make them a great nation, separated unto Himself that He would personally redeem in the last days.
A Jew is not born a Gentile – he is born a Jew. A Jew cannot become a Gentile, even if he changes his religion or abandons it altogether. Not only will God not allow it, neither will the Gentiles.
A Jew is always hyphenated, even in Israel. An Israeli-Jew is different than an Israeli-Arab or other Gentile.
There are German-Jews, Irish-Jews, English-Jews, Russian-Jews; about the only nationality that doesn’t automatically hyphenate Jews are Americans (who hyphenate everything else; African-Americans, Mexican-Americans, Japanese-Americans, etc.)
A Jew can even become a Christian – but he is still hyphenated; as a Christian in the Church Age, he becomes a Messianic-Jew.
So different is this race of spiritual beings that some five-sixths of Scripture bears directly or indirectly on the Jews. The destiny of the Jews is traceable through the Millennial Kingdom and into the new heaven and earth which follows.
In this present Church Age, all Divine progress in the national and earthly program for Israel is on hold; individual Jews have the same opportunity as do individual Gentiles for salvation by personal faith in Christ as Savior.
But Scripture is clear that, when the present age concludes, God will again turn His full attention to the national, rather than personal, redemption of Israel.
Note that each of these spiritual entities is a direct creation of God. Adam and Eve were not created as spiritually dead human animals (Gentiles) – they were created spiritually alive.
The Gentile race was created by God as a result of spiritual death and the curse(s) imposed thereby; sin, work, sweat, childbirth, illness and death.
“And He will lift up an ensign to the nations from far. . . (Isaiah 5:26)
The Jews were created by God to serve as His ensign, or His symbol, like the flag on a ship. When a ship is flagged with a national ensign, it is deemed to belong to that nation. The ensign of the Jews God Himself – they are a unique spiritual creation of God, created neither as angels nor Gentiles.
Finally, the Scriptures reveal a new spiritual creation of God, neither Jew nor Gentile, but reborn out of both. That new creature is a Christian.
When one becomes a Christian, the Bible says;
"For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek [Gentiles - ed]: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon Him." (Romans 10:12)
A Christian is a NEW creature that is reborn out of the old man, either Jew or Gentile, in much the same way a butterfly is ‘reborn’ out of a caterpillar. Caterpillars can’t fly, but butterflies can.
A caterpillar has to endure a kind of ‘death’ in the cocoon before being transformed, and the transformation is not merely beautiful, it is permanent. A caterpillar, once reborn as a butterfly, cannot by an act of his own will, turn himself back into a caterpillar.
A Christian is a Gentile or a Jew who dies to himself and is reborn in Christ.
"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." (2nd Corinthians 5:17)
"For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature." (Galatians 6:15)
The Christian, indwelt by the Holy Spirit, is a citizen of heaven (Philippians 3:20), having been raised WITH Christ (Colossians 3:1-3) and are so different than any other created rational being that Jesus says of the Christian;
"They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world." (John 15:19, 17:14,16)
The Scriptures which direct a Christian in his walk with the Lord are adapted to the fact that the Christian is no longer striving to secure a standing before God, but is already 'accepted in the beloved'.
"To the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the beloved." (Ephesians 1:6)
Christians, by their existence, have already attained every spiritual blessing;
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ . ." (Ephesians 1:3)
Obviously, no human effort can bring a person to fulfill God's standard of sinless perfection. God, anticipating the believer's inability to walk worthy of his high calling, freely bestows His empowering Spirit to indwell each believer.
Scripture also promises that when their elect number is complete, as unique citizens of heaven, they will be removed from the earth at the Rapture.
The bodies of believers who have died will be raised and living saints will be translated. (1st Corinthians 15:20-57, 1st Thessalonians 4:13-18)
At the Bema Seat in glory, believers will be judged as to their rewards for service. (1st Corinthians 3:9-15, 9:18-27, 2nd Corinthians 5:10,11), the Body of Christ will be wed to the Bridegroom, (Revelation 19:7-9) and return WITH Him to share as His consort during the Millennial Reign.
This new creation, like angels, Gentiles and Jews, can be traced into eternity future, but they are unique from the rest. They are promised no land, no house, no earthly capital or city, no earthly kingdom and no earthly king.
Scripture promises that the Jews will inherit the earth. The Gentiles will inhabit it with them as a subordinate people. But the Church does not share in that inheritance.
"And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with Him, that we may be also glorified together." (Romans 8:17)
The Church inherits what Jesus inherits and the Age of Grace concludes at the Rapture. The Body of Christ – the Church – is complete.
The Tribulation Period is the final seven years of the Age of Law, under which God will judge a Christ-rejecting world. During this period, some Gentiles will become believers, but, unlike during this present age, they are not indwelt by the Holy Spirit, Whose earthly ministry also concludes at the Rapture.
During the Church Age, believers are promised to 'resist the devil and he will flee from you,' because 'greater is He that is in you than He that is in the world. (James 4:7, 1st John 4:4)
During the Tribulation, without the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit to resist the devil, with the promise that 'he will flee from you' – the Bible says that is no longer true.
How else could they be 'overcome' by him as Revelation 13:7 says the Tribulation saints will be?
It is not POSSIBLE for Church Age believers to play a role in the Tribulation, other than as recipients of God's justice for sin, although believers, by definition, have already been judged and found righteous at the Cross.
Consider the Promises of Jesus, given the Church, in the context of the horrors of the Tribulation Period sent to ‘try them which dwell upon the earth.’
"But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." (John 14:26-27)
If the destiny of the Church is to partake in God's judgment against the world, then my heart should be troubled indeed. And I should be very, very afraid. But I'm not afraid.
"For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord." (1st Thessalonians 4:16-17)
When the bottom falls out, caterpillars can't fly. Butterflies can.
Special Report: Caterpillars Can't Fly
In Defense of the Faith
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Jack Kinsella - Omega Letter Editor
The Bible identifies four intelligent, sentient (self-aware) spiritual creations of God. The first of the created beings are the angels.
"Praise ye Him, all His angels: praise ye Him, all His hosts. . . Let them praise the name of the LORD: for He commanded, and they were created." (Psalms 148:2,5)
The Bible further teaches that their home is in heaven (Matthew 24:36), their activity is both on earth and in heaven (Psalms 103:20, Luke 15:10, Hebrews 1:14) and their destiny is the Eternal City of Revelation 21:12.
"But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels. . ." (Hebrews 12:22)
Angels are unique creations of God, not to be confused with any other of God's created beings. Even though some fall, as was the case with Satan, the fallen angels remain angels throughout their existence. Their numbers are constant; they neither propagate nor die.
The second sentient creation of God was man. Man was created in perfection in both body and spirit and remained in fellowship with God until the Fall.
Adam’s physical descendents were known as Gentiles, from the Hebrew word “gowy” a word which means figuratively, “a troop of animals.”
Gentiles are born with both a living spirit and a sin nature. As soon as the sin nature comes to the forefront with the first deliberate sin, the spirit dies and must be reborn, or ‘born again.’
“For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.” (Romans 7:9)
“That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.” (John 3:7)
The spirit of a newly-born baby cannot knowingly sin, but it is “born of the flesh” – with a sin nature. When he is old enough and mature to understand sin and knowingly sins anyway, his spirit dies and must be “born again.”
Every person from Adam to Abraham was born a Gentile, albeit sinless, yet estranged from God at birth, at first too young to have fellowship, and then too sinful – alive in the flesh only, like a gowy, an animal.
As to their estate, from Adam until Christ, the Gentiles were:
"without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world." (Ephesians 2:12).
God created, through Abraham’s grandson Jacob, a new class of spiritual being out of the existing spiritually-dead Gentile (animals of flesh) stock that we know now as the Jew.
For 1500 years, they were known as the Children of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Israel) or ‘Israelites” until the Kingdom of Israel was destroyed by the Assyrians, leaving only the descendants of Judah and Benjamin in Judea.
Judea’s inhabitants were captured by Nebuchadnezzar and were known henceforth as ‘the Jews.’
They are the Children of the Promise – that ‘Promise’ being that God would take them out of the world of the Gentiles and make them a great nation, separated unto Himself that He would personally redeem in the last days.
A Jew is not born a Gentile – he is born a Jew. A Jew cannot become a Gentile, even if he changes his religion or abandons it altogether. Not only will God not allow it, neither will the Gentiles.
A Jew is always hyphenated, even in Israel. An Israeli-Jew is different than an Israeli-Arab or other Gentile.
There are German-Jews, Irish-Jews, English-Jews, Russian-Jews; about the only nationality that doesn’t automatically hyphenate Jews are Americans (who hyphenate everything else; African-Americans, Mexican-Americans, Japanese-Americans, etc.)
A Jew can even become a Christian – but he is still hyphenated; as a Christian in the Church Age, he becomes a Messianic-Jew.
So different is this race of spiritual beings that some five-sixths of Scripture bears directly or indirectly on the Jews. The destiny of the Jews is traceable through the Millennial Kingdom and into the new heaven and earth which follows.
In this present Church Age, all Divine progress in the national and earthly program for Israel is on hold; individual Jews have the same opportunity as do individual Gentiles for salvation by personal faith in Christ as Savior.
But Scripture is clear that, when the present age concludes, God will again turn His full attention to the national, rather than personal, redemption of Israel.
Note that each of these spiritual entities is a direct creation of God. Adam and Eve were not created as spiritually dead human animals (Gentiles) – they were created spiritually alive.
The Gentile race was created by God as a result of spiritual death and the curse(s) imposed thereby; sin, work, sweat, childbirth, illness and death.
“And He will lift up an ensign to the nations from far. . . (Isaiah 5:26)
The Jews were created by God to serve as His ensign, or His symbol, like the flag on a ship. When a ship is flagged with a national ensign, it is deemed to belong to that nation. The ensign of the Jews God Himself – they are a unique spiritual creation of God, created neither as angels nor Gentiles.
Finally, the Scriptures reveal a new spiritual creation of God, neither Jew nor Gentile, but reborn out of both. That new creature is a Christian.
When one becomes a Christian, the Bible says;
"For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek [Gentiles - ed]: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon Him." (Romans 10:12)
A Christian is a NEW creature that is reborn out of the old man, either Jew or Gentile, in much the same way a butterfly is ‘reborn’ out of a caterpillar. Caterpillars can’t fly, but butterflies can.
A caterpillar has to endure a kind of ‘death’ in the cocoon before being transformed, and the transformation is not merely beautiful, it is permanent. A caterpillar, once reborn as a butterfly, cannot by an act of his own will, turn himself back into a caterpillar.
A Christian is a Gentile or a Jew who dies to himself and is reborn in Christ.
"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." (2nd Corinthians 5:17)
"For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature." (Galatians 6:15)
The Christian, indwelt by the Holy Spirit, is a citizen of heaven (Philippians 3:20), having been raised WITH Christ (Colossians 3:1-3) and are so different than any other created rational being that Jesus says of the Christian;
"They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world." (John 15:19, 17:14,16)
The Scriptures which direct a Christian in his walk with the Lord are adapted to the fact that the Christian is no longer striving to secure a standing before God, but is already 'accepted in the beloved'.
"To the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the beloved." (Ephesians 1:6)
Christians, by their existence, have already attained every spiritual blessing;
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ . ." (Ephesians 1:3)
Obviously, no human effort can bring a person to fulfill God's standard of sinless perfection. God, anticipating the believer's inability to walk worthy of his high calling, freely bestows His empowering Spirit to indwell each believer.
Scripture also promises that when their elect number is complete, as unique citizens of heaven, they will be removed from the earth at the Rapture.
The bodies of believers who have died will be raised and living saints will be translated. (1st Corinthians 15:20-57, 1st Thessalonians 4:13-18)
At the Bema Seat in glory, believers will be judged as to their rewards for service. (1st Corinthians 3:9-15, 9:18-27, 2nd Corinthians 5:10,11), the Body of Christ will be wed to the Bridegroom, (Revelation 19:7-9) and return WITH Him to share as His consort during the Millennial Reign.
This new creation, like angels, Gentiles and Jews, can be traced into eternity future, but they are unique from the rest. They are promised no land, no house, no earthly capital or city, no earthly kingdom and no earthly king.
Scripture promises that the Jews will inherit the earth. The Gentiles will inhabit it with them as a subordinate people. But the Church does not share in that inheritance.
"And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with Him, that we may be also glorified together." (Romans 8:17)
The Church inherits what Jesus inherits and the Age of Grace concludes at the Rapture. The Body of Christ – the Church – is complete.
The Tribulation Period is the final seven years of the Age of Law, under which God will judge a Christ-rejecting world. During this period, some Gentiles will become believers, but, unlike during this present age, they are not indwelt by the Holy Spirit, Whose earthly ministry also concludes at the Rapture.
During the Church Age, believers are promised to 'resist the devil and he will flee from you,' because 'greater is He that is in you than He that is in the world. (James 4:7, 1st John 4:4)
During the Tribulation, without the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit to resist the devil, with the promise that 'he will flee from you' – the Bible says that is no longer true.
How else could they be 'overcome' by him as Revelation 13:7 says the Tribulation saints will be?
It is not POSSIBLE for Church Age believers to play a role in the Tribulation, other than as recipients of God's justice for sin, although believers, by definition, have already been judged and found righteous at the Cross.
Consider the Promises of Jesus, given the Church, in the context of the horrors of the Tribulation Period sent to ‘try them which dwell upon the earth.’
"But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." (John 14:26-27)
If the destiny of the Church is to partake in God's judgment against the world, then my heart should be troubled indeed. And I should be very, very afraid. But I'm not afraid.
"For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord." (1st Thessalonians 4:16-17)
When the bottom falls out, caterpillars can't fly. Butterflies can.
Christians and Israel
In recent months, the intensity with which Christians have increased their rhetoric against Israel has been astounding...I have known all along that as the time of the return of Jesus grew near, there would be a greater hatred spewed towards God's Chosen People, but even the level that we are witnessing is disconcerting; and to know that people who name the name of Jesus Christ are part and parcel joining this barrage of criticism and hatred is alarming...the following article by Jim Fletcher really shows what is happening and as Christians who love God and His people, we should certainly be aware:
Israel’s Christian Enemies
My heart is grieved. Frankly, I would imagine my ideological enemies would smile about that, since I’m talking about the myriad attacks against Israel. I write again this week about American Christians’ efforts to marginalize both the Jewish state, and its supporters in the evangelical world.
I am discovering more and more that the vast majority of even those who support Israel are not aware of much of this. Who knew the attacks would come from evangelical ranks?
This week, I bring you news from three fronts (though each dovetail with each other, since anti-Israel evangelicals are superb networkers): The diabolical “Christ at the Checkpoint” conference in Israel; the Palestinian Authority’s clamping-down on religious freedom—you won’t hear Christian Palestinianists talk about this; and, more from the Leadership Network.
We start with the Checkpoint goings-on. To refresh your memory, this is from a team of anti-Israel Christians (one wonders how much the PA is involved, behind the scenes) who have created a propaganda campaign against the Jewish state and her supporters.
Fortunately for us, researcher extraordinaire Dexter Van Zile attended (check out his work at www.camera.org) and gives us first-hand accounts. First, from Christian Newswire (which apparently doesn’t discern the sinister nature of this gathering):
“A major breakthrough in the evangelical world took place in Bethlehem through a gathering of over 600 international and local Christians, including renowned evangelical leaders. Organized by Bethlehem Bible College, the conference, under the banner ‘Christ at the Checkpoint,’ addressed the issue of how to find hope in the midst of conflict. The conference exceeded all expectations.”
Major breakthrough? This kind of activity has been going on for some time, and I wonder if most supporters of Israel get it. Here is another telling paragraph from the Newswire story:
“Conference organizers challenged the evangelical community to cease looking at the Middle East through the lens of ‘end times’ prophecy and instead rallied them to join in following Jesus in the prophetic pursuance of justice, peace and reconciliation.”
Do you see? There is a major movement underfoot to jettison the teaching of Bible prophecy from the American Church; sadly, in my view, it is succeeding at a breathtaking pace. A major component of the Checkpoint crowd’s propaganda:
“The Kingdom of God has Come.” Do you get it? This is a fundamental, ideological straw-breaker between us and them (and yes, it is “us and them”). These people believe at the core that their efforts have already brought the Kingdom of God to Earth. In their world, it isn’t necessary for Jesus to return to rescue a disintegrating planet. People can save themselves.
Now, to Dexter Van Zile’s piece in The Algemeiner. He has reported that the PA’s Prime Minister, Salam Fayyad, has shut down Bethlehem pastor Rev. Naim Khoury; Khoury’s son Steven had told Van Zile that the PA is severely restricting the church from operating; the Khourys are courageous Christians who do not tow the company line in that region when it comes to Israel.
According to Van Zile:
“The irony, Steven said, is that the PA’s announcement comes right after the Christ at the Checkpoint Conference. This conference, which took place from March 5 through March 9, 2012 was a gathering of approximately 600 Evangelical Protestants from across the globe (mostly from the United States) to discuss the theology of Christian Zionism, which some Evangelicals believe increases the prospect of violence in the Middle East and gives support to Israeli policies that they do not like.
“During the opening night of the conference, Palestinian Prime Minister Fayyad told the assembly that his government respected the rights of Christians. Palestinians celebrate religious holidays together, PA officials attend Christmas celebrations and even attend Midnight Mass for Christmas, Fayyad said.”
Coincidence? Please. As usual, the “voices of tolerance” from the left, which is how I think the Checkpoint crowd would identify themselves if asked, bring out the fangs when it comes to pro Israel support. Their hypocrisy is mind-boggling.
You can read the whole account at: www.algemeiner.com/2012/03/13/exclusive-baptist-church-in-bethlehem-declared-illegitimate-by-palestinian-authority/
Now, it’s no accident that these efforts parallel those of Catalyst, the conference program spearheaded by the Leadership Network—begun by folks like Peter Drucker and Bob Buford, and advanced by Rick Warren and Bill Hybels.
