Friday, December 31, 2004

They Are Coming For the Christians

Hate crime laws. They’re in effect in Canada and as Doug Newman points out, they’re in effect in Australia and Philadelphia. The result: Christians facing prison terms.

In Philadelphia? The cradle of Liberty?

What’s worse? Pastors in their pulpits and the members of the Evangelical Magesterium are quiet. As Doug Newman illustrates, they’re more concerned about symbolic things like manger scenes at Christmas. But Christian activists facing trial for displaying Scripture? They don’t have much to say (or do) about that.

This isn’t made up. It’s not hyperbole. I strongly encourage you to read Doug Newman’s piece and share it with friends. http://www.geocities.com/fountoftruth/coming.html

Thursday, December 30, 2004

Want A Revival?

Many folks think a hunger for soul-winning is the key to sparking a revival. Others think that electing the right politicians will renew America spiritually. Not so, says theologian Gordon H. Clark. We live in an age where Christians are proud to be “practical” and “relevant,” and by that they really mean they avoid things like theology and intellectual challenges – "too abstract and difficult," they say. This paragraph by Clark really grabbed me.

There have been times in the history of God’s people, for example, in the days of Jeremiah, when refreshing grace and widespread revival were not to be expected: The time was one of chastisement. If this twentieth century is of a similar nature, individual Christians here and there can find comfort and strength in a study of God’s Word. But if God has decreed happier days for us, and if we may expect a world – shaking and genuine spiritual awakening, then it is that author’s belief that a zeal for souls, however necessary, is not the sufficient condition. Have there not been devout saints in every age, numerous enough to carry on a revival? Twelve such persons are plenty. What distinguishes the arid ages from the period of the Reformation, when nations were moved as they had not been since Paul preached in Ephesus, Corinth, and Rome, is the latter’s fullness of knowledge of God’s Word. To echo an early Reformation thought, when the ploughman and the garage attendant know the Bible as well as the theologian does, and know it better than some contemporary theologians, than the desired awakening shall have already occurred.


Wednesday, December 29, 2004

The War Of and On Islamic Terror

A JimBabka.com EXCLUSIVE: This article was written two days after the terrorist attack on a U.S. Army mess tent near Mosul by Herbert W. Titus, J.D. It’s available nowhere else but here!

The U.S. military was re-examining security measures at bases across Iraq on Thursday, a day after saying an attack that killed 22 people at a camp near Mosul was likely carried out by a homicide bomber who may have had inside information. (Associated Press: 12/23/04)
Since 9/11 the American people have learned that the war of Islamic terror is not like any other war that this nation has faced. The enemy is everywhere, more numerous and stronger than first believed, fearless, individually-motivated, yet unified and seemingly unstoppable, notwithstanding their having suffered great losses of life, liberty and property.

With every attack of the Islamic terrorists upon our troops in Iraq, we have unleashed a ferocious counterattack, only to face yet another vicious assault. With every threatened attack upon our homeland, we have endured yet another self-inflicted restriction of our precious liberties in the name of the need for heightened security.

In short, the enemy is winning the war of terror, and we are losing the war against it. Why? Certainly it is not because we lack the superior firepower sufficient to overwhelm the enemy. Nor have we faltered in our will to use that weaponry to accomplish our goals.

No, we are losing the war on Islamic terror, because we have failed both to understand the spiritual strength of the enemy and our own spiritual weakness. Unless we come to grips with this spiritual reality, we will lose this terrible war.

We Americans have long laid claim to a spiritual superiority over other nations of the world. Indeed, since World War I we have congratulated ourselves for our unselfish sacrifices of the lives of our young men and women, and our wealth and resources to help less fortunate nations who have not enjoyed the benefits of American democracy.

At the end of the 20th century, we became proud of our exalted position as the world’s only superpower, and in the process, we forgot the God in whom we trusted in the 18th century in our war for independence.

This is not the first time in history that a nation has been blinded by the blessings of a merciful God. Prior to being swept away by the Babylonian hordes, the nation of Judah fell prey to a national hubris that brought about its own destruction. But not without warning.