In a recent Catalyst newsletter, I spotted a talk by Todd Deatherage of the Telos Group; the Telos website describes the group thusly:
“The Telos Group believes in the redemptive power of Jerusalem, despite the modern war being waged there by Israelis and Palestinians today. We believe, however, that the promise of Jerusalem as an exemplar of peaceful coexistence between the three great monotheistic religions will not be realized until the rights and viability of all of Jerusalem’s communities--Israeli and Palestinian, Jewish, Christian, and Muslim--are protected. We believe that the best way to protect the rights of all of Jerusalem’s communities is through a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a solution that is mindful and respectful of the faith communities’ needs and concerns.
“Telos Jerusalem brings the world’s top Jerusalem experts together in an unprecedented initiative to monitor real-time facts on the ground and to analyze how those facts impact the potential political resolution of the Jerusalem question as well as religious interests in and around the Holy City. Telos Jerusalem guides Telos leadership pilgrimages on complete tours of the Holy City, including the Old City, the Holy Basin, and Greater Jerusalem--exploring all of the communities and the full geopolitical impact of the modern Israeli-Palestinian conflict on this ancient city. Telos Jerusalem will begin releasing later this year a monthly newsletter, urgent updates, and occasional case studies with maps, allowing people the world over to explore modern Jerusalem in all of its dimensions.”
Deatherage’s talk at Catalyst revealed the fact that he works with such groups and people as Sami Awad and Lynne Hybels. His PowerPoint highlighted those who worked to produce the “Little Town of Bethlehem” film, now openly being used as a propaganda piece targeting unaware evangelical leaders.
Interestingly, Deatherage began his talk with a photo of the famed garden café at Jerusalem’s American Colony Hotel. I’ve been there, and it is a meeting place between Palestinians and Western media and leftist religious groups. So we know right off the bat where Deatherage is coming from.
Midway through his remarks, Deatherage said the following:
“Eschatology matters, in so many areas of life. What we think about the end helps shape how live and act today. So if we believe that violence and war and bloodshed in the Middle East is predetermined and necessary and maybe even a good thing, then how responsible would we be to Jesus’s call that we be peacemakers? How authentically Christian is any theology that makes us more perpetuators of conflict than agents of reconciliation?”
I think it’s obvious what is going on here. I spoke this week with a researcher who has studied the Leadership Network, and was told that the leaders of the group actively work to train younger leaders to let go of the “old time” teachings (my phrase) regarding eschatology. That means of course that anything relating to the Rapture, pro Israel support, and warnings of the tribulation coming are dismissed as the rantings of fringe thinkers and doom lunatics.
Notice that Deatherage regurgitates the lie that Bible prophecy teachers and students are basically warmongers who hope a soon-coming bloodbath in the Middle East triggers Armageddon.
As I’ve said before, I’ve never talked to or known a prophecy teachers who promotes that kind of agenda. Yet the straw-man has been constructed. And Deatherage’s allegation is still repulsive and false.
Deatherage went on to call the Israeli security fence—THAT HAS SAVED JEWISH LIVES—a “gross injustice.”
I will say here very clearly and directly: that statement is immoral.
Jewish lives are meaningless to most of the world, so the irony is that so-called peace activists and those working for “reconciliation” ignore threats to Jews. It’s not in their vocabulary or, more accurately, their talking points.
The Christ at the Checkpoint crowd is advancing its cause among young evangelicals in America. They are being helped by such as Mart Green’s EGM Films, the Leadership Network, and—drumroll—the PA.
All of them are of like-mind when it comes to Israel and especially Israel’s Christian supporters. The hostility is disturbing.
I urge readers to study groups like the Leadership Network, and its offshoots like Catalyst, along with the individuals who are being promoted/marketed through LN. Remember again that Warren and Hybels are big-time mentors, and this is trickling down (flooding, really) to guys like Andy Stanley and Craig Groeschel. I’d dearly love to hear either of them really make a statement about Israel, eschatology, and the Palestinian conflict. Not likely to happen.
Often, readers of Israel Watch ask me how they can make a difference. A few things come to mind:
•Attend some of these conferences. Go to www.catalystspace.com. I know resources are tight, but think about attending the next Christ at the Checkpoint. Buttress this kind of attendance by also learning from the good guys. The Jerusalem Post is hosting an important conference in New York in April— http://www.jpost.com/LandedPages/NYCAbout.aspx. A conference like this will cost you about a grand; I think it’s well worth it. Once you’ve attended one of these, let others know what transpired. Be a reporter. Learn. Pass it on.
•Most of you are pretty smart. You are savvy. Learn about these people and what their agendas are. For example, though it’s time-consuming (this is something a retired person might be able to do), you will find layer after layer of networks, and you will stumble onto important information. Study the Leadership Network and connect the dots.
•Consider a trip to Israel. Israel’s enemies often have more resources than the rest of us, so what for us is a huge sacrifice is provided for them. But press on and prayerfully consider going. Let me know if this is an option for you. Aside from your airline ticket (which admittedly can be considerable, especially in warmer months…around $1,500 or more), one can see the country relatively cheaply. It can be done.
And, don’t be intimidated. Just remember that the person you might dialogue with—someone on the opposite side of the fence—is coming at it from a different worldview, namely, they do not really believe in the authority of the Word of God. A person like this might say he does, but you’re smart enough to know whether that’s true or not. Study about the Middle East. Read Michael Oren’s book, Six Days of War. Read his other classic, Power, Faith and Fantasy: America in the Middle East—1776 to the Present. Other books and articles. Armed with facts, confront the enemies of Israel…in a respectful way.
We stand on the edge of history. Israel is being surrounded. The warriors who defend the Land of Israel will do their jobs. And the Lord of History will do His, and it will be complete.
Those of us who love Zion—we who are not ashamed but rather lean our faces into the wind—will hold the line until the ultimate Cavalry show up: a single commander of unmatched majesty and power.
Until then, let us not concede an inch to Israel’s many enemies.
Especially those in the evangelical community. I decided a long time ago that an enemy of Israel is my enemy, as well.
There are a lot of them in the Church.
jim@prophecymatters.com
Israel’s Christian Enemies
My heart is grieved. Frankly, I would imagine my ideological enemies would smile about that, since I’m talking about the myriad attacks against Israel. I write again this week about American Christians’ efforts to marginalize both the Jewish state, and its supporters in the evangelical world.
I am discovering more and more that the vast majority of even those who support Israel are not aware of much of this. Who knew the attacks would come from evangelical ranks?
This week, I bring you news from three fronts (though each dovetail with each other, since anti-Israel evangelicals are superb networkers): The diabolical “Christ at the Checkpoint” conference in Israel; the Palestinian Authority’s clamping-down on religious freedom—you won’t hear Christian Palestinianists talk about this; and, more from the Leadership Network.
We start with the Checkpoint goings-on. To refresh your memory, this is from a team of anti-Israel Christians (one wonders how much the PA is involved, behind the scenes) who have created a propaganda campaign against the Jewish state and her supporters.
Fortunately for us, researcher extraordinaire Dexter Van Zile attended (check out his work at www.camera.org) and gives us first-hand accounts. First, from Christian Newswire (which apparently doesn’t discern the sinister nature of this gathering):
“A major breakthrough in the evangelical world took place in Bethlehem through a gathering of over 600 international and local Christians, including renowned evangelical leaders. Organized by Bethlehem Bible College, the conference, under the banner ‘Christ at the Checkpoint,’ addressed the issue of how to find hope in the midst of conflict. The conference exceeded all expectations.”
Major breakthrough? This kind of activity has been going on for some time, and I wonder if most supporters of Israel get it. Here is another telling paragraph from the Newswire story:
“Conference organizers challenged the evangelical community to cease looking at the Middle East through the lens of ‘end times’ prophecy and instead rallied them to join in following Jesus in the prophetic pursuance of justice, peace and reconciliation.”
Do you see? There is a major movement underfoot to jettison the teaching of Bible prophecy from the American Church; sadly, in my view, it is succeeding at a breathtaking pace. A major component of the Checkpoint crowd’s propaganda:
“The Kingdom of God has Come.” Do you get it? This is a fundamental, ideological straw-breaker between us and them (and yes, it is “us and them”). These people believe at the core that their efforts have already brought the Kingdom of God to Earth. In their world, it isn’t necessary for Jesus to return to rescue a disintegrating planet. People can save themselves.
Now, to Dexter Van Zile’s piece in The Algemeiner. He has reported that the PA’s Prime Minister, Salam Fayyad, has shut down Bethlehem pastor Rev. Naim Khoury; Khoury’s son Steven had told Van Zile that the PA is severely restricting the church from operating; the Khourys are courageous Christians who do not tow the company line in that region when it comes to Israel.
According to Van Zile:
“The irony, Steven said, is that the PA’s announcement comes right after the Christ at the Checkpoint Conference. This conference, which took place from March 5 through March 9, 2012 was a gathering of approximately 600 Evangelical Protestants from across the globe (mostly from the United States) to discuss the theology of Christian Zionism, which some Evangelicals believe increases the prospect of violence in the Middle East and gives support to Israeli policies that they do not like.
“During the opening night of the conference, Palestinian Prime Minister Fayyad told the assembly that his government respected the rights of Christians. Palestinians celebrate religious holidays together, PA officials attend Christmas celebrations and even attend Midnight Mass for Christmas, Fayyad said.”
Coincidence? Please. As usual, the “voices of tolerance” from the left, which is how I think the Checkpoint crowd would identify themselves if asked, bring out the fangs when it comes to pro Israel support. Their hypocrisy is mind-boggling.
You can read the whole account at: www.algemeiner.com/2012/03/13/exclusive-baptist-church-in-bethlehem-declared-illegitimate-by-palestinian-authority/
Now, it’s no accident that these efforts parallel those of Catalyst, the conference program spearheaded by the Leadership Network—begun by folks like Peter Drucker and Bob Buford, and advanced by Rick Warren and Bill Hybels.
In a recent Catalyst newsletter, I spotted a talk by Todd Deatherage of the Telos Group; the Telos website describes the group thusly:
“The Telos Group believes in the redemptive power of Jerusalem, despite the modern war being waged there by Israelis and Palestinians today. We believe, however, that the promise of Jerusalem as an exemplar of peaceful coexistence between the three great monotheistic religions will not be realized until the rights and viability of all of Jerusalem’s communities--Israeli and Palestinian, Jewish, Christian, and Muslim--are protected. We believe that the best way to protect the rights of all of Jerusalem’s communities is through a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a solution that is mindful and respectful of the faith communities’ needs and concerns.
“Telos Jerusalem brings the world’s top Jerusalem experts together in an unprecedented initiative to monitor real-time facts on the ground and to analyze how those facts impact the potential political resolution of the Jerusalem question as well as religious interests in and around the Holy City. Telos Jerusalem guides Telos leadership pilgrimages on complete tours of the Holy City, including the Old City, the Holy Basin, and Greater Jerusalem--exploring all of the communities and the full geopolitical impact of the modern Israeli-Palestinian conflict on this ancient city. Telos Jerusalem will begin releasing later this year a monthly newsletter, urgent updates, and occasional case studies with maps, allowing people the world over to explore modern Jerusalem in all of its dimensions.”
Deatherage’s talk at Catalyst revealed the fact that he works with such groups and people as Sami Awad and Lynne Hybels. His PowerPoint highlighted those who worked to produce the “Little Town of Bethlehem” film, now openly being used as a propaganda piece targeting unaware evangelical leaders.
Interestingly, Deatherage began his talk with a photo of the famed garden café at Jerusalem’s American Colony Hotel. I’ve been there, and it is a meeting place between Palestinians and Western media and leftist religious groups. So we know right off the bat where Deatherage is coming from.
Midway through his remarks, Deatherage said the following:
“Eschatology matters, in so many areas of life. What we think about the end helps shape how live and act today. So if we believe that violence and war and bloodshed in the Middle East is predetermined and necessary and maybe even a good thing, then how responsible would we be to Jesus’s call that we be peacemakers? How authentically Christian is any theology that makes us more perpetuators of conflict than agents of reconciliation?”
I think it’s obvious what is going on here. I spoke this week with a researcher who has studied the Leadership Network, and was told that the leaders of the group actively work to train younger leaders to let go of the “old time” teachings (my phrase) regarding eschatology. That means of course that anything relating to the Rapture, pro Israel support, and warnings of the tribulation coming are dismissed as the rantings of fringe thinkers and doom lunatics.
Notice that Deatherage regurgitates the lie that Bible prophecy teachers and students are basically warmongers who hope a soon-coming bloodbath in the Middle East triggers Armageddon.
As I’ve said before, I’ve never talked to or known a prophecy teachers who promotes that kind of agenda. Yet the straw-man has been constructed. And Deatherage’s allegation is still repulsive and false.
Deatherage went on to call the Israeli security fence—THAT HAS SAVED JEWISH LIVES—a “gross injustice.”
I will say here very clearly and directly: that statement is immoral.
Jewish lives are meaningless to most of the world, so the irony is that so-called peace activists and those working for “reconciliation” ignore threats to Jews. It’s not in their vocabulary or, more accurately, their talking points.
The Christ at the Checkpoint crowd is advancing its cause among young evangelicals in America. They are being helped by such as Mart Green’s EGM Films, the Leadership Network, and—drumroll—the PA.
All of them are of like-mind when it comes to Israel and especially Israel’s Christian supporters. The hostility is disturbing.
I urge readers to study groups like the Leadership Network, and its offshoots like Catalyst, along with the individuals who are being promoted/marketed through LN. Remember again that Warren and Hybels are big-time mentors, and this is trickling down (flooding, really) to guys like Andy Stanley and Craig Groeschel. I’d dearly love to hear either of them really make a statement about Israel, eschatology, and the Palestinian conflict. Not likely to happen.
Often, readers of Israel Watch ask me how they can make a difference. A few things come to mind:
•Attend some of these conferences. Go to www.catalystspace.com. I know resources are tight, but think about attending the next Christ at the Checkpoint. Buttress this kind of attendance by also learning from the good guys. The Jerusalem Post is hosting an important conference in New York in April— http://www.jpost.com/LandedPages/NYCAbout.aspx. A conference like this will cost you about a grand; I think it’s well worth it. Once you’ve attended one of these, let others know what transpired. Be a reporter. Learn. Pass it on.
•Most of you are pretty smart. You are savvy. Learn about these people and what their agendas are. For example, though it’s time-consuming (this is something a retired person might be able to do), you will find layer after layer of networks, and you will stumble onto important information. Study the Leadership Network and connect the dots.
•Consider a trip to Israel. Israel’s enemies often have more resources than the rest of us, so what for us is a huge sacrifice is provided for them. But press on and prayerfully consider going. Let me know if this is an option for you. Aside from your airline ticket (which admittedly can be considerable, especially in warmer months…around $1,500 or more), one can see the country relatively cheaply. It can be done.
And, don’t be intimidated. Just remember that the person you might dialogue with—someone on the opposite side of the fence—is coming at it from a different worldview, namely, they do not really believe in the authority of the Word of God. A person like this might say he does, but you’re smart enough to know whether that’s true or not. Study about the Middle East. Read Michael Oren’s book, Six Days of War. Read his other classic, Power, Faith and Fantasy: America in the Middle East—1776 to the Present. Other books and articles. Armed with facts, confront the enemies of Israel…in a respectful way.
We stand on the edge of history. Israel is being surrounded. The warriors who defend the Land of Israel will do their jobs. And the Lord of History will do His, and it will be complete.
Those of us who love Zion—we who are not ashamed but rather lean our faces into the wind—will hold the line until the ultimate Cavalry show up: a single commander of unmatched majesty and power.
Until then, let us not concede an inch to Israel’s many enemies.
Especially those in the evangelical community. I decided a long time ago that an enemy of Israel is my enemy, as well.
There are a lot of them in the Church.
jim@prophecymatters.com
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Academics
Greetings!
In my last blog, I told you about my son Collin who played Basket ball at Calvary Christian School in Columbus, Georgia (all the while maintaining a 3.9 gpa!)So let me tell you about our son Cameron...
Cameron is pictured in the middle of our photo, in the graduation get-up! In that photo, he had just graduated from Columbus High School which is ranked in the top three in the state of Georgia!
Cameron decided that he wanted to go away from home for college...his mother and I agreed that he was ready to spread some wings and see what he could do...he decided on Kennesaw State University located in Kennesaw, Georgia...little did we know that this was the third largest school in the University System of Georgia (Behind the University of Georgia and Georgia State)...
Cameron has done very well...his first year was highlighted by being accepted into their honor's program and then a trip to Brazil (where all the kids who really could not speak English, called him Justin Beiber!)...
In his second year, Cameron became an RA...Residence Assistant, and has flourished in that role...
The biggest news is that he has made the Dean's list for the second time! Congratulations to Cameron on a job well-done! looking forward to what he will accomplish over his final two years!
In my last blog, I told you about my son Collin who played Basket ball at Calvary Christian School in Columbus, Georgia (all the while maintaining a 3.9 gpa!)So let me tell you about our son Cameron...
Cameron is pictured in the middle of our photo, in the graduation get-up! In that photo, he had just graduated from Columbus High School which is ranked in the top three in the state of Georgia!
Cameron decided that he wanted to go away from home for college...his mother and I agreed that he was ready to spread some wings and see what he could do...he decided on Kennesaw State University located in Kennesaw, Georgia...little did we know that this was the third largest school in the University System of Georgia (Behind the University of Georgia and Georgia State)...
Cameron has done very well...his first year was highlighted by being accepted into their honor's program and then a trip to Brazil (where all the kids who really could not speak English, called him Justin Beiber!)...
In his second year, Cameron became an RA...Residence Assistant, and has flourished in that role...
The biggest news is that he has made the Dean's list for the second time! Congratulations to Cameron on a job well-done! looking forward to what he will accomplish over his final two years!
Basketball
Hey...
My youngest son, Collin, pictured in the white and blue stripped shirt in our photo, has played Basketball for Calvary Christian School for the last 5 years...the J.V. squad in 8th grade and the Varsity squad from 9th grade until this his senior season...he has played extremely well, even though I am his dad I can say that!
As the season wound down, Collin got to within 74 points of 1,000 for his career...now note that Collin plays the "point" position, meaning that he normally is the play-maker who dishes the ball off to others who shoot and score...and in fact, he is very near if he hasn't passed, the all-time assist record! At any rate, as our team made the regional tournament to determine which four teams would make the state tournament, he needed 11 points for 1,000...Collin scored 10 points and we qualified for the next round of the Regional's, one (1) point short of 1,000! he was sitting on 999 going into the next game...our family travelled to Tifton, Georgia where we had just watched him fall one point short...The game was played against Sherwood Christian Academy from Albany, Georgia, the school is a ministry of Sherwood Baptist Church which has brought us such outstanding films as "facing the Giants", "Fireproof" and of course, "Courageous"...Collin shot a Free-throw after being fouled and scored his 1,000th point! Our fans erupted and I am sure that the opposing fans thought we were crazy! After all, it was just one free-throw! At any rate, we were overjoyed! After all that we have been through (see previous postings)here was a ray of sunshine!
CCS made the state tourney and we played Tatnall Square Academy in the first round...Collin decided he would not lose in the first round like we did when he was a Sophomore...at any rate, he lit up the night with 26 points, including a three-pointer that moved us 4 ahead after Tatnall had clawed back from 6 down...from there, we held on to win 58-56!
In round two, we played the defending state champs, Mt. Vernon, and the outcome was not the same...we lost by 15 and Collin only scored 5 points, shooting only twice in the second half...our team reverted to some late season bad habits of jacking up shots that were not there...oh well!
Collin had an outstanding career at CCS, becoming only the fourth player in the school's history to score 1,000 points!
My youngest son, Collin, pictured in the white and blue stripped shirt in our photo, has played Basketball for Calvary Christian School for the last 5 years...the J.V. squad in 8th grade and the Varsity squad from 9th grade until this his senior season...he has played extremely well, even though I am his dad I can say that!
As the season wound down, Collin got to within 74 points of 1,000 for his career...now note that Collin plays the "point" position, meaning that he normally is the play-maker who dishes the ball off to others who shoot and score...and in fact, he is very near if he hasn't passed, the all-time assist record! At any rate, as our team made the regional tournament to determine which four teams would make the state tournament, he needed 11 points for 1,000...Collin scored 10 points and we qualified for the next round of the Regional's, one (1) point short of 1,000! he was sitting on 999 going into the next game...our family travelled to Tifton, Georgia where we had just watched him fall one point short...The game was played against Sherwood Christian Academy from Albany, Georgia, the school is a ministry of Sherwood Baptist Church which has brought us such outstanding films as "facing the Giants", "Fireproof" and of course, "Courageous"...Collin shot a Free-throw after being fouled and scored his 1,000th point! Our fans erupted and I am sure that the opposing fans thought we were crazy! After all, it was just one free-throw! At any rate, we were overjoyed! After all that we have been through (see previous postings)here was a ray of sunshine!
CCS made the state tourney and we played Tatnall Square Academy in the first round...Collin decided he would not lose in the first round like we did when he was a Sophomore...at any rate, he lit up the night with 26 points, including a three-pointer that moved us 4 ahead after Tatnall had clawed back from 6 down...from there, we held on to win 58-56!
In round two, we played the defending state champs, Mt. Vernon, and the outcome was not the same...we lost by 15 and Collin only scored 5 points, shooting only twice in the second half...our team reverted to some late season bad habits of jacking up shots that were not there...oh well!
Collin had an outstanding career at CCS, becoming only the fourth player in the school's history to score 1,000 points!
I'm Back!
Hello Everyone! Sorry! I have been gone for a while now, but I'm back!
Just as an update: I started teaching at Calvary Christian School in Columbus, Georgia and have been really busy with getting back into the swing of teaching...I teach 9th through 11th grades with the 9th graders studying the Old Testament, the 10th graders learning the New Testament and the 11th graders studying Apologetics and Theology...Whew!
In recent days, I have had opportunity to preach in several locations around Columbus and was even asked to consider being the bi-vocational pastor at a church here in the area...word to the wise...if you serve on a Pastor Search committee, deal with only ONE prospective pastor at a time! I was called today and informed that the church had voted in a different guy as pastor...where did he come from? I never knew that there was anyone else being considered...I was told they were voting on me today, so what gives here? This is highly unusual...Most churches would never do something like this, but I guess if you do this long enough, you will see most anything!
On a positive note, we have an opportunity to stop the foreclosure of our home, but I must come up with $2400.00 before Friday, February 24th, 2012...Let me back up...After leaving my former church, we were unable to make our mortgage payments after May 1, 2011 and you can see previous postings for the reasons why, anyway, our original note holder sold our note to a company in California who offered to try and help us by reducing the interest rate...however, it really was not low enough for us because whereas I am now employed, I am under-employed, meaning my salary is much less...so...we received a letter from an attorney in Atlanta representing the note-holder letting us know that we were being foreclosed...We got another letter from another Law Firm in Atlanta who stated that they worked to help people in foreclosure to maintain their homes...so we must pay them their fee ($600.00) and then pay the court costs of stopping the foreclosure ($1700-1800)...
Please pray for us as look for guidance from the Lord on our next move...Thanks!
Just as an update: I started teaching at Calvary Christian School in Columbus, Georgia and have been really busy with getting back into the swing of teaching...I teach 9th through 11th grades with the 9th graders studying the Old Testament, the 10th graders learning the New Testament and the 11th graders studying Apologetics and Theology...Whew!
In recent days, I have had opportunity to preach in several locations around Columbus and was even asked to consider being the bi-vocational pastor at a church here in the area...word to the wise...if you serve on a Pastor Search committee, deal with only ONE prospective pastor at a time! I was called today and informed that the church had voted in a different guy as pastor...where did he come from? I never knew that there was anyone else being considered...I was told they were voting on me today, so what gives here? This is highly unusual...Most churches would never do something like this, but I guess if you do this long enough, you will see most anything!
On a positive note, we have an opportunity to stop the foreclosure of our home, but I must come up with $2400.00 before Friday, February 24th, 2012...Let me back up...After leaving my former church, we were unable to make our mortgage payments after May 1, 2011 and you can see previous postings for the reasons why, anyway, our original note holder sold our note to a company in California who offered to try and help us by reducing the interest rate...however, it really was not low enough for us because whereas I am now employed, I am under-employed, meaning my salary is much less...so...we received a letter from an attorney in Atlanta representing the note-holder letting us know that we were being foreclosed...We got another letter from another Law Firm in Atlanta who stated that they worked to help people in foreclosure to maintain their homes...so we must pay them their fee ($600.00) and then pay the court costs of stopping the foreclosure ($1700-1800)...
Please pray for us as look for guidance from the Lord on our next move...Thanks!
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Update!
Hey...Wow! How time flies! I had not realized that there had been no post from since July! I am sorry that I have been away for so long...let me get caught up...
In August, I began working as a Bible Teacher at Calvary Christian School for grades 9-11...My friend and Pastor, Dr. Don Wilhite here at Calvary, helped to bring this about and had actually approached me about teaching back in April of this year...Its not Pastoring, but at least I do have an opportunity to share Christ with over 100 students EVERY DAY! What a joy this has been...I even had the opportunity to lead a young man to Christ in September!
August also saw my two daughters, Ashley and Megan, move to Macon, Georgia...the house seems rather empty now (and a lot quieter!) because our son, Cameron, is away at Kennesaw State University and now the girls gone too...
In October, our oldest son, Christopher got married! His wonderful new bride, the former Caitlyn Smith, now Mrs. Caitlyn Yarbrough, actually teachers 4th grade at Calvary Christian School! Chris now too has left home and so Sandy and I have just our youngest son Collin at home...He is a senior at Calvary Christian and is starting his final campaign as a basketball player at Calvary...we are praying that he has a great season!
We are now in November, and just as I stated in earlier post this year, we are now in the process of losing our home...we can no longer afford our mortgage, and have really not even made a payment since May...a couple of weeks ago, we received notice from our mortgage company that the foreclosure process was beginning...Working at Calvary allows us to be able to put food on the table, but it is a far cry from the previous level of income, not that I am complaining, just explaining...so, we are unsure what the future brings, just praying for God's provision...the point of course is that sin has consequences and there is fallout even on "innocent" people...
Let me encourage you to live cleanly, soberly, loving God and man, following Him with all that you are and trusting in Him and His Holy Word...
May God richly bless you as you continue to read my blog!
In August, I began working as a Bible Teacher at Calvary Christian School for grades 9-11...My friend and Pastor, Dr. Don Wilhite here at Calvary, helped to bring this about and had actually approached me about teaching back in April of this year...Its not Pastoring, but at least I do have an opportunity to share Christ with over 100 students EVERY DAY! What a joy this has been...I even had the opportunity to lead a young man to Christ in September!
August also saw my two daughters, Ashley and Megan, move to Macon, Georgia...the house seems rather empty now (and a lot quieter!) because our son, Cameron, is away at Kennesaw State University and now the girls gone too...
In October, our oldest son, Christopher got married! His wonderful new bride, the former Caitlyn Smith, now Mrs. Caitlyn Yarbrough, actually teachers 4th grade at Calvary Christian School! Chris now too has left home and so Sandy and I have just our youngest son Collin at home...He is a senior at Calvary Christian and is starting his final campaign as a basketball player at Calvary...we are praying that he has a great season!
We are now in November, and just as I stated in earlier post this year, we are now in the process of losing our home...we can no longer afford our mortgage, and have really not even made a payment since May...a couple of weeks ago, we received notice from our mortgage company that the foreclosure process was beginning...Working at Calvary allows us to be able to put food on the table, but it is a far cry from the previous level of income, not that I am complaining, just explaining...so, we are unsure what the future brings, just praying for God's provision...the point of course is that sin has consequences and there is fallout even on "innocent" people...
Let me encourage you to live cleanly, soberly, loving God and man, following Him with all that you are and trusting in Him and His Holy Word...
May God richly bless you as you continue to read my blog!
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Land of The Free and Home of the Brave...
July 1, 2011
Is Another Ballot Heist Coming?
By Tom Rowan
The integrity of American elections ought to be above reproach. Unfortunately, recent history suggests that when candidates are desperate, serious hanky-panky is not out of the question.
The 2000 Florida Presidential election was severely marred by Al Gore's botched election robbery. The massive vote fraud in Palm Beach County stands as immutable proof of the extent that crooked Democrats will go to steal an election. After botching the robbery in "ballot box boiler rooms," the Democrats resorted to stall tactics, the courts, and endless recounts to steal the election for Gore. The only mistake the voter frauds made is that they did not destroy enough valid votes.
Only in Palm Beach
Robert Cook emailed me during and after the 2000 Florida recounts. I remember that Robert lived in Georgia at the time and he and I were certain of voter fraud in Florida and that the media were actively covering it up. Robert ran the election numbers and sent them to me. At the time I forwarded the information to every single member of the Florida House and Senate in a push for fraud-proof electronic voting. What Robert mathematically deduced was that Florida was the victim of a massive vote fraud scheme in Palm Beach County. Robert recounted his analysis and sent it to Michael Reagan. This short report is required reading for anyone who really wants to understand what actually happened in the 2000 Florida Presidential election.
The analysis leaves exactly zero room for the possibility for anything other than massive vote fraud. As Newsmax.com's Carl Limbacher reported: "Robert is a nuclear engineer with a track record for analyzing and correcting trends, errors and mistakes in heavy construction projects (ships, power plants, nuclear reactors, military and aerospace vehicles, etc.) for more than twenty years, put forth a compelling case that the 19,120 presidential race ballots at issue in Palm Beach County were 'destroyed by deliberate double-punching ballots with a "second punch" for Al Gore or Pat Buchanan.'" The results are shockingly clear evidence of vote fraud:
Only Palm Beach County, Florida voters seem incapable of understanding and using this style of ballot (butterfly ballot -- chosen by local Democrats).
Only in Palm Beach, FL were 15,000 ballots "invalidated" (for double-punched ballots) in the 1996 Presidential election. (Past history of vote fraud in 1996.)
Only in Palm Beach (and in only the most heavily Democratic precincts) were 19,120 ballots rejected in 2000 for double-punching.
Only in Palm Beach did this "double-punch" error happen only in the Gore-Bush-Buchanan selections for President.
Only in Palm Beach has the news media complained about "massive" ballot confusion.
Only in Palm Beach did Gore gain 750 votes in a recount.
Only in Palm Beach County that more than 20% of the registered Republicans "forgot" to vote for their party's presidential candidate.
Only in Palm Beach did Bush receive less than 65% of the registered Republican voters.
Only in Palm Beach did Buchanan get less than half of the votes he received before in 1996.
Cook provides the probable means by which a Democrat conspirator could have disenfranchised thousands of voters and destroyed their "punch ballot cards":
Stamping 45,000 ballots with a tool (or other device) through the Gore slot gives: Every Gore vote = still a valid Gore vote. (No change in the total, no change in the recount.) Every Bush, Buchanan, Workers Party, and Libertarian Party ballot IS IMMEDIATELY INVALID. They will be thrown out because they have two votes. They NEVER were counted in the first place = no change in the recount. The double-punch occurs ONLY in the presidential race, and no position on the ballot is disturbed. All other races are correctly counted. EVERY ballot that had no vote (a "protest vote" against both major candidates) becomes a Gore vote. All other races on the ballot are not disturbed, and are correctly counted.
In this way, stacks of ballots cards (valid votes) were destroyed in a matter a few fevered post election moments. This simple vote fraud technique explains all the ridiculously improbable statistical outliers of that election. There simply is no other plausible mathematical explanation.
As the 2012 election looms, concerned voters should recall the nationwide voter registration frauds of ACORN, Al Franken's brazenly stolen Minnesota Senate election, and George Soros' SOS Project which seeks to install crony Secretaries of State to "oversee" how close elections are "decided." The massive vote fraud in Florida in 2000 ought to concern every voter in every state. If the Democrat party so brazenly tried to steal Florida's 2000 election, chances are very good that they will try to steal other "close" elections in 2012.
Recall too that the groundwork is already being laid for vote fraud in 2012. Donna Brazile is already complaining about nonexistent "voter disenfranchisement" (just as the Democrats did in 2000). Editorials are being written and lawsuits are being filed in an attempt to thwart any meaningful measures to eliminate vote fraud. Whomever the GOP nominates for president, he or she will face Obama's vicious nonstop smear machine, the usual network media bias, and a massive George Soros-funded effort to steal this election. With Obama's poll numbers as bad as they are and with his reelection prospects as bleak as any President's in living memory, a massive and nationwide voter fraud campaign is already underway. And, if past elections are any indication, this vote fraud campaign will be successful to varying degrees. The degree to which the 2012 Democrat vote fraud campaign will be successful depends on whether voters who care enough to show up to vote care enough that their votes are being stolen and complain about it. And if they care that they are the voters who are actually being "disenfranchised."
Of my most bitter memories of the 2000 Florida recount (and attempted election theft) was that our military votes were being challenged at our local courthouse by Gore lawyers dressed in pinstriped suits with thick New Jersey accents. This was simultaneously happening all across Florida. Gore's "election" lawyers were dressed like (and talked like) the typical Hollywood typecast depiction of a sleazy mobster. Another laughable and lighter moment was when Chicago's Mayor Richard Daley offered to "help" us Floridians "count" our votes. That would be like asking Al Gore for a weather report.
Is Another Ballot Heist Coming?
By Tom Rowan
The integrity of American elections ought to be above reproach. Unfortunately, recent history suggests that when candidates are desperate, serious hanky-panky is not out of the question.
The 2000 Florida Presidential election was severely marred by Al Gore's botched election robbery. The massive vote fraud in Palm Beach County stands as immutable proof of the extent that crooked Democrats will go to steal an election. After botching the robbery in "ballot box boiler rooms," the Democrats resorted to stall tactics, the courts, and endless recounts to steal the election for Gore. The only mistake the voter frauds made is that they did not destroy enough valid votes.
Only in Palm Beach
Robert Cook emailed me during and after the 2000 Florida recounts. I remember that Robert lived in Georgia at the time and he and I were certain of voter fraud in Florida and that the media were actively covering it up. Robert ran the election numbers and sent them to me. At the time I forwarded the information to every single member of the Florida House and Senate in a push for fraud-proof electronic voting. What Robert mathematically deduced was that Florida was the victim of a massive vote fraud scheme in Palm Beach County. Robert recounted his analysis and sent it to Michael Reagan. This short report is required reading for anyone who really wants to understand what actually happened in the 2000 Florida Presidential election.
The analysis leaves exactly zero room for the possibility for anything other than massive vote fraud. As Newsmax.com's Carl Limbacher reported: "Robert is a nuclear engineer with a track record for analyzing and correcting trends, errors and mistakes in heavy construction projects (ships, power plants, nuclear reactors, military and aerospace vehicles, etc.) for more than twenty years, put forth a compelling case that the 19,120 presidential race ballots at issue in Palm Beach County were 'destroyed by deliberate double-punching ballots with a "second punch" for Al Gore or Pat Buchanan.'" The results are shockingly clear evidence of vote fraud:
Only Palm Beach County, Florida voters seem incapable of understanding and using this style of ballot (butterfly ballot -- chosen by local Democrats).
Only in Palm Beach, FL were 15,000 ballots "invalidated" (for double-punched ballots) in the 1996 Presidential election. (Past history of vote fraud in 1996.)
Only in Palm Beach (and in only the most heavily Democratic precincts) were 19,120 ballots rejected in 2000 for double-punching.
Only in Palm Beach did this "double-punch" error happen only in the Gore-Bush-Buchanan selections for President.
Only in Palm Beach has the news media complained about "massive" ballot confusion.
Only in Palm Beach did Gore gain 750 votes in a recount.
Only in Palm Beach County that more than 20% of the registered Republicans "forgot" to vote for their party's presidential candidate.
Only in Palm Beach did Bush receive less than 65% of the registered Republican voters.
Only in Palm Beach did Buchanan get less than half of the votes he received before in 1996.