Years prior to the rise of Judah’s conqueror, Nebuchadnezzar, God sent a plague of locusts that devoured the wealth of Judah and Jerusalem which the prophet Joel used to warn her leaders of the complete devastation that would come from an enemy nation, the likes of which the world had never seen before. See Joel 1:1-7; 2:2. This enemy, the prophet foretold, would be great and strong, fearless, unified, unstoppable, and ubiquitous. Joel 2:2, 4, 7-9.

To prepare for battle against such an enemy force, Joel’s prophecy did not call for a build-up in Judah’s military defenses, nor for a reorganization of the nation’s intelligence, nor for a beefing-up of homeland security. Rather, Joel called the people and their leaders to repentance, fasting, and a solemn assembly to cry out to God for mercy. Joel 1:14; 2:13, 15-17.

Why? Because the enemy army that was coming was an instrument of God’s judgment upon the nation of Judah, just as the locusts had been. Joel 1:15; 2:11-12. Thus, Judah’s only hope for victory was the grace and mercy of Almighty God, the sovereign Lord over all nations. Indeed, Joel forecast — that if the people of Judah repented of their national sins — this sovereign God would drive this great and strong, fearless, unified, unstoppable, and ubiquitous enemy into utter defeat and destruction. Joel 2:20. And, at the same time, this sovereign God — out of His abundant mercy and lovingkindness — would restore Judah to prosperity, both material and spiritual. Joel 2:21-29.

If America is to win the war against Islamic terrorism, her leaders and her people would do well to heed Joel’s prophecy. The Islamic enemy will not be cowered, nor defeated by force of arms. Rather, the Islamic enemy will turn tail only by America’s repentant return to the God who founded her, and to obedience of His laws protecting life, liberty and property.

Monday, December 27, 2004

Conservative Christian says, “The Religious Right Scares Me Too”

Chuck Baldwin is a Baptist preacher with serious conservative bona fides. If you’ve read his columns or listened to this radio show or voted for him (he was the Constitution Party’s Vice Presidential candidate – the party that [rightly] thinks George W. Bush isn’t pro-life) then you know he has no liberal angst.

And now, he’s saying, the Religious Right scares him. His reasons are sound and it’s best to quote him directly…

For one reason, on the whole, the Religious Right has obviously and patently become little more than a propaganda machine for the Republican Party in general and for President G.W. Bush in particular. This is in spite of the fact that both Bush and the Republican Party in Washington, D.C., have routinely ignored and even trampled the very principles which the Religious Right claims to represent.

Therefore, no longer does the Religious Right represent conservative, Christian values. Instead, they represent their own self-serving interests at the expense of those values.

It also appears painfully obvious to me that in order to sit at the king's table, the Religious Right is willing to compromise any principle, no matter how sacred. As such, it has become a hollow movement. Sadly, the Religious Right is now a movement without a cause, except the cause of advancing the Republican Party.

Beyond that, the Religious Right is actively assisting those who would destroy our freedoms. On the whole, the Religious Right comports with those within the Bush administration and within the Republican Party who, in the name of "fighting terrorism," are actually terrorizing constitutional protections of our liberties.

The Religious Right offered virtually no resistance to the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, the passage of the Patriot Act, or the recently created position of National Intelligence Director. Neither did the Religious Right offer even a whimper of protest as President Bush and Republicans in Congress created a first-ever national ID card in the new intelligence bill, which eerily has more in common with early Twentieth Century German and Russian intelligence institutions than anything envisioned by America's Founding Fathers.

Another disconcerting feature of today's Religious Right is its attempt to Christianize political entities which it supports and to demonize political entities which it opposes. This trend is especially scary.

When people are told that they are voting "Christian" by voting for Republican Party candidates, it is being intimated that they are voting non-Christian by voting for any other candidate. This is not only silly on its face, it is downright dangerous!

...in spite of the fact that President Bush and the Republican Party in Washington, D.C., have repeatedly supported copious unchristian (not to mention unconstitutional) programs and policies, Christians act as if Bush and his fellow Republicans have ushered in the Millennial Kingdom.