Cook provides the probable means by which a Democrat conspirator could have disenfranchised thousands of voters and destroyed their "punch ballot cards":
Stamping 45,000 ballots with a tool (or other device) through the Gore slot gives: Every Gore vote = still a valid Gore vote. (No change in the total, no change in the recount.) Every Bush, Buchanan, Workers Party, and Libertarian Party ballot IS IMMEDIATELY INVALID. They will be thrown out because they have two votes. They NEVER were counted in the first place = no change in the recount. The double-punch occurs ONLY in the presidential race, and no position on the ballot is disturbed. All other races are correctly counted. EVERY ballot that had no vote (a "protest vote" against both major candidates) becomes a Gore vote. All other races on the ballot are not disturbed, and are correctly counted.
In this way, stacks of ballots cards (valid votes) were destroyed in a matter a few fevered post election moments. This simple vote fraud technique explains all the ridiculously improbable statistical outliers of that election. There simply is no other plausible mathematical explanation.
As the 2012 election looms, concerned voters should recall the nationwide voter registration frauds of ACORN, Al Franken's brazenly stolen Minnesota Senate election, and George Soros' SOS Project which seeks to install crony Secretaries of State to "oversee" how close elections are "decided." The massive vote fraud in Florida in 2000 ought to concern every voter in every state. If the Democrat party so brazenly tried to steal Florida's 2000 election, chances are very good that they will try to steal other "close" elections in 2012.
Recall too that the groundwork is already being laid for vote fraud in 2012. Donna Brazile is already complaining about nonexistent "voter disenfranchisement" (just as the Democrats did in 2000). Editorials are being written and lawsuits are being filed in an attempt to thwart any meaningful measures to eliminate vote fraud. Whomever the GOP nominates for president, he or she will face Obama's vicious nonstop smear machine, the usual network media bias, and a massive George Soros-funded effort to steal this election. With Obama's poll numbers as bad as they are and with his reelection prospects as bleak as any President's in living memory, a massive and nationwide voter fraud campaign is already underway. And, if past elections are any indication, this vote fraud campaign will be successful to varying degrees. The degree to which the 2012 Democrat vote fraud campaign will be successful depends on whether voters who care enough to show up to vote care enough that their votes are being stolen and complain about it. And if they care that they are the voters who are actually being "disenfranchised."
Of my most bitter memories of the 2000 Florida recount (and attempted election theft) was that our military votes were being challenged at our local courthouse by Gore lawyers dressed in pinstriped suits with thick New Jersey accents. This was simultaneously happening all across Florida. Gore's "election" lawyers were dressed like (and talked like) the typical Hollywood typecast depiction of a sleazy mobster. Another laughable and lighter moment was when Chicago's Mayor Richard Daley offered to "help" us Floridians "count" our votes. That would be like asking Al Gore for a weather report.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Same-Sex Marriage...Disaster in New York
The state of New York passed a Bill to allow Same-Sex Marriage last week...another sign of the decadence of this nation and the further evidence that God has removed His hand from this nation...as usual, Dr. Al Mohler, President of the Southern Baptist Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, responds...
The Empire State’s Moral Revolution: New York State Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage
Last Friday was a sad day for marriage and, if the advocates of same-sex marriage are right, it was also a sign of things to come.
Monday, June 27, 2011
The legal, social, moral, and political maps of America were redefined last Friday night as the New York State Senate voted 33-29 to legalize same-sex marriage in the state. The State Assembly had already approved the measure, leaving the Republican-controlled Senate the last battleground on the marriage issue. Shortly after the Senate approved the measure, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the bill into law. It will take effect in July, thirty days after the Governor’s signature was affixed.
It will be difficult to exaggerate the impact of New York’s move to legalize same-sex marriage. The statistics tell part of the story. New York State becomes the sixth state to recognize same-sex marriage, but its population is greater than that of the other five combined. When same-sex marriage is legal in New York next month, fully one in every nine Americans will live in a state or jurisdiction where same-sex marriage is legal. By any measure, this is a massive development in the nation’s legal and moral life.
Add to this the fact that California, the nation’s most populous state, is hanging in the balance as Proposition 8, the constitutional amendment passed by the state’s voters defining marriage as exclusively the union of a man and a woman, is now an issue before the Ninth U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco. It arrived at the appellate court after a federal judge in California ruled that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional. If California is added (again) to the states with legal same-sex marriage, more than a third of the nation’s citizens will live where same-sex marriage is the law of the land.
Furthermore, gay rights groups are counting on their New York victory to serve as a momentum-builder for similar efforts across the nation. At present, 29 states have constitutional amendments prohibiting same-sex marriage, while another twelve have laws against it. Marriage is expected to be soon on the ballot in Minnesota and North Carolina, where similar constitutional amendments are in development. On the other hand, same-sex marriage advocates intend to focus on the states of Maine and Maryland for renewed efforts toward legalization.
One crucial aspect of the New York development is the fact that same-sex marriage was legalized by legislation, and not by order of a court. Eventually, an unusual coalition led by the Governor Andrew Cuomo and major Republican donors pushed the measure through the Senate, even though Republicans had prevented even a vote on such a measure in recent years. As dusk set in Albany on Friday, the fate of marriage appeared to rest on one Republican senator, whose crucial vote would determine the margin for or against the chamber taking the vote. In the end, the measure reached the floor, where it passed by a four-vote margin.
One of the lessons learned in this sad spectacle is the fact that enough Republican senators changed their positions on the issue under intense pressure, thus enabling the passage of the legislation. The same was true for the minority of Democratic senators who had previously voted against the measure. One of these, Carl Kruger, changed his vote because the nephew of the woman Kruger lives with was so outraged over the issue that he had cut the couple off from an ongoing relationship. “I don’t need this,” the Senator told a colleague, “It has gotten personal now.”
Well, of course it has. But what this statement really means is that many Americans, including many in the political class, simply fold their moral convictions when they conflict with the lifestyles or convictions of a friend or relative.
Thus far, whenever the people of a state have had their say, marriage has been defended as the union of a man and a woman. Same-sex marriage has been made legal by courts (such as in Iowa and Massachusetts) and by legislatures in some northeastern states. If current trends continue, the American map of marriage will reveal a deep and consequential division between states which recognize same-sex marriage and those who do not.
Given the central importance of marriage to our civilization and culture, it is hard to imagine how such a mixed moral landscape can last. Add to this the fact that President Obama has instructed his own Attorney General not to defend the Defense of Marriage Act in courts.
In the end, it is difficult to know how one can exaggerate the importance of New York’s shift on marriage. New York is not merely a highly populous state — it also includes the nation’s most significant city in terms of economics, business, and cultural influence.
The legalization of same-sex marriage represents nothing less than a moral revolution, for what the law allows and recognizes, it also approves. Last Friday was a sad day for marriage and, if the advocates of same-sex marriage are right, it was also a sign of things to come.
The Empire State’s Moral Revolution: New York State Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage
Last Friday was a sad day for marriage and, if the advocates of same-sex marriage are right, it was also a sign of things to come.
Monday, June 27, 2011
The legal, social, moral, and political maps of America were redefined last Friday night as the New York State Senate voted 33-29 to legalize same-sex marriage in the state. The State Assembly had already approved the measure, leaving the Republican-controlled Senate the last battleground on the marriage issue. Shortly after the Senate approved the measure, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the bill into law. It will take effect in July, thirty days after the Governor’s signature was affixed.
It will be difficult to exaggerate the impact of New York’s move to legalize same-sex marriage. The statistics tell part of the story. New York State becomes the sixth state to recognize same-sex marriage, but its population is greater than that of the other five combined. When same-sex marriage is legal in New York next month, fully one in every nine Americans will live in a state or jurisdiction where same-sex marriage is legal. By any measure, this is a massive development in the nation’s legal and moral life.
Add to this the fact that California, the nation’s most populous state, is hanging in the balance as Proposition 8, the constitutional amendment passed by the state’s voters defining marriage as exclusively the union of a man and a woman, is now an issue before the Ninth U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco. It arrived at the appellate court after a federal judge in California ruled that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional. If California is added (again) to the states with legal same-sex marriage, more than a third of the nation’s citizens will live where same-sex marriage is the law of the land.
Furthermore, gay rights groups are counting on their New York victory to serve as a momentum-builder for similar efforts across the nation. At present, 29 states have constitutional amendments prohibiting same-sex marriage, while another twelve have laws against it. Marriage is expected to be soon on the ballot in Minnesota and North Carolina, where similar constitutional amendments are in development. On the other hand, same-sex marriage advocates intend to focus on the states of Maine and Maryland for renewed efforts toward legalization.
One crucial aspect of the New York development is the fact that same-sex marriage was legalized by legislation, and not by order of a court. Eventually, an unusual coalition led by the Governor Andrew Cuomo and major Republican donors pushed the measure through the Senate, even though Republicans had prevented even a vote on such a measure in recent years. As dusk set in Albany on Friday, the fate of marriage appeared to rest on one Republican senator, whose crucial vote would determine the margin for or against the chamber taking the vote. In the end, the measure reached the floor, where it passed by a four-vote margin.
One of the lessons learned in this sad spectacle is the fact that enough Republican senators changed their positions on the issue under intense pressure, thus enabling the passage of the legislation. The same was true for the minority of Democratic senators who had previously voted against the measure. One of these, Carl Kruger, changed his vote because the nephew of the woman Kruger lives with was so outraged over the issue that he had cut the couple off from an ongoing relationship. “I don’t need this,” the Senator told a colleague, “It has gotten personal now.”
Well, of course it has. But what this statement really means is that many Americans, including many in the political class, simply fold their moral convictions when they conflict with the lifestyles or convictions of a friend or relative.
Thus far, whenever the people of a state have had their say, marriage has been defended as the union of a man and a woman. Same-sex marriage has been made legal by courts (such as in Iowa and Massachusetts) and by legislatures in some northeastern states. If current trends continue, the American map of marriage will reveal a deep and consequential division between states which recognize same-sex marriage and those who do not.
Given the central importance of marriage to our civilization and culture, it is hard to imagine how such a mixed moral landscape can last. Add to this the fact that President Obama has instructed his own Attorney General not to defend the Defense of Marriage Act in courts.
In the end, it is difficult to know how one can exaggerate the importance of New York’s shift on marriage. New York is not merely a highly populous state — it also includes the nation’s most significant city in terms of economics, business, and cultural influence.
The legalization of same-sex marriage represents nothing less than a moral revolution, for what the law allows and recognizes, it also approves. Last Friday was a sad day for marriage and, if the advocates of same-sex marriage are right, it was also a sign of things to come.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Amnesty by any other name...
Good evening...
As you know by now, I am a Southern Baptist...have been for as long as I can remember...I was "saved" in a Southern Baptist Church (Calvary Baptist in Columbus) and by that I mean that I repented of my sin and asked Jesus Christ to come into my heart and to save me...
Recently, the SBC national convention concluded its business in Phoenix, Arizona, and the convention attendees passed a resolution dealing with Immigration...they stated that they wanted the Federal Government to secure a path to citizenship for all the 12 million or so illegals here in this country...being unable to attend this year, I was rather shocked to see this resolution passed...of course, it only passed after they inserted language that they are not pushing amnesty...however, I am not sure what we would call allowing the 12 million or so who are here ILLEGALLY, a path to citizenship...Hello? That is AMNESTY! This is a country of laws and no one seems to want to enforce the laws that are written...Here is a novel "path to citizenship"...Tell ALL the illegals to GET OUT AND THEN APPLY TO COME IN THROUGH THE FRONT DOOR!
On another note...recently the TSA along with Federal, State and LOCAL Law Enforcement officials made several sweeps around the country simultaneously saying that they were looking for illegals, drugs and cash and of course terrorists...isn't this the same thing that the Obama Justice Department sued Arizona for? Using local Law Enforcement to check illegals? Am I the only one who sees the contradiction here?
Even so, Come quickly Lord Jesus!
As you know by now, I am a Southern Baptist...have been for as long as I can remember...I was "saved" in a Southern Baptist Church (Calvary Baptist in Columbus) and by that I mean that I repented of my sin and asked Jesus Christ to come into my heart and to save me...
Recently, the SBC national convention concluded its business in Phoenix, Arizona, and the convention attendees passed a resolution dealing with Immigration...they stated that they wanted the Federal Government to secure a path to citizenship for all the 12 million or so illegals here in this country...being unable to attend this year, I was rather shocked to see this resolution passed...of course, it only passed after they inserted language that they are not pushing amnesty...however, I am not sure what we would call allowing the 12 million or so who are here ILLEGALLY, a path to citizenship...Hello? That is AMNESTY! This is a country of laws and no one seems to want to enforce the laws that are written...Here is a novel "path to citizenship"...Tell ALL the illegals to GET OUT AND THEN APPLY TO COME IN THROUGH THE FRONT DOOR!
On another note...recently the TSA along with Federal, State and LOCAL Law Enforcement officials made several sweeps around the country simultaneously saying that they were looking for illegals, drugs and cash and of course terrorists...isn't this the same thing that the Obama Justice Department sued Arizona for? Using local Law Enforcement to check illegals? Am I the only one who sees the contradiction here?
Even so, Come quickly Lord Jesus!
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Child Safety
Good Sunday afternoon...
I am sitting here watching the Atlanta Braves lead the Houston Astros 4-2 in the 7th inning in which Tommy Hanson (Braves Pitcher) has 14 strikeouts! Wow...what a performance...anyway...onto the issue at hand: Child Safety...
In a recent near-by city, Valley, Alabama, within the last 3 weeks, there have been two separate attempted child-kidnappings involving sexual predators...We live in a day and time where the unbridled perverted passions are running wild in America...we have in essence allowed a small minority of people demand the acceptance of America for them to flaunt their sinful actions in public displays that offend the sensibilities of anyone with a moral compass, not to mention the God that created them...As a result, we must do all we can to provide the protection for our children that they deserve and expect from us...That's why I want to recommend to you a company called CHILD SHIELD, USA...Child Shield, USA reduces the alarming number of lost, missing, abducted, and runaway children in America through the use of two invaluable tools: 1. Our comprehensive central source of information on methods, products, and services known as "Education for Prevention", and, 2. Our patent-pending, and guaranteed, Emergency Response System to locate registered missing children.
here is a link that will give you all the information you need to join up and start protecting your children through every possible means....
http://www.childshieldusa.com/yarbrough
Don't let another day go by without taking this issue to heart...
I am sitting here watching the Atlanta Braves lead the Houston Astros 4-2 in the 7th inning in which Tommy Hanson (Braves Pitcher) has 14 strikeouts! Wow...what a performance...anyway...onto the issue at hand: Child Safety...
In a recent near-by city, Valley, Alabama, within the last 3 weeks, there have been two separate attempted child-kidnappings involving sexual predators...We live in a day and time where the unbridled perverted passions are running wild in America...we have in essence allowed a small minority of people demand the acceptance of America for them to flaunt their sinful actions in public displays that offend the sensibilities of anyone with a moral compass, not to mention the God that created them...As a result, we must do all we can to provide the protection for our children that they deserve and expect from us...That's why I want to recommend to you a company called CHILD SHIELD, USA...Child Shield, USA reduces the alarming number of lost, missing, abducted, and runaway children in America through the use of two invaluable tools: 1. Our comprehensive central source of information on methods, products, and services known as "Education for Prevention", and, 2. Our patent-pending, and guaranteed, Emergency Response System to locate registered missing children.
here is a link that will give you all the information you need to join up and start protecting your children through every possible means....
http://www.childshieldusa.com/yarbrough
Don't let another day go by without taking this issue to heart...
Friday, June 10, 2011
Obama and the End of Western Civilization?
This article needs no commentary from me:
June 8, 2011
Obama and the End of Western Civilization
By Steve McCann
The global and domestic landscape is one of turmoil, indecision, and uncertainty. Everywhere one looks there is chaos and potential disaster, whether in the financial, economic, or political sphere. Since the beginning of the post-World War II era there has been one constant that has been the stabilizing force in the world: the stature, power, and influence of the United States. In a matter of a few short years the Obama presidency has deliberately and overwhelmingly eroded America's pre-eminence, which has resulted in global instability and domestic unease.
Barack Obama assumed the office of the presidency as a man brought up and steeped in 1960's radicalism, which advanced the doctrine that America, as the lone Western superpower, represented the evil nature of colonialism and capitalism's exploitation of the masses -- whether there was any truth in this assertion or that the United States was guilty of these sins was irrelevant. The material and military success of America and the West could only have come about from expropriating the wealth and labor of the peoples of the world.
This is a simplistic and emotional argument and one that refuses to take into account the basic nature of the human race and its failings and foibles. Mankind always has and always will have as its preeminent trait the need to survive, and to that end human beings are susceptible to committing crimes and exploiting their fellow man. Thus any society will always have many failings, but the key measure of any civilization is what it does to control those tendencies and strive for an equitable culture. No nation or culture in history has done more to advance the well-being of mankind than the United States and Western civilization.
However to the Marxist mindset of the radical left, only they, utilizing the vehicle of a massive central government, could control mankind's nature and create a fair society. It is the ideal philosophy for those who, so enamored with themselves, can wallow in their self-importance and rule with a heavy hand the same masses they claim to protect. Under no circumstances, therefore, can these revolutionaries defend or profess admiration for their country; instead they must not only transform the United States into a villain, but destroy any vestiges of its accomplishments in order to permanently retain control over the populace and exact revenge for the alleged transgressions of the West.
Barack Obama has spent his entire life, from birth to the present, marinated in this mindset. He is thus incapable of change or being receptive to any other viewpoint, as that would be an admission of failure. His chief concern is himself, the retention and expansion of government power as well as the plight of the third world, rather than the suffering of the average American citizen facing economic and societal ruin.
He and his fellow-travelers can thus justify bankrupting the country as a necessary part of the remaking and absolution of the United States. He can show disdain and at times outright hostility toward age-old European allies who were, in his mind, the original sinners in the exploitation of the downtrodden. He has no compunction in forcing Israel, as an outpost of Western civilization, to compromise and bend to all the demands of the Palestinians. To Barack Obama there is no overriding American interest in virtually all foreign matters except to take a back seat and surrender its influence to other mainly non-Western powers.
He continues to pursue many of George Bush's policies against terrorism and the war in Afghanistan, while taking steps designed to assure America does not win the conflict in the long-term. His short-term goal is to be certain a terrorist attack within the United States does not occur in the next two years as that would doom his re-election chances and put in jeopardy his agenda. Meanwhile he willingly discards old allies in the Middle East while turning a blind eye and tacitly promoting the radicalization of many countries in the region.
He relies on his ego-driven messianic demeanor and skin color to intimidate both domestic political adversaries and international allies, while believing the same traits will cause those in the non-Western world to view him as their savior.
It is now inarguable that the 1980's were the high-water mark of competent and viable American international leadership in the post-World War II era. Today, during the Obama years, the international scene is led by arguably the least competent and most easily intimidated, as the majority of world leaders consist of those whose principal interests are themselves and the trappings of office. They are unwilling or unable to challenge the ruinous economic and foreign policies of President Obama and they fail to understand that the United States, under his leadership, will no longer be the leader of the free world but will instead be just another socialist member of the global community while atoning for its supposed sins of the past.
There are no world leaders, with one or two exceptions, willing to look Barack Obama as well as their own citizens in the eye and tell them the unadulterated truth, as they are incapable of handling the truth themselves, much less knowing what to do about the situations and dilemmas at hand. They react instead with futile collectivist theories promulgated by self-proclaimed and egocentric intellectuals who themselves have no worldly experience.
The financial dilemma in Europe continues on, and will fester until the European Union collapses, as those in charge remain adamant in their failed strategy of bailouts and subsidies -- a collapse, together with ruinous American fiscal and monetary policy, that will trigger another worldwide financial crisis.
Many global leaders are enamored with and dote on the terms democracy and self-determination in the Middle East and the rest of the world. However, people do not aspire to self-determination as an end in itself; they aspire to the freedom and prosperity that democracy can potentially bring about. Thus, these same heads of state are helping overthrow governments in nations once allied with the West because of a sophomoric and naïve adherence to mere words and a concurrent unwillingness to understand who is behind the "democracy movements and self-determination." This disastrous scenario has been repeated constantly over the past century.
The most insidious trait of the worlds so-called "best and brightest" is their naiveté and inability to admit their mistakes. Until today's narcissistic global ruling class, particularly in America, are replaced by those willing to face reality and act accordingly, the world will continue to become an increasingly dangerous place.
Unfortunately there is, currently, a president who does not believe in American Exceptionalism and is determined to allow chaos, both domestic and international, to metastasize and change the United States and world forever. This mindset, combined with a lack of forceful leaders of other nations, will result in another financial catastrophe, the rise of a hegemonic China, an inevitable military conflict in the Middle East, and the spread of radical Islam. The ultimate goal of the fall of Western civilization will then be realized, but at a massive and bloody cost. The handwriting is on the wall; will anyone pay attention?
June 8, 2011
Obama and the End of Western Civilization
By Steve McCann
The global and domestic landscape is one of turmoil, indecision, and uncertainty. Everywhere one looks there is chaos and potential disaster, whether in the financial, economic, or political sphere. Since the beginning of the post-World War II era there has been one constant that has been the stabilizing force in the world: the stature, power, and influence of the United States. In a matter of a few short years the Obama presidency has deliberately and overwhelmingly eroded America's pre-eminence, which has resulted in global instability and domestic unease.
Barack Obama assumed the office of the presidency as a man brought up and steeped in 1960's radicalism, which advanced the doctrine that America, as the lone Western superpower, represented the evil nature of colonialism and capitalism's exploitation of the masses -- whether there was any truth in this assertion or that the United States was guilty of these sins was irrelevant. The material and military success of America and the West could only have come about from expropriating the wealth and labor of the peoples of the world.
This is a simplistic and emotional argument and one that refuses to take into account the basic nature of the human race and its failings and foibles. Mankind always has and always will have as its preeminent trait the need to survive, and to that end human beings are susceptible to committing crimes and exploiting their fellow man. Thus any society will always have many failings, but the key measure of any civilization is what it does to control those tendencies and strive for an equitable culture. No nation or culture in history has done more to advance the well-being of mankind than the United States and Western civilization.
However to the Marxist mindset of the radical left, only they, utilizing the vehicle of a massive central government, could control mankind's nature and create a fair society. It is the ideal philosophy for those who, so enamored with themselves, can wallow in their self-importance and rule with a heavy hand the same masses they claim to protect. Under no circumstances, therefore, can these revolutionaries defend or profess admiration for their country; instead they must not only transform the United States into a villain, but destroy any vestiges of its accomplishments in order to permanently retain control over the populace and exact revenge for the alleged transgressions of the West.
Barack Obama has spent his entire life, from birth to the present, marinated in this mindset. He is thus incapable of change or being receptive to any other viewpoint, as that would be an admission of failure. His chief concern is himself, the retention and expansion of government power as well as the plight of the third world, rather than the suffering of the average American citizen facing economic and societal ruin.
He and his fellow-travelers can thus justify bankrupting the country as a necessary part of the remaking and absolution of the United States. He can show disdain and at times outright hostility toward age-old European allies who were, in his mind, the original sinners in the exploitation of the downtrodden. He has no compunction in forcing Israel, as an outpost of Western civilization, to compromise and bend to all the demands of the Palestinians. To Barack Obama there is no overriding American interest in virtually all foreign matters except to take a back seat and surrender its influence to other mainly non-Western powers.
He continues to pursue many of George Bush's policies against terrorism and the war in Afghanistan, while taking steps designed to assure America does not win the conflict in the long-term. His short-term goal is to be certain a terrorist attack within the United States does not occur in the next two years as that would doom his re-election chances and put in jeopardy his agenda. Meanwhile he willingly discards old allies in the Middle East while turning a blind eye and tacitly promoting the radicalization of many countries in the region.
He relies on his ego-driven messianic demeanor and skin color to intimidate both domestic political adversaries and international allies, while believing the same traits will cause those in the non-Western world to view him as their savior.
It is now inarguable that the 1980's were the high-water mark of competent and viable American international leadership in the post-World War II era. Today, during the Obama years, the international scene is led by arguably the least competent and most easily intimidated, as the majority of world leaders consist of those whose principal interests are themselves and the trappings of office. They are unwilling or unable to challenge the ruinous economic and foreign policies of President Obama and they fail to understand that the United States, under his leadership, will no longer be the leader of the free world but will instead be just another socialist member of the global community while atoning for its supposed sins of the past.
There are no world leaders, with one or two exceptions, willing to look Barack Obama as well as their own citizens in the eye and tell them the unadulterated truth, as they are incapable of handling the truth themselves, much less knowing what to do about the situations and dilemmas at hand. They react instead with futile collectivist theories promulgated by self-proclaimed and egocentric intellectuals who themselves have no worldly experience.
The financial dilemma in Europe continues on, and will fester until the European Union collapses, as those in charge remain adamant in their failed strategy of bailouts and subsidies -- a collapse, together with ruinous American fiscal and monetary policy, that will trigger another worldwide financial crisis.
Many global leaders are enamored with and dote on the terms democracy and self-determination in the Middle East and the rest of the world. However, people do not aspire to self-determination as an end in itself; they aspire to the freedom and prosperity that democracy can potentially bring about. Thus, these same heads of state are helping overthrow governments in nations once allied with the West because of a sophomoric and naïve adherence to mere words and a concurrent unwillingness to understand who is behind the "democracy movements and self-determination." This disastrous scenario has been repeated constantly over the past century.
The most insidious trait of the worlds so-called "best and brightest" is their naiveté and inability to admit their mistakes. Until today's narcissistic global ruling class, particularly in America, are replaced by those willing to face reality and act accordingly, the world will continue to become an increasingly dangerous place.
Unfortunately there is, currently, a president who does not believe in American Exceptionalism and is determined to allow chaos, both domestic and international, to metastasize and change the United States and world forever. This mindset, combined with a lack of forceful leaders of other nations, will result in another financial catastrophe, the rise of a hegemonic China, an inevitable military conflict in the Middle East, and the spread of radical Islam. The ultimate goal of the fall of Western civilization will then be realized, but at a massive and bloody cost. The handwriting is on the wall; will anyone pay attention?
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
A Spiritual Battle
Indeed, we are in the midst of a battle between good and evil that began long before any of us were around...or even thought of...This battle is reaching a fever pitch and will come to a conclusion at the return of Jesus Christ! The following is an interesting and provocative article...
By Lloyd Marcus
June 7, 2011
NewsWithViews.com
Without beating around the bush, I believe the battle being fought in America today goes beyond politics; right vs left. It is a spiritual battle; good vs evil.
“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
The mindset of the American left is a spirit of Antichrist which is man making himself God.
Before writing me off as a Bible nut, please hear me out. Understanding this reality will explain much of the left's behavior. Because they believe man is God, in their insane arrogance, the left think they can fix everything; legislate equal outcomes and even save or destroy the planet.
Make no mistake about it folks, we are in a spiritual battle. Ask yourself. Specifically, what about Sarah Palin inspires such visceral hatred from the left? The word is “wholesome.”
For the most part, Palin promotes love for God, family and country. She is passionately determined to thwart Obama's plan to “fundamentally transform America.”
While realizing Palin is human and does not walk on water, Palin epitomizes heartland principles and values embraced by most Americans. Thus, we are Palin and Palin is us.
The large number of Christians in the tea party believe in right and wrong. The left has a huge problem with the concept of right and wrong. Their religion of Liberalism embraces Moral Relativism.
For these reasons, Palin and tea party are as repulsive to liberals as showing Dracula the cross.
There is definitely an anti-wholesome, anti-goodness vibe coming out of Hollywood. Hollywood leftists are vehemently anti death penalty. They rally around convicted murderers. They think anyone harming a puppy should be beaten within any inch of their life. These Hollywood libs pride themselves as being Lords of Compassion and Tolerance.
And yet, these same libs have a cow whenever someone merely suggests to a woman that she think twice before aborting her baby. Tell me there “ain't” something spiritually wrong with such a mindset.
Because liberal elitists think man is God, they assume moral authority to confiscate as much control over our lives we simple minded god fearing peons will allow, including procreation.
I picked up a government funded brochure at my local library which basically said birthing babies is an irresponsible abuse of the planet.
Folks, this is leftist control freak hogwash! The seven billion people who live on the planet could fit in Texas enjoying about the same amount of living space as residents of New York.
God said be fruitful and multiply. But then, what the heck does God know?
In her book, “Godless,” Ann Coulter said, “If a Martian landed in America and set out to determine the nation's official state religion, he would have to conclude it is Liberalism, while Christianity and Judaism are prohibited by law.”
I concur with Ms Coulter. The mainstream media is controlled by zealots of Liberalism who I believe are driven by a spirit of Antichrist; man is God. Thus, only man can and will fix everything.
Why does the left aggressively demand that we show utmost respect for every religion under the sun except Christianity? Remember when libs Whoopi Goldberg and Joy Behar stormed off the set of The View TV program when they concluded Bill O'Reilly dissed Muslims?
And yet, Rosie O'Donnell outrageously stated “Radical Christianity is just as threatening as radical Islam in a country like America.” Not one peep of disagreement or disapproval from the left.
Islam suppresses women. And yet, liberal self proclaimed feminists Goldberg, Behar and O'Donnell illogically defend Islam. These three feminists despise the extraordinarily successful Christian liberated woman, Sarah Palin. Rosie O'Donnell even lamented that Osama bin Laden did not get a fair trial.
Unquestionably, these women have issues with America and Christians; a spirit of Antichrist. At the center of Christianity is a divine Jesus. If Jesus is God, the left is not.
Even our most liberal president ever, Obama, dissed heartland Americans for “bitterly clinging to their god and guns.” Would a true Christian berate folks for finding security in trusting God?
Like an episode of Star Trek, the left believes universal peace can be achieved via America apologizing and admitting to the world that “we suck,” surrendering our power, signing treaties and singing a few verses of “Kumbaya.”
They believe the greatest source of evil in the world is warmongering Christian white guys like George Bush. If only Bush had, “Given peace a chance.”
Liberals always cater to man's lowest base instincts. They hate standards for behavior, labeling all rebuke of bad behavior as being intolerant and judgmental. And yet, they believe without divine influence, man is capable of someday achieving universal peace. Totally absurd.
Christians believe that though we strive to do the right thing, the heart of man is critically flawed which is why we were in need of a savior, Jesus Christ.
Obama's promise to “fundamentally transform America” is a spiritual attack on our freedom, liberty and culture.
Despite the left's relentless attempts to ban God from America's public square, the emergence and power of the tea party tells me God is still on our side.
Mr. Obama, though your liberal zealots perceive you to be “the messiah,” God is still on the throne. Come November 2012, you're fired!
CampaignToDefeatObama
Lloyd Marcus, Proud Unhyphenated American
© 2011 Lloyd Marcus - All Rights Reserved
By Lloyd Marcus
June 7, 2011
NewsWithViews.com
Without beating around the bush, I believe the battle being fought in America today goes beyond politics; right vs left. It is a spiritual battle; good vs evil.
“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
The mindset of the American left is a spirit of Antichrist which is man making himself God.
Before writing me off as a Bible nut, please hear me out. Understanding this reality will explain much of the left's behavior. Because they believe man is God, in their insane arrogance, the left think they can fix everything; legislate equal outcomes and even save or destroy the planet.
Make no mistake about it folks, we are in a spiritual battle. Ask yourself. Specifically, what about Sarah Palin inspires such visceral hatred from the left? The word is “wholesome.”
For the most part, Palin promotes love for God, family and country. She is passionately determined to thwart Obama's plan to “fundamentally transform America.”
While realizing Palin is human and does not walk on water, Palin epitomizes heartland principles and values embraced by most Americans. Thus, we are Palin and Palin is us.
The large number of Christians in the tea party believe in right and wrong. The left has a huge problem with the concept of right and wrong. Their religion of Liberalism embraces Moral Relativism.
For these reasons, Palin and tea party are as repulsive to liberals as showing Dracula the cross.
There is definitely an anti-wholesome, anti-goodness vibe coming out of Hollywood. Hollywood leftists are vehemently anti death penalty. They rally around convicted murderers. They think anyone harming a puppy should be beaten within any inch of their life. These Hollywood libs pride themselves as being Lords of Compassion and Tolerance.
And yet, these same libs have a cow whenever someone merely suggests to a woman that she think twice before aborting her baby. Tell me there “ain't” something spiritually wrong with such a mindset.
Because liberal elitists think man is God, they assume moral authority to confiscate as much control over our lives we simple minded god fearing peons will allow, including procreation.
I picked up a government funded brochure at my local library which basically said birthing babies is an irresponsible abuse of the planet.
Folks, this is leftist control freak hogwash! The seven billion people who live on the planet could fit in Texas enjoying about the same amount of living space as residents of New York.
God said be fruitful and multiply. But then, what the heck does God know?
In her book, “Godless,” Ann Coulter said, “If a Martian landed in America and set out to determine the nation's official state religion, he would have to conclude it is Liberalism, while Christianity and Judaism are prohibited by law.”
I concur with Ms Coulter. The mainstream media is controlled by zealots of Liberalism who I believe are driven by a spirit of Antichrist; man is God. Thus, only man can and will fix everything.
Why does the left aggressively demand that we show utmost respect for every religion under the sun except Christianity? Remember when libs Whoopi Goldberg and Joy Behar stormed off the set of The View TV program when they concluded Bill O'Reilly dissed Muslims?
And yet, Rosie O'Donnell outrageously stated “Radical Christianity is just as threatening as radical Islam in a country like America.” Not one peep of disagreement or disapproval from the left.
Islam suppresses women. And yet, liberal self proclaimed feminists Goldberg, Behar and O'Donnell illogically defend Islam. These three feminists despise the extraordinarily successful Christian liberated woman, Sarah Palin. Rosie O'Donnell even lamented that Osama bin Laden did not get a fair trial.
Unquestionably, these women have issues with America and Christians; a spirit of Antichrist. At the center of Christianity is a divine Jesus. If Jesus is God, the left is not.
Even our most liberal president ever, Obama, dissed heartland Americans for “bitterly clinging to their god and guns.” Would a true Christian berate folks for finding security in trusting God?
Like an episode of Star Trek, the left believes universal peace can be achieved via America apologizing and admitting to the world that “we suck,” surrendering our power, signing treaties and singing a few verses of “Kumbaya.”
They believe the greatest source of evil in the world is warmongering Christian white guys like George Bush. If only Bush had, “Given peace a chance.”
Liberals always cater to man's lowest base instincts. They hate standards for behavior, labeling all rebuke of bad behavior as being intolerant and judgmental. And yet, they believe without divine influence, man is capable of someday achieving universal peace. Totally absurd.
Christians believe that though we strive to do the right thing, the heart of man is critically flawed which is why we were in need of a savior, Jesus Christ.
Obama's promise to “fundamentally transform America” is a spiritual attack on our freedom, liberty and culture.
Despite the left's relentless attempts to ban God from America's public square, the emergence and power of the tea party tells me God is still on our side.
Mr. Obama, though your liberal zealots perceive you to be “the messiah,” God is still on the throne. Come November 2012, you're fired!
CampaignToDefeatObama
Lloyd Marcus, Proud Unhyphenated American
© 2011 Lloyd Marcus - All Rights Reserved
Friday, June 3, 2011
Whom Will You Obey?
To The Town of Castroville, Texas...Way To Go!
Whom will you obey?
Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, 'Which is right in God's eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard... We must obey God rather than human beings!' Acts 4:18-20, 5:29
It's been 2,000 years since Peter and John walked those dusty roads to the temple court. And while the world has changed, the persecution of the saints has not. In the tiny town of Castroville, Texas students are still confronting the Sadducees [Judges] of this generation--men and women whose hostility toward faith is turning "pray" into the four-letter word of our time. This week, a federal judge ruled that the Class of 2011 has fewer rights than the entire U.S. Congress, which convenes every session with prayer. At the request of one secular family, the court took a wrecking ball to years of tradition at Medina Valley High, not to mention the Bill of Rights, by ordering the graduation ceremony to be scrubbed of every reference to Jesus Christ. From now on, he ruled that words "prayer," "invocation," "benediction," "stand," "in Jesus' name," "join in prayer," "bow your heads," and "amen" are taboo (but kneeling during the ceremony to face Mecca is not).