More than that, the Religious Right appears to believe that G.W. Bush is the anointed vicar of Christ. But instead of wearing the garb of a religious leader, he wears the shroud of a politico and a military commander-in-chief.

As such, in the minds of the Religious Right, Bush's war in Iraq is a holy crusade. America is fast taking on the shape of the old Holy Roman Empire and President Bush is quickly morphing into a modern day Caesar.

The willingness of the Religious Right to give President Bush king-like subservience is easily seen in the way they demonize anyone who dares to oppose him. This is very unnerving.

Are we heading for a modern day religious inquisition, this one led not by the Catholic Church but by the Religious Right? Are we witnessing the type of marriage between Church and State that America's founders originally feared?

I used to believe that liberals were paranoid for being fearful of conservative Christians gaining political power. Now, I share their trepidation.

Of course, the sad truth is, neither George W. Bush nor the Republican Party in Washington, D.C. represents genuine Christian or even conservative principles. If they did, they would take their oaths to the Constitution seriously and then neither liberals nor conservatives would have anything to fear, for the U.S. Constitution protects the rights and freedoms of all men.

Unfortunately, when the seed of Bush's unconstitutional policies come to fruition, it will produce large scale fallout economically, socially, and politically. And sadder still will be that, instead of blaming Bush's infidelity to constitutional government and conservative principles, people will blame Christianity and conservatism itself.

You can subscribe to get his columns at: www.ChuckBaldwinLive.com


Friday, December 24, 2004

Merry Christmas Cheer for the War on Terror

My favorite line comes from George W. Bush (read on):

A school teacher was arrested at New York's Kennedy Airport yesterday. An individual, later discovered to be a school teacher, was arrested trying to board a holiday flight while in possession of a ruler, protractor, set square, slide rule, and calculator.

At a morning press conference, Attorney General John Ashcroft, said he believes the man is a member of the notorious Al-gebra movement. He is being charged by the FBI with carrying weapons of math instruction.

"Al-gebra is a fearsome cult", Ashcroft said. "They desire average solutions by means and extremes, and sometimes go off on tangents in a search of absolute value. They use secret code names like 'x' and 'y' and refer to themselves as 'unknowns', but we have determined they belong to a common denominator of the axis of medieval with coordinates in every country. As the Greek philanderer Isosceles used to say, 'there are three sides to every triangle.'"

When asked to comment on the arrest, President Bush said, "If God had wanted us to have better weapons of math instruction, He would have given us more fingers and toes to count on."

Please, Republicans and Ditto-heads, don't write angry letters. This is a joke (unless you've traveled by plane lately)!

Tuesday, December 14, 2004

Bush Sends Cash for Nickel Condoms – Available in four delicious flavors!

“U.S. taxpayers are footing the bill for flavored condoms in Illinois, reports Dave McKinney in the Chicago Sun-Times. ‘Since January,’ he writes, ‘the state Department of Health has spent $115,000 in funds provided by the Bush Administration on condoms, including $360,000 of them – at a nickel a pop – in orange, lemon, grape, and cherry flavors.’”

Of course, one has to wonder, “Why does the godly administration of George W. Bush care how they taste?”

As the Life Advocacy Briefing (11/15/04) notes… The only conceivable purpose for such items is to promote the practice ex-President Bill Clinton defined as “not sex.” Of course, that’s hyperbole, depending on what the definition of “is” is.
(Source: Howard Phillips Issues and Strategy Bulletin #754)

Monday, December 13, 2004

Perhaps Butch Davis wasn’t as bad a coach as everyone thought!

Sure, he was a terrible player personnel director and a control freak (he put the team in this mess and deserved to be fired). But consider that, excluding the New York Giants and the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Browns either won or were in position, late in the fourth quarter, to win all the rest of their games – that is until Cincinnati. What changed in Cincy?

Responding to criticism of his offense, and with his job on the line, Davis clearly decided to pull out all the stops and let Kelly Holcomb air it out. Until then, the wide receivers were non-existent and the offense was predicated on ball-control – short runs and short passes. It was boring and the results were lackluster, to put it mildly. But the number of sacks was fewer, the field position was much better, and the defense wasn’t spending 3/4ths of the game on the field.