This is nothing new. God was officially expelled from the public school classroom the year I was born--and the Ten Commandments and prayer soon followed. In the early years there was outrage, and some politicans capitalized on the frustration. But in the end, Congress did nothing to protect our religious liberty. The majority of Americans just grew silent, convincing themselves that sacrificing their children's religious freedom would satisfy the radical secularists. Unfortunately, they failed to see that these secularists are determined to eradicate Christianity from American public life as they cast their net wider and wider.
The moment is fast approaching when we will be forced to ignore the unconstitutional overreach of the federal courts to truly live out our faith. As Christians in this country, we need to stop cowering and stand up for the rights our forefathers shed their blood to defend. If the church were as bold in speaking out as the minority that's trying to silence Christianity, society would be powerless to shut us up! We need to quit being silent--and if that means suffering the consequences, so be it. If the American people would peacefully stand up to these black-robed bullies, it would be these judges that found they don't have a prayer.
As Christians, we're called to obey those in authority. But in this country, which God has graciously blessed us with, we are the authority. Remember "We the people?" When we're forced to choose between living out our faith in this world and obeying the arbritary dictates of men, I know who I'm going to obey. It looks like the town of Castroville is making their choice as well. Former students are flocking back to Medina Valley to protest. Teenagers have started painting their cars with messages like, "God lives here" and "We pray." Before this weekend's ceremony, the entire area will fight back with a massive Lord's Prayer rally, where one graduate has even written an anthem for the cause. "If you don't like the things we do around here, we'd say sorry but the truth is we just don't care."
Meanwhile, state Attorney General Greg Abbott and Liberty Counsel do care and are frantically working to stop Biery's order before the start of Saturday's graduation. If they don't, Medina Valley should take their cues from Louisiana's Bastrop High. There, the ACLU scared school administrators out of praying, but they couldn't spook 18-year-old Lacy Rae Mattice. When it was her turn to speak at graduation, she stepped right to the microphone and said, "I respect the beliefs of other people, but I feel that I can't go on without giving glory to my Lord today. I want to ask the Lord's blessing on us." And with the crowd cheering her on, she led her class in the Lord's Prayer. Talk about courage. At 18, she not only had more nerve than her administrators--she had a better understanding of the Constitution too! This is the kind of courage that the Bible talks about in Acts 5. "Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God."
Whom will you obey?
Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, 'Which is right in God's eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard... We must obey God rather than human beings!' Acts 4:18-20, 5:29
It's been 2,000 years since Peter and John walked those dusty roads to the temple court. And while the world has changed, the persecution of the saints has not. In the tiny town of Castroville, Texas students are still confronting the Sadducees [Judges] of this generation--men and women whose hostility toward faith is turning "pray" into the four-letter word of our time. This week, a federal judge ruled that the Class of 2011 has fewer rights than the entire U.S. Congress, which convenes every session with prayer. At the request of one secular family, the court took a wrecking ball to years of tradition at Medina Valley High, not to mention the Bill of Rights, by ordering the graduation ceremony to be scrubbed of every reference to Jesus Christ. From now on, he ruled that words "prayer," "invocation," "benediction," "stand," "in Jesus' name," "join in prayer," "bow your heads," and "amen" are taboo (but kneeling during the ceremony to face Mecca is not).
This is nothing new. God was officially expelled from the public school classroom the year I was born--and the Ten Commandments and prayer soon followed. In the early years there was outrage, and some politicans capitalized on the frustration. But in the end, Congress did nothing to protect our religious liberty. The majority of Americans just grew silent, convincing themselves that sacrificing their children's religious freedom would satisfy the radical secularists. Unfortunately, they failed to see that these secularists are determined to eradicate Christianity from American public life as they cast their net wider and wider.
The moment is fast approaching when we will be forced to ignore the unconstitutional overreach of the federal courts to truly live out our faith. As Christians in this country, we need to stop cowering and stand up for the rights our forefathers shed their blood to defend. If the church were as bold in speaking out as the minority that's trying to silence Christianity, society would be powerless to shut us up! We need to quit being silent--and if that means suffering the consequences, so be it. If the American people would peacefully stand up to these black-robed bullies, it would be these judges that found they don't have a prayer.
As Christians, we're called to obey those in authority. But in this country, which God has graciously blessed us with, we are the authority. Remember "We the people?" When we're forced to choose between living out our faith in this world and obeying the arbritary dictates of men, I know who I'm going to obey. It looks like the town of Castroville is making their choice as well. Former students are flocking back to Medina Valley to protest. Teenagers have started painting their cars with messages like, "God lives here" and "We pray." Before this weekend's ceremony, the entire area will fight back with a massive Lord's Prayer rally, where one graduate has even written an anthem for the cause. "If you don't like the things we do around here, we'd say sorry but the truth is we just don't care."
Meanwhile, state Attorney General Greg Abbott and Liberty Counsel do care and are frantically working to stop Biery's order before the start of Saturday's graduation. If they don't, Medina Valley should take their cues from Louisiana's Bastrop High. There, the ACLU scared school administrators out of praying, but they couldn't spook 18-year-old Lacy Rae Mattice. When it was her turn to speak at graduation, she stepped right to the microphone and said, "I respect the beliefs of other people, but I feel that I can't go on without giving glory to my Lord today. I want to ask the Lord's blessing on us." And with the crowd cheering her on, she led her class in the Lord's Prayer. Talk about courage. At 18, she not only had more nerve than her administrators--she had a better understanding of the Constitution too! This is the kind of courage that the Bible talks about in Acts 5. "Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God."
Conservative or Liberal?
Good morning...
If you have read my blog before, you probably have surmised by now that I am a conservative individual...now...you decide about whether or not you really are of one persuasion or the other:
A young woman was about to finish her first year of college. Like so many others her age, she considered herself to be very liberal, and among other liberal ideals, was very much in favor of higher taxes to support more government programs, in other words redistribution of wealth.
She was deeply ashamed that her father was a rather staunch conservative, a feeling she openly expressed. Based on the lectures that she had participated in, and the occasional chat with a professor, she felt that her father had for years harbored an evil, selfish desire to keep what he thought should be his.
One day she was challenging her father on his opposition to higher taxes on the rich and the need for more government programs.
The self-professed objectivity proclaimed by her professors had to be the truth and she indicated so to her father. He responded by asking how she was doing in school.
Taken aback, she answered rather haughtily that she had a 4.0 GPA, and let him know that it was tough to maintain, insisting that she was taking a very difficult course load and was constantly studying, which left her no time to go out and party like other people she knew. She didn't even have time for a boyfriend, and didn't really have many college friends because she spent all her time studying.
Her father listened and then asked, "How is your friend Audrey doing?"
She replied, "Audrey is barely getting by. All she takes are easy classes, she never studies and she barely has a 2.0 GPA. She is so popular on campus; college for her is a blast. She's always invited to all the parties and lots of times she doesn't even show up for classes because she's too hung over."
Her wise father asked his daughter, "Why don't you go to the Dean's office and ask him to deduct 1.0 off your GPA and give it to your friend who only has a 2.0. That way you will both have a 3.0 GPA and certainly that would be a fair and equal distribution of GPA."
The daughter, visibly shocked by her father's suggestion, angrily fired back, "That's a crazy idea, how would that be fair! I've worked really hard for my grades! I've invested a lot of time, and a lot of hard work! Audrey has done next to nothing toward her degree. She played while I worked my tail off!"
The father slowly smiled, winked and said gently, "Welcome to the conservative side of the fence."
If you ever wondered what side of the fence you sit on, this is a great test!
If a conservative doesn't like guns, he doesn't buy one.
If a liberal doesn't like guns, he wants all guns outlawed.
If a conservative is a vegetarian, he doesn't eat meat.
If a liberal is a vegetarian, he wants all meat products banned for everyone.
If a conservative is down-and-out, he thinks about how to better his situation.
A liberal wonders who is going to take care of him.
If a conservative doesn't like a talk show host, he switches channels.
Liberals demand that those they don't like be shut down.
If a conservative is a non-believer, he doesn't go to church.
A liberal non-believer wants any mention of God and Jesus silenced.
If a conservative decides he needs health care, he goes about shopping for it, or may choose a job that provides it.
A liberal demands that the rest of us pay for his.
If a conservative reads this, he'll forward it so his friends can have a good laugh.
A liberal will delete it because he's "offended."
If you have read my blog before, you probably have surmised by now that I am a conservative individual...now...you decide about whether or not you really are of one persuasion or the other:
A young woman was about to finish her first year of college. Like so many others her age, she considered herself to be very liberal, and among other liberal ideals, was very much in favor of higher taxes to support more government programs, in other words redistribution of wealth.
She was deeply ashamed that her father was a rather staunch conservative, a feeling she openly expressed. Based on the lectures that she had participated in, and the occasional chat with a professor, she felt that her father had for years harbored an evil, selfish desire to keep what he thought should be his.
One day she was challenging her father on his opposition to higher taxes on the rich and the need for more government programs.
The self-professed objectivity proclaimed by her professors had to be the truth and she indicated so to her father. He responded by asking how she was doing in school.
Taken aback, she answered rather haughtily that she had a 4.0 GPA, and let him know that it was tough to maintain, insisting that she was taking a very difficult course load and was constantly studying, which left her no time to go out and party like other people she knew. She didn't even have time for a boyfriend, and didn't really have many college friends because she spent all her time studying.
Her father listened and then asked, "How is your friend Audrey doing?"
She replied, "Audrey is barely getting by. All she takes are easy classes, she never studies and she barely has a 2.0 GPA. She is so popular on campus; college for her is a blast. She's always invited to all the parties and lots of times she doesn't even show up for classes because she's too hung over."
Her wise father asked his daughter, "Why don't you go to the Dean's office and ask him to deduct 1.0 off your GPA and give it to your friend who only has a 2.0. That way you will both have a 3.0 GPA and certainly that would be a fair and equal distribution of GPA."
The daughter, visibly shocked by her father's suggestion, angrily fired back, "That's a crazy idea, how would that be fair! I've worked really hard for my grades! I've invested a lot of time, and a lot of hard work! Audrey has done next to nothing toward her degree. She played while I worked my tail off!"
The father slowly smiled, winked and said gently, "Welcome to the conservative side of the fence."
If you ever wondered what side of the fence you sit on, this is a great test!
If a conservative doesn't like guns, he doesn't buy one.
If a liberal doesn't like guns, he wants all guns outlawed.
If a conservative is a vegetarian, he doesn't eat meat.
If a liberal is a vegetarian, he wants all meat products banned for everyone.
If a conservative is down-and-out, he thinks about how to better his situation.
A liberal wonders who is going to take care of him.
If a conservative doesn't like a talk show host, he switches channels.
Liberals demand that those they don't like be shut down.
If a conservative is a non-believer, he doesn't go to church.
A liberal non-believer wants any mention of God and Jesus silenced.
If a conservative decides he needs health care, he goes about shopping for it, or may choose a job that provides it.
A liberal demands that the rest of us pay for his.
If a conservative reads this, he'll forward it so his friends can have a good laugh.
A liberal will delete it because he's "offended."
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Doomsday is near?
Good afternoon...Harold Camping made the prediction that Jesus would return on May 21, 2011...He was wrong...only about the when...Jesus most assuredly is COMING AGAIN! The problem for Camping is that no one knows the hour or the day...listed below is an article on the World Net Daily website that I believe you will find most interesting:
http://www.wnd.com/index.php/index.php?pageId=304105
This facinating and I encourage you to go there and read it....
http://www.wnd.com/index.php/index.php?pageId=304105
This facinating and I encourage you to go there and read it....
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Osama Bin Laden
In the words of Joel Rosenberg...
OSAMA BIN LADEN NOW IN HELL
Hamas condemns killing of "holy warrior" bin Laden
How the U.S. tracked down bin Laden
Minute-by-minute: The operation to get bin Laden
The long American nightmare is over. Osama bin Laden has been brought to justice, killed in Pakistan yesterday by U.S. commandos after a decade-long hunt. Justice has been served. But let's be clear: bin Laden is not now in Paradise with 72 virgins.
Bin Laden was a fanatical Radical Sunni Muslim. He hated the Lord Jesus Christ. He hated and cursed Christians and Jews. He murdered Christians and Jews and others; recruited, trained and deployed thousands of others Muslims to murder Christians, Jews and others; and pursued a life of sheer evil defiance of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Unless he truly and sincerely repented at the last possible moment and received Jesus Christ as His Lord and Savior - unlikely given the speed of the raid - he is now burning in the fires of Hell.
In the days ahead, I'll analyze how the death of bin Laden could affect the U.S., Israel and the world. But it is important to first understand the conclusion of his life. Bin Laden was deeply religious and deeply sincere, I have no doubt. But he was sincerely wrong, and the Bible teaches there is a consequence to defying the One True God.
Hell is not a topic much discussed in our world today, even by many Christians. Some pastors choose not to teach what the Bible says about Hell. One high-profile American pastor, Rob Bell, recently published a book - Love Wins – denying that Hell is real. "A staggering number of people have been taught that a select few Christians will spend forever in a peaceful, joyous place called heaven, while the rest of humanity spends forever in torment and punishment in hell with no chance for anything better," writes Bell. "It's been clearly communicated to many that this belief is a central truth of the Christian faith and to reject it is, in essence, to reject Jesus. This is misguided and toxic and ultimately subverts the contagious spread of Jesus' message of love, peace, forgiveness, and joy that our world desperately needs to hear."
As difficult as it is to conceive of such a place of eternal torment - indeed, no one wants to think about it - its reality is exactly what the Bible teaches. Indeed, since Jesus was God incarnate - all-seeing, all-knowing, all-loving - He knew all too well the reality of Hell. He came to Earth to pay the penalty for our sins and to rescue all who would follow Him from having to spend their eternity there. In fact, Jesus taught more about Hell than He did about heaven. Why? Because He loved all people so much that He wanted to save the from eternal damnation. He wanted them to understand the choice of rejecting the Messiah. And He wanted to give each of us a way of escape, if only we would say yes by faith.
Jesus said in Matthew 10:28, "Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in Hell."
Jesus said in Mark 9:43, "If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life crippled, than, having your two hands, to go into Hell, into the unquenchable fire."
Jesus said to corrupt, hypocritical religious leaders in Matthew 23:33, "You serpents, you brood of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of Hell?"
Jesus said in John 3:16-18, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish [die and be condemned to suffer in Hell forever and ever and ever], but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."
Jesus said in Matthew 10:32-39, "Therefore, everyone who confesses Me before men, I will confess him before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father in heaven…..He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take up his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who has found his life who lose it [in Hell], and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it [in heaven]."
Hell is real. And it's not only mass murderers like bin Laden who go there. The Bible says that unless we receive Jesus as our Savior and accept His payment for our sins, we will all end up there. May you choose eternal life instead. Why not today?
OSAMA BIN LADEN NOW IN HELL
Hamas condemns killing of "holy warrior" bin Laden
How the U.S. tracked down bin Laden
Minute-by-minute: The operation to get bin Laden
The long American nightmare is over. Osama bin Laden has been brought to justice, killed in Pakistan yesterday by U.S. commandos after a decade-long hunt. Justice has been served. But let's be clear: bin Laden is not now in Paradise with 72 virgins.
Bin Laden was a fanatical Radical Sunni Muslim. He hated the Lord Jesus Christ. He hated and cursed Christians and Jews. He murdered Christians and Jews and others; recruited, trained and deployed thousands of others Muslims to murder Christians, Jews and others; and pursued a life of sheer evil defiance of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Unless he truly and sincerely repented at the last possible moment and received Jesus Christ as His Lord and Savior - unlikely given the speed of the raid - he is now burning in the fires of Hell.
In the days ahead, I'll analyze how the death of bin Laden could affect the U.S., Israel and the world. But it is important to first understand the conclusion of his life. Bin Laden was deeply religious and deeply sincere, I have no doubt. But he was sincerely wrong, and the Bible teaches there is a consequence to defying the One True God.
Hell is not a topic much discussed in our world today, even by many Christians. Some pastors choose not to teach what the Bible says about Hell. One high-profile American pastor, Rob Bell, recently published a book - Love Wins – denying that Hell is real. "A staggering number of people have been taught that a select few Christians will spend forever in a peaceful, joyous place called heaven, while the rest of humanity spends forever in torment and punishment in hell with no chance for anything better," writes Bell. "It's been clearly communicated to many that this belief is a central truth of the Christian faith and to reject it is, in essence, to reject Jesus. This is misguided and toxic and ultimately subverts the contagious spread of Jesus' message of love, peace, forgiveness, and joy that our world desperately needs to hear."
As difficult as it is to conceive of such a place of eternal torment - indeed, no one wants to think about it - its reality is exactly what the Bible teaches. Indeed, since Jesus was God incarnate - all-seeing, all-knowing, all-loving - He knew all too well the reality of Hell. He came to Earth to pay the penalty for our sins and to rescue all who would follow Him from having to spend their eternity there. In fact, Jesus taught more about Hell than He did about heaven. Why? Because He loved all people so much that He wanted to save the from eternal damnation. He wanted them to understand the choice of rejecting the Messiah. And He wanted to give each of us a way of escape, if only we would say yes by faith.
Jesus said in Matthew 10:28, "Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in Hell."
Jesus said in Mark 9:43, "If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life crippled, than, having your two hands, to go into Hell, into the unquenchable fire."
Jesus said to corrupt, hypocritical religious leaders in Matthew 23:33, "You serpents, you brood of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of Hell?"
Jesus said in John 3:16-18, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish [die and be condemned to suffer in Hell forever and ever and ever], but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."
Jesus said in Matthew 10:32-39, "Therefore, everyone who confesses Me before men, I will confess him before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father in heaven…..He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take up his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who has found his life who lose it [in Hell], and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it [in heaven]."