In addition, everyone thought Davis was too gentle with William Green. But now they’re seeing what bad discipline really is now that they have an interim-coach who is concerned about being popular with his players. William Green’s rushing performance is plummeting and he’s developed a case of fumblitis. Green hasn’t looked this bad at any point in his up-and-down career.

I still think it was the right decision to fire him when they did. But if it’s token wins you want, a Davis-led team would’ve broken the losing the streak and beat the Bills. The management of the team chose Robiskie because they believed he’d get them the best draft choice possible. At this rate, they’ll be picking number 2 – or so I hope.

Two Underreported Facts about the Cleveland Browns

I wonder why the professional sports writers in Cleveland haven’t put more emphasis on two particular items (to my knowledge they’ve barely commented on these points)…

1) The Cleveland Browns strength of schedule has been the toughest in the NFL. Coming into Buffalo, their opponents were at .599.

2) The Browns apparently had an All-Pro middle linebacker in Andra Davis. How could someone tell? Davis went down with an injury during the 10-7 loss to the New York Jets. I don’t recall for sure, but I seem to recall the Browns were the 12th ranked defense at that point (in terms of yardage surrendered). Overall, the team was allowing opponents to score 20.8 points per game. In the last three weeks, without Davis in the line-up, they’ve given up 45.6 points per game. The last three games have been plagued by poor tackling. And you guessed it; Davis was the leading tackler.

Sunday, December 12, 2004

Can You Really Blame the Browns’ Defense?

Sure, the tackling is poor. But consider Buffalo, an excellent case study of the Browns last three weeks.

The longest time of possession for the Browns? 2:40, with five plays. Only one series had more, with seven plays, resulting in a punt.

Buffalo scored seven times. All were given up by the defense, but only two were legitimate, full-length, drives for scores. The others started at the Cleveland 47, Cleveland 23, Buffalo 48, Cleveland 6, and Cleveland 31.

Cleveland scored once. The defense intercepted the ball on the Buffalo 18. Two other times, the Browns were given the ball inside Buffalo territory and failed to convert.

By the end of the game, the Browns defense was worn out, allowing the Bills to go 13 plays for 61 yards, and surrendering a touchdown to the second-string offense.

Friday, December 10, 2004

Bushocrats Spurn the Constitution and Seek to Uphold Pro-Abortion Law

Hey, I know that title is a bold charge. First, some background and then I’ll demonstrate that I’m not exaggerating in the least.

Here is what the 10th Amendment (the last item of The Bill of Rights) says, “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” In modern English, that simply means if the Constitution doesn’t spell out a specific power for the federal government, they don’t have it. It belongs to the states, or the people. This concept is known as “enumerated powers” and applied as “federalism.”

Only a handful of crimes were spelled out in the Constitution – treason, piracy, and counterfeiting are the only specifically spelled-out (enumerated) federal crimes (though some will argue there might be two or three others). Crimes against person or property were considered matters for state governments to define. None of our Founding Fathers thought we’d be so stupid that our states would need help in these areas.

Grandstanding federal government politicians love to criminalize behavior and expand their power. The FACE Act is one example.

FACE stands for Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances. It’s a law that allegedly protects abortion mills from violence. Violence in this instance is liberally defined to include protesting.

In late November, a Bush administration Assistant U.S. Attorney General Peter Keisler, argued before a panel of appeals court judges that "federal authorities have the right to protect local abortion clinics" from violence, because local assaults can affect clinics nationwide. Keisler is trying to overturn a lower federal court ruling in Houston that deemed the FACE Act unconstitutional.

So here, we have something positive that can be done for the pro-life cause – letting an unconstitutional law die on the vine – and the Bush administration is trying to preserve it. Indeed, GWB spurns the Constitution and once again demonstrates, HE’S NOT PRO-LIFE.
(Source: http://www.covenantnews.com/abortion/archives/008263.html)

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