Hell is real. And it's not only mass murderers like bin Laden who go there. The Bible says that unless we receive Jesus as our Savior and accept His payment for our sins, we will all end up there. May you choose eternal life instead. Why not today?
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Oil & Gas Prices
Taking a foray into the world of politics (As it has been a while since I have done that)...here is a little diddy I ran across at http://www.powerlineblog.com/
GAS PAINS AND INFINITE LIBERAL STUPIDITY
6 Responses
Share
46
Share Post PrintApril 26, 2011 Posted by Steven Hayward at 12:34 PM
The Obama Administration is clearly the most anti-energy administration ever. Will Collier has a noteworthy item up today over at PajamasMedia on soaring gasoline prices and the Obama Administration's hypocritical policy of paying lip service to increased oil production at home while doing everything possible to hinder any real increase in domestic oil production. (For example, Greg Pollowitz notes over at NRO's Planet Gore that the Obama EPA has once again denied an operating permit for Shell Oil to begin drilling offshore in Alaska--where there is an estimated 27 billion barrels of crude to be had--on a lease where Shell has shelled out over $6 billion to get started.)
Collier points out that the last time world oil prices surged, to $145 a barrel in July 2008, President Bush ended the moratorium on additional offshore drilling by executive order, and oil prices began falling the next day. Coincidence? Collier thinks not, and makes a strong case.
But there's two other aspects of our current moment that bear noting. First, remember that Obama said that under his energy policy prices "would necessarily skyrocket." Okay, he was talking about electricity prices, but keep in mind that his Energy Secretary, Stephen Chu (who, we are always reminded is a Nobel Prize winner--almost as often as we're reminded that John Kerry served in Vietnam) said back in his earliest days for Obama that gasoline prices in the U.S. should rise to European levels. Well, now that we're getting closer to European price levels, what exactly is the problem?
Just this: high prices for energy are only fun, for a liberal, if they're the result of a tax. If they are the result of market forces (along with stupid government policy), then it's "speculation," or "price-gouging" by the oil companies, or even some dark conspiracy that is never borne out upon investigation. In other words, if the government slapped a $2 tax on gasoline, it would be "enlightened," but if supply and demand drives the price up, it's "gouging."
But that's only the beginning of liberal illiteracy on energy. Liberals have been wrong on energy for as long as I can remember. I recall in The Age of Reagan how liberals reacted to Reagan's decontrol of oil prices, executed on his first day in office:
The conventional wisdom was that oil prices would surely head higher as a result of Reagan's move. Democrats and liberal interest groups seemed to compete with each other for the most fulsome expression of economic illiteracy. In the annals of public policy prognostication it is difficult to find such a wide assembly of wrongheadedness. Sen. Howard Metzenbaum of Ohio said took to the Senate floor the next day to predict that "we will see $1.50 gas this spring, and maybe before. And it is just a matter of time until the oil companies and their associates, the OPEC nations, will be driving gasoline pump prices up to $2 a gallon." Sen. Don Riegle of Michigan said that "It will hurt our people within a matter of days." Sen. Dale Bumpers of Arkansas had previously predicted that "without rationing, gasoline will soon go to $3 a gallon," and now added that "Decontrol is designed to see how much we can squeeze out of the American people before they take to the streets." Maine's Sen. George Mitchell said "Every citizen and every family will find their living standards reduced by this decision." Democratic Congressman Ed Markey said "I believe that decontrol as a cure will prove to be worse than the disease of oil addiction." A Naderite advocacy group predicted that oil prices might go as high as $870 a barrel "under assumptions which many experts believe are realistic." Instead oil prices started falling almost immediately; from an average high of $1.41 in February 1981, pump prices fell steadily to a national average of 89 cents a gallon in the spring of 1986. Oil imports from OPEC fell by 2 million barrels a day by the end of 1982.
Keep this in mind the next time a liberal says more oil production in the U.S. won't do any good.
GAS PAINS AND INFINITE LIBERAL STUPIDITY
6 Responses
Share
46
Share Post PrintApril 26, 2011 Posted by Steven Hayward at 12:34 PM
The Obama Administration is clearly the most anti-energy administration ever. Will Collier has a noteworthy item up today over at PajamasMedia on soaring gasoline prices and the Obama Administration's hypocritical policy of paying lip service to increased oil production at home while doing everything possible to hinder any real increase in domestic oil production. (For example, Greg Pollowitz notes over at NRO's Planet Gore that the Obama EPA has once again denied an operating permit for Shell Oil to begin drilling offshore in Alaska--where there is an estimated 27 billion barrels of crude to be had--on a lease where Shell has shelled out over $6 billion to get started.)
Collier points out that the last time world oil prices surged, to $145 a barrel in July 2008, President Bush ended the moratorium on additional offshore drilling by executive order, and oil prices began falling the next day. Coincidence? Collier thinks not, and makes a strong case.
But there's two other aspects of our current moment that bear noting. First, remember that Obama said that under his energy policy prices "would necessarily skyrocket." Okay, he was talking about electricity prices, but keep in mind that his Energy Secretary, Stephen Chu (who, we are always reminded is a Nobel Prize winner--almost as often as we're reminded that John Kerry served in Vietnam) said back in his earliest days for Obama that gasoline prices in the U.S. should rise to European levels. Well, now that we're getting closer to European price levels, what exactly is the problem?
Just this: high prices for energy are only fun, for a liberal, if they're the result of a tax. If they are the result of market forces (along with stupid government policy), then it's "speculation," or "price-gouging" by the oil companies, or even some dark conspiracy that is never borne out upon investigation. In other words, if the government slapped a $2 tax on gasoline, it would be "enlightened," but if supply and demand drives the price up, it's "gouging."
But that's only the beginning of liberal illiteracy on energy. Liberals have been wrong on energy for as long as I can remember. I recall in The Age of Reagan how liberals reacted to Reagan's decontrol of oil prices, executed on his first day in office:
The conventional wisdom was that oil prices would surely head higher as a result of Reagan's move. Democrats and liberal interest groups seemed to compete with each other for the most fulsome expression of economic illiteracy. In the annals of public policy prognostication it is difficult to find such a wide assembly of wrongheadedness. Sen. Howard Metzenbaum of Ohio said took to the Senate floor the next day to predict that "we will see $1.50 gas this spring, and maybe before. And it is just a matter of time until the oil companies and their associates, the OPEC nations, will be driving gasoline pump prices up to $2 a gallon." Sen. Don Riegle of Michigan said that "It will hurt our people within a matter of days." Sen. Dale Bumpers of Arkansas had previously predicted that "without rationing, gasoline will soon go to $3 a gallon," and now added that "Decontrol is designed to see how much we can squeeze out of the American people before they take to the streets." Maine's Sen. George Mitchell said "Every citizen and every family will find their living standards reduced by this decision." Democratic Congressman Ed Markey said "I believe that decontrol as a cure will prove to be worse than the disease of oil addiction." A Naderite advocacy group predicted that oil prices might go as high as $870 a barrel "under assumptions which many experts believe are realistic." Instead oil prices started falling almost immediately; from an average high of $1.41 in February 1981, pump prices fell steadily to a national average of 89 cents a gallon in the spring of 1986. Oil imports from OPEC fell by 2 million barrels a day by the end of 1982.
Keep this in mind the next time a liberal says more oil production in the U.S. won't do any good.
Monday, April 25, 2011
It's Over!
The title of this evenings blog says it all: "It's Over!"...i am through with all the fretting over what a few people have done and I am done with worrying about what tomorrow will bring...I know that I know that I know that my Redeemer Lives! Jesus Christ has conquered the grave, the power of sin and one day the very presence of sin! He has risen as Savior and Lord of all.
Paul puts it this way in Ephesians 1:15-23, "Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16 do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, 18 the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power 20 which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. 22 And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all."
Folks, Jesus is in control! He is in control of all things and nothing happens to His children that does not pass first through His sovereign hands...that means that all of the things that I have been through over this last 3 1/2 years have first gone through the Savior's hand and knowledge and even though I may NEVER know why...hear me...even though I may NEVER know why, I still trust HIM!
Thank you oh God for your patience with me over these last 4 months...Thank you for Your great love and mercy...Thank You for your grace which is more than sufficient to meet every need that we may have!
I would encourage you today that if you are wondering what Jesus is all about...leave me a comment with any question that you may have and allow me to share the greatest love that the world has ever known with you! Go ahead, I won't bite!
Paul puts it this way in Ephesians 1:15-23, "Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16 do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, 18 the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power 20 which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. 22 And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all."
Folks, Jesus is in control! He is in control of all things and nothing happens to His children that does not pass first through His sovereign hands...that means that all of the things that I have been through over this last 3 1/2 years have first gone through the Savior's hand and knowledge and even though I may NEVER know why...hear me...even though I may NEVER know why, I still trust HIM!
Thank you oh God for your patience with me over these last 4 months...Thank you for Your great love and mercy...Thank You for your grace which is more than sufficient to meet every need that we may have!
I would encourage you today that if you are wondering what Jesus is all about...leave me a comment with any question that you may have and allow me to share the greatest love that the world has ever known with you! Go ahead, I won't bite!
Friday, April 22, 2011
Easter...The Crucifixion From A Doctor's Viewpoint
Good evening...Easter is This Sunday...April 24, 2011...the day where the Christian world stands together to proclaim that He is Risen, He is Risen Indeed!
I hear sometimes that people say, "Jesus didn't really die, He just swooned on the Cross and was later brought back"...Below is the crucifixion from the point of view of a Medical Doctor...read, and then reflect on what Jesus actually went through FOR YOU!
A Physician's View of the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ
By Dr. C. Truman Davis
Guest Writer
CBN.com - WARNING: MATERIAL IN THIS ARTICLE MAY BE UNSUITABLE FOR YOUNGER CHILDREN. PARENTAL DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
About a decade ago, reading Jim Bishop’s The Day Christ Died, I realized that I had for years taken the Crucifixion more or less for granted — that I had grown callous to its horror by a too easy familiarity with the grim details and a too distant friendship with our Lord. It finally occurred to me that, though a physician, I didn’t even know the actual immediate cause of death. The Gospel writers don’t help us much on this point, because crucifixion and scourging were so common during their lifetime that they apparently considered a detailed description unnecessary.
So we have only the concise words of the Evangelists: “Pilate, having scourged Jesus, delivered Him to them to be crucified — and they crucified Him.” I have no competence to discuss the infinite psychic and spiritual suffering of the Incarnate God atoning for the sins of fallen man. But it seemed to me that as a physician I might pursue the physiological and anatomical aspects of our Lord’s passion in some detail.
What did the body of Jesus of Nazareth actually endure during those hours of torture?
This led me first to a study of the practice of crucifixion itself; that is, torture and execution by fixation to a cross. I am indebted to many who have studied this subject in the past, and especially to a contemporary colleague, Dr. Pierre Barbet, a French surgeon who has done exhaustive historical and experimental research and has written extensively on the subject.
Apparently, the first known practice of crucifixion was by the Persians. Alexander and his generals brought it back to the Mediterranean world — to Egypt and to Carthage. The Romans apparently learned the practice from the Carthaginians and (as with almost everything the Romans did) rapidly developed a very high degree of efficiency and skill at it. A number of Roman authors (Livy, Cicer, Tacitus) comment on crucifixion, and several innovations, modifications, and variations are described in the ancient literature. For instance, the upright portion of the cross (or stipes) could have the cross-arm (or patibulum) attached two or three feet below its top in what we commonly think of as the Latin cross. The most common form used in our Lord’s day, however, was the Tau cross, shaped like our T.
In this cross, the patibulum was placed in a notch at the top of the stipes. There is archeological evidence that it was on this type of cross that Jesus was crucified. Without any historical or biblical proof, Medieval and Renaissance painters have given us our picture of Christ carrying the entire cross. But the upright post, or stipes, was generally fixed permanently in the ground at the site of execution and the condemned man was forced to carry the patibulum, weighing about 110 pounds, from the prison to the place of execution.
Many of the painters and most of the sculptors of crucifixion, also show the nails through the palms. Historical Roman accounts and experimental work have established that the nails were driven between the small bones of the wrists (radial and ulna) and not through the palms. Nails driven through the palms will strip out between the fingers when made to support the weight of the human body. The misconception may have come about through a misunderstanding of Jesus’ words to Thomas, “Observe my hands.” Anatomists, both modern and ancient, have always considered the wrist as part of the hand.
A titulus, or small sign, stating the victim’s crime was usually placed on a staff, carried at the front of the procession from the prison, and later nailed to the cross so that it extended above the head. This sign with its staff nailed to the top of the cross would have given it somewhat the characteristic form of the Latin cross.
But, of course, the physical passion of the Christ began in Gethsemane. Of the many aspects of this initial suffering, the one of greatest physiological interest is the bloody sweat. It is interesting that St. Luke, the physician, is the only one to mention this. He says, “And being in agony, He prayed the longer. And His sweat became as drops of blood, trickling down upon the ground.” Every ruse (trick) imaginable has been used by modern scholars to explain away this description, apparently under the mistaken impression that this just doesn’t happen. A great deal of effort could have been saved had the doubters consulted the medical literature. Though very rare, the phenomenon of Hematidrosis, or bloody sweat, is well documented. Under great emotional stress of the kind our Lord suffered, tiny capillaries in the sweat glands can break, thus mixing blood with sweat. This process might well have produced marked weakness and possible shock.
After the arrest in the middle of the night, Jesus was next brought before the Sanhedrin and Caiphus, the High Priest; it is here that the first physical trauma was inflicted. A soldier struck Jesus across the face for remaining silent when questioned by Caiphus. The palace guards then blind-folded Him and mockingly taunted Him to identify them as they each passed by, spat upon Him, and struck Him in the face.
In the early morning, battered and bruised, dehydrated, and exhausted from a sleepless night, Jesus is taken across the Praetorium of the Fortress Antonia, the seat of government of the Procurator of Judea, Pontius Pilate. You are, of course, familiar with Pilate’s action in attempting to pass responsibility to Herod Antipas, the Tetrarch of Judea. Jesus apparently suffered no physical mistreatment at the hands of Herod and was returned to Pilate.
It was then, in response to the cries of the mob, that Pilate ordered Bar-Abbas released and condemned Jesus to scourging and crucifixion. There is much disagreement among authorities about the unusual scourging as a prelude to crucifixion. Most Roman writers from this period do not associate the two. Many scholars believe that Pilate originally ordered Jesus scourged as his full punishment and that the death sentence by crucifixion came only in response to the taunt by the mob that the Procurator was not properly defending Caesar against this pretender who allegedly claimed to be the King of the Jews. Preparations for the scourging were carried out when the Prisoner was stripped of His clothing and His hands tied to a post above His head. It is doubtful the Romans would have made any attempt to follow the Jewish law in this matter, but the Jews had an ancient law prohibiting more than forty lashes. The Roman legionnaire steps forward with the flagrum (or flagellum) in his hand. This is a short whip consisting of several heavy, leather thongs with two small balls of lead attached near the ends of each. The heavy whip is brought down with full force again and again across Jesus’ shoulders, back, and legs.
At first the thongs cut through the skin only. Then, as the blows continue, they cut deeper into the subcutaneous tissues, producing first an oozing of blood from the capillaries and veins of the skin, and finally spurting arterial bleeding from vessels in the underlying muscles. The small balls of lead first produce large, deep bruises which are broken open by subsequent blows. Finally the skin of the back is hanging in long ribbons and the entire area is an unrecognizable mass of torn, bleeding tissue. When it is determined by the centurion in charge that the prisoner is near death, the beating is finally stopped. The half-fainting Jesus is then untied and allowed to slump to the stone pavement, wet with His own blood.
The Roman soldiers see a great joke in this provincial Jew claiming to be king. They throw a robe across His shoulders and place a stick in His hand for a scepter. They still need a crown to make their travesty complete. Flexible branches covered with long thorns (commonly used in bundles for firewood) are plaited into the shape of a crown and this is pressed into His scalp. Again there is copious bleeding, the scalp being one of the most vascular areas of the body.
After mocking Him and striking Him across the face, the soldiers take the stick from His hand and strike Him across the head, driving the thorns deeper into His scalp. Finally, they tire of their sadistic sport and the robe is torn from His back. Already having adhered to the clots of blood and serum in the wounds, its removal causes excruciating pain just as in the careless removal of a surgical bandage, and almost as though He were again being whipped the wounds once more begin to bleed. In deference to Jewish custom, the Romans return His garments. The heavy patibulum of the cross is tied across His shoulders, and the procession of the condemned Christ, two thieves, and the execution detail of Roman soldiers headed by a centurion begins its slow journey along the Via Dolorosa.
In spite of His efforts to walk erect, the weight of the heavy wooden beam, together with the shock produced by copious blood loss, is too much. He stumbles and falls. The rough wood of the beam gouges into the lacerated skin and muscles of the shoulders. He tries to rise, but human muscles have been pushed beyond their endurance. The centurion, anxious to get on with the crucifixion, selects a stalwart North African onlooker, Simon of Cyrene, to carry the cross. Jesus follows, still bleeding and sweating the cold, clammy sweat of shock, until the 650 yard journey from the fortress Antonia to Golgotha is finally completed. Jesus is offered wine mixed with myrrh, a mild analgesic mixture. He refuses to drink. Simon is ordered to place the patibulum on the ground and Jesus quickly thrown backward with His shoulders against the wood. The legionnaire feels for the depression at the front of the wrist. He drives a heavy, square, wrought-iron nail through the wrist and deep into the wood. Quickly, he moves to the other side and repeats the action, being careful not to pull the arms to tightly, but to allow some flexion and movement. The patibulum is then lifted in place at the top of the stipes and the titulus reading, “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews,” is nailed in place.
The left foot is now pressed backward against the right foot, and with both feet extended, toes down, a nail is driven through the arch of each, leaving the knees moderately flexed. The Victim is now crucified. As He slowly sags down with more weight on the nails in the wrists, excruciating pain shoots along the fingers and up the arms to explode in the brain — the nails in the wrists are putting pressure on the median nerves.
As He pushes Himself upward to avoid this stretching torment, He places His full weight on the nail through His feet. Again there is the searing agony of the nail tearing through the nerves between the metatarsal bones of the feet. At this point, as the arms fatigue, great waves of cramps sweep over the muscles, knotting them in deep, relentless, throbbing pain. With these cramps comes the inability to push Himself upward. Hanging by his arms, the pectoral muscles are paralyzed and the intercostal muscles are unable to act. Air can be drawn into the lungs, but cannot be exhaled. Jesus fights to raise Himself in order to get even one short breath. Finally, carbon dioxide builds up in the lungs and in the blood stream and the cramps partially subside. Spasmodically, he is able to push Himself upward to exhale and bring in the life-giving oxygen.
It was undoubtedly during these periods that He uttered the seven short sentences recorded:
The first, looking down at the Roman soldiers throwing dice for His seamless garment, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.”
The second, to the penitent thief, “Today thou shalt be with me in Paradise.”
The third, looking down at the terrified, grief-stricken adolescent John — the beloved Apostle — he said, “Behold thy mother.” Then, looking to His mother Mary, “Woman behold thy son.”
The fourth cry is from the beginning of the 22nd Psalm, “My God, my God, why has thou forsaken me?”
Jesus experienced hours of limitless pain, cycles of twisting, joint-rending cramps, intermittent partial asphyxiation, searing pain where tissue is torn from His lacerated back as He moves up and down against the rough timber. Then another agony begins -- a terrible crushing pain deep in the chest as the pericardium slowly fills with serum and begins to compress the heart. One remembers again the 22nd Psalm, the 14th verse: “I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels.”
It is now almost over. The loss of tissue fluids has reached a critical level; the compressed heart is struggling to pump heavy, thick, sluggish blood into the tissue; the tortured lungs are making a frantic effort to gasp in small gulps of air. The markedly dehydrated tissues send their flood of stimuli to the brain. Jesus gasps His fifth cry, “I thirst.” One remembers another verse from the prophetic 22nd Psalm: “My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou has brought me into the dust of death.” A sponge soaked in posca, the cheap, sour wine which is the staple drink of the Roman legionaries, is lifted to His lips. He apparently doesn’t take any of the liquid.
The body of Jesus is now in extremes, and He can feel the chill of death creeping through His tissues. This realization brings out His sixth words, possibly little more than a tortured whisper, “It is finished.” His mission of atonement has completed. Finally He can allow his body to die.
With one last surge of strength, he once again presses His torn feet against the nail, straightens His legs, takes a deeper breath, and utters His seventh and last cry, “Father! Into thy hands I commit my spirit.”
The rest you know. In order that the Sabbath not be profaned, the Jews asked that the condemned men be dispatched and removed from the crosses. The common method of ending a crucifixion was by crurifracture, the breaking of the bones of the legs. This prevented the victim from pushing himself upward; thus the tension could not be relieved from the muscles of the chest and rapid suffocation occurred. The legs of the two thieves were broken, but when the soldiers came to Jesus they saw that this was unnecessary.
Apparently, to make doubly sure of death, the legionnaire drove his lance through the fifth interspace between the ribs, upward through the pericardium and into the heart. The 34th verse of the 19th chapter of the Gospel according to St. John reports: “And immediately there came out blood and water.” That is, there was an escape of water fluid from the sac surrounding the heart, giving postmortem evidence that Our Lord died not the usual crucifixion death by suffocation, but of heart failure (a broken heart) due to shock and constriction of the heart by fluid in the pericardium.
Thus we have had our glimpse — including the medical evidence — of that epitome of evil which man has exhibited toward Man and toward God. It has been a terrible sight, and more than enough to leave us despondent and depressed. How grateful we can be that we have the great sequel in the infinite mercy of God toward man — at once the miracle of the atonement (at one ment) and the expectation of the triumphant Easter morning.
Are you moved by what Jesus did for you on the cross? Do you want to receive the salvation Jesus purchased for you at Calvary with His own blood? Pray this prayer with me:
Dear Lord Jesus,
I know that I am a sinner and need your forgiveness. I believe that You died on the cross for my sins and rose from the grave to give me life. I know You are the only way to God so now I want to quit disobeying You and start living for You. Please forgive me, change my life and show me how to know You. In Jesus' name. Amen.
If you prayed that prayer, please click here to let us know
Or you can call our CBN Prayer Counseling Center at (800) 759-0700. We would love to talk with you and send you some resources to help you begin your walk with the Lord.
How you can know you are forgiven:
The Bible, God's Word says: You were saved by faith in God, who treats us much better that we deserve. This is God's gift to you, and you have done nothing on your own (Ephesians 2:8).
For those who put their faith in Jesus: He gave them the right to be the children of God... God Himself was the one who made them His children (John 1:12-13).
I hear sometimes that people say, "Jesus didn't really die, He just swooned on the Cross and was later brought back"...Below is the crucifixion from the point of view of a Medical Doctor...read, and then reflect on what Jesus actually went through FOR YOU!
A Physician's View of the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ
By Dr. C. Truman Davis
Guest Writer
CBN.com - WARNING: MATERIAL IN THIS ARTICLE MAY BE UNSUITABLE FOR YOUNGER CHILDREN. PARENTAL DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
About a decade ago, reading Jim Bishop’s The Day Christ Died, I realized that I had for years taken the Crucifixion more or less for granted — that I had grown callous to its horror by a too easy familiarity with the grim details and a too distant friendship with our Lord. It finally occurred to me that, though a physician, I didn’t even know the actual immediate cause of death. The Gospel writers don’t help us much on this point, because crucifixion and scourging were so common during their lifetime that they apparently considered a detailed description unnecessary.
So we have only the concise words of the Evangelists: “Pilate, having scourged Jesus, delivered Him to them to be crucified — and they crucified Him.” I have no competence to discuss the infinite psychic and spiritual suffering of the Incarnate God atoning for the sins of fallen man. But it seemed to me that as a physician I might pursue the physiological and anatomical aspects of our Lord’s passion in some detail.
What did the body of Jesus of Nazareth actually endure during those hours of torture?
This led me first to a study of the practice of crucifixion itself; that is, torture and execution by fixation to a cross. I am indebted to many who have studied this subject in the past, and especially to a contemporary colleague, Dr. Pierre Barbet, a French surgeon who has done exhaustive historical and experimental research and has written extensively on the subject.
Apparently, the first known practice of crucifixion was by the Persians. Alexander and his generals brought it back to the Mediterranean world — to Egypt and to Carthage. The Romans apparently learned the practice from the Carthaginians and (as with almost everything the Romans did) rapidly developed a very high degree of efficiency and skill at it. A number of Roman authors (Livy, Cicer, Tacitus) comment on crucifixion, and several innovations, modifications, and variations are described in the ancient literature. For instance, the upright portion of the cross (or stipes) could have the cross-arm (or patibulum) attached two or three feet below its top in what we commonly think of as the Latin cross. The most common form used in our Lord’s day, however, was the Tau cross, shaped like our T.
In this cross, the patibulum was placed in a notch at the top of the stipes. There is archeological evidence that it was on this type of cross that Jesus was crucified. Without any historical or biblical proof, Medieval and Renaissance painters have given us our picture of Christ carrying the entire cross. But the upright post, or stipes, was generally fixed permanently in the ground at the site of execution and the condemned man was forced to carry the patibulum, weighing about 110 pounds, from the prison to the place of execution.
Many of the painters and most of the sculptors of crucifixion, also show the nails through the palms. Historical Roman accounts and experimental work have established that the nails were driven between the small bones of the wrists (radial and ulna) and not through the palms. Nails driven through the palms will strip out between the fingers when made to support the weight of the human body. The misconception may have come about through a misunderstanding of Jesus’ words to Thomas, “Observe my hands.” Anatomists, both modern and ancient, have always considered the wrist as part of the hand.
A titulus, or small sign, stating the victim’s crime was usually placed on a staff, carried at the front of the procession from the prison, and later nailed to the cross so that it extended above the head. This sign with its staff nailed to the top of the cross would have given it somewhat the characteristic form of the Latin cross.
But, of course, the physical passion of the Christ began in Gethsemane. Of the many aspects of this initial suffering, the one of greatest physiological interest is the bloody sweat. It is interesting that St. Luke, the physician, is the only one to mention this. He says, “And being in agony, He prayed the longer. And His sweat became as drops of blood, trickling down upon the ground.” Every ruse (trick) imaginable has been used by modern scholars to explain away this description, apparently under the mistaken impression that this just doesn’t happen. A great deal of effort could have been saved had the doubters consulted the medical literature. Though very rare, the phenomenon of Hematidrosis, or bloody sweat, is well documented. Under great emotional stress of the kind our Lord suffered, tiny capillaries in the sweat glands can break, thus mixing blood with sweat. This process might well have produced marked weakness and possible shock.
After the arrest in the middle of the night, Jesus was next brought before the Sanhedrin and Caiphus, the High Priest; it is here that the first physical trauma was inflicted. A soldier struck Jesus across the face for remaining silent when questioned by Caiphus. The palace guards then blind-folded Him and mockingly taunted Him to identify them as they each passed by, spat upon Him, and struck Him in the face.
In the early morning, battered and bruised, dehydrated, and exhausted from a sleepless night, Jesus is taken across the Praetorium of the Fortress Antonia, the seat of government of the Procurator of Judea, Pontius Pilate. You are, of course, familiar with Pilate’s action in attempting to pass responsibility to Herod Antipas, the Tetrarch of Judea. Jesus apparently suffered no physical mistreatment at the hands of Herod and was returned to Pilate.
It was then, in response to the cries of the mob, that Pilate ordered Bar-Abbas released and condemned Jesus to scourging and crucifixion. There is much disagreement among authorities about the unusual scourging as a prelude to crucifixion. Most Roman writers from this period do not associate the two. Many scholars believe that Pilate originally ordered Jesus scourged as his full punishment and that the death sentence by crucifixion came only in response to the taunt by the mob that the Procurator was not properly defending Caesar against this pretender who allegedly claimed to be the King of the Jews. Preparations for the scourging were carried out when the Prisoner was stripped of His clothing and His hands tied to a post above His head. It is doubtful the Romans would have made any attempt to follow the Jewish law in this matter, but the Jews had an ancient law prohibiting more than forty lashes. The Roman legionnaire steps forward with the flagrum (or flagellum) in his hand. This is a short whip consisting of several heavy, leather thongs with two small balls of lead attached near the ends of each. The heavy whip is brought down with full force again and again across Jesus’ shoulders, back, and legs.
At first the thongs cut through the skin only. Then, as the blows continue, they cut deeper into the subcutaneous tissues, producing first an oozing of blood from the capillaries and veins of the skin, and finally spurting arterial bleeding from vessels in the underlying muscles. The small balls of lead first produce large, deep bruises which are broken open by subsequent blows. Finally the skin of the back is hanging in long ribbons and the entire area is an unrecognizable mass of torn, bleeding tissue. When it is determined by the centurion in charge that the prisoner is near death, the beating is finally stopped. The half-fainting Jesus is then untied and allowed to slump to the stone pavement, wet with His own blood.
The Roman soldiers see a great joke in this provincial Jew claiming to be king. They throw a robe across His shoulders and place a stick in His hand for a scepter. They still need a crown to make their travesty complete. Flexible branches covered with long thorns (commonly used in bundles for firewood) are plaited into the shape of a crown and this is pressed into His scalp. Again there is copious bleeding, the scalp being one of the most vascular areas of the body.
After mocking Him and striking Him across the face, the soldiers take the stick from His hand and strike Him across the head, driving the thorns deeper into His scalp. Finally, they tire of their sadistic sport and the robe is torn from His back. Already having adhered to the clots of blood and serum in the wounds, its removal causes excruciating pain just as in the careless removal of a surgical bandage, and almost as though He were again being whipped the wounds once more begin to bleed. In deference to Jewish custom, the Romans return His garments. The heavy patibulum of the cross is tied across His shoulders, and the procession of the condemned Christ, two thieves, and the execution detail of Roman soldiers headed by a centurion begins its slow journey along the Via Dolorosa.
In spite of His efforts to walk erect, the weight of the heavy wooden beam, together with the shock produced by copious blood loss, is too much. He stumbles and falls. The rough wood of the beam gouges into the lacerated skin and muscles of the shoulders. He tries to rise, but human muscles have been pushed beyond their endurance. The centurion, anxious to get on with the crucifixion, selects a stalwart North African onlooker, Simon of Cyrene, to carry the cross. Jesus follows, still bleeding and sweating the cold, clammy sweat of shock, until the 650 yard journey from the fortress Antonia to Golgotha is finally completed. Jesus is offered wine mixed with myrrh, a mild analgesic mixture. He refuses to drink. Simon is ordered to place the patibulum on the ground and Jesus quickly thrown backward with His shoulders against the wood. The legionnaire feels for the depression at the front of the wrist. He drives a heavy, square, wrought-iron nail through the wrist and deep into the wood. Quickly, he moves to the other side and repeats the action, being careful not to pull the arms to tightly, but to allow some flexion and movement. The patibulum is then lifted in place at the top of the stipes and the titulus reading, “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews,” is nailed in place.
The left foot is now pressed backward against the right foot, and with both feet extended, toes down, a nail is driven through the arch of each, leaving the knees moderately flexed. The Victim is now crucified. As He slowly sags down with more weight on the nails in the wrists, excruciating pain shoots along the fingers and up the arms to explode in the brain — the nails in the wrists are putting pressure on the median nerves.
As He pushes Himself upward to avoid this stretching torment, He places His full weight on the nail through His feet. Again there is the searing agony of the nail tearing through the nerves between the metatarsal bones of the feet. At this point, as the arms fatigue, great waves of cramps sweep over the muscles, knotting them in deep, relentless, throbbing pain. With these cramps comes the inability to push Himself upward. Hanging by his arms, the pectoral muscles are paralyzed and the intercostal muscles are unable to act. Air can be drawn into the lungs, but cannot be exhaled. Jesus fights to raise Himself in order to get even one short breath. Finally, carbon dioxide builds up in the lungs and in the blood stream and the cramps partially subside. Spasmodically, he is able to push Himself upward to exhale and bring in the life-giving oxygen.
It was undoubtedly during these periods that He uttered the seven short sentences recorded:
The first, looking down at the Roman soldiers throwing dice for His seamless garment, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.”
The second, to the penitent thief, “Today thou shalt be with me in Paradise.”
The third, looking down at the terrified, grief-stricken adolescent John — the beloved Apostle — he said, “Behold thy mother.” Then, looking to His mother Mary, “Woman behold thy son.”
The fourth cry is from the beginning of the 22nd Psalm, “My God, my God, why has thou forsaken me?”
Jesus experienced hours of limitless pain, cycles of twisting, joint-rending cramps, intermittent partial asphyxiation, searing pain where tissue is torn from His lacerated back as He moves up and down against the rough timber. Then another agony begins -- a terrible crushing pain deep in the chest as the pericardium slowly fills with serum and begins to compress the heart. One remembers again the 22nd Psalm, the 14th verse: “I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels.”
It is now almost over. The loss of tissue fluids has reached a critical level; the compressed heart is struggling to pump heavy, thick, sluggish blood into the tissue; the tortured lungs are making a frantic effort to gasp in small gulps of air. The markedly dehydrated tissues send their flood of stimuli to the brain. Jesus gasps His fifth cry, “I thirst.” One remembers another verse from the prophetic 22nd Psalm: “My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou has brought me into the dust of death.” A sponge soaked in posca, the cheap, sour wine which is the staple drink of the Roman legionaries, is lifted to His lips. He apparently doesn’t take any of the liquid.
The body of Jesus is now in extremes, and He can feel the chill of death creeping through His tissues. This realization brings out His sixth words, possibly little more than a tortured whisper, “It is finished.” His mission of atonement has completed. Finally He can allow his body to die.
With one last surge of strength, he once again presses His torn feet against the nail, straightens His legs, takes a deeper breath, and utters His seventh and last cry, “Father! Into thy hands I commit my spirit.”
The rest you know. In order that the Sabbath not be profaned, the Jews asked that the condemned men be dispatched and removed from the crosses. The common method of ending a crucifixion was by crurifracture, the breaking of the bones of the legs. This prevented the victim from pushing himself upward; thus the tension could not be relieved from the muscles of the chest and rapid suffocation occurred. The legs of the two thieves were broken, but when the soldiers came to Jesus they saw that this was unnecessary.
Apparently, to make doubly sure of death, the legionnaire drove his lance through the fifth interspace between the ribs, upward through the pericardium and into the heart. The 34th verse of the 19th chapter of the Gospel according to St. John reports: “And immediately there came out blood and water.” That is, there was an escape of water fluid from the sac surrounding the heart, giving postmortem evidence that Our Lord died not the usual crucifixion death by suffocation, but of heart failure (a broken heart) due to shock and constriction of the heart by fluid in the pericardium.
Thus we have had our glimpse — including the medical evidence — of that epitome of evil which man has exhibited toward Man and toward God. It has been a terrible sight, and more than enough to leave us despondent and depressed. How grateful we can be that we have the great sequel in the infinite mercy of God toward man — at once the miracle of the atonement (at one ment) and the expectation of the triumphant Easter morning.
Are you moved by what Jesus did for you on the cross? Do you want to receive the salvation Jesus purchased for you at Calvary with His own blood? Pray this prayer with me:
Dear Lord Jesus,
I know that I am a sinner and need your forgiveness. I believe that You died on the cross for my sins and rose from the grave to give me life. I know You are the only way to God so now I want to quit disobeying You and start living for You. Please forgive me, change my life and show me how to know You. In Jesus' name. Amen.
If you prayed that prayer, please click here to let us know
Or you can call our CBN Prayer Counseling Center at (800) 759-0700. We would love to talk with you and send you some resources to help you begin your walk with the Lord.
How you can know you are forgiven:
The Bible, God's Word says: You were saved by faith in God, who treats us much better that we deserve. This is God's gift to you, and you have done nothing on your own (Ephesians 2:8).
For those who put their faith in Jesus: He gave them the right to be the children of God... God Himself was the one who made them His children (John 1:12-13).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)