Saturday, June 28, 2008
The Desk
This goes so well with my previous post, "Choices", I just had do post it. It says, "There's a skinny girl who lives inside of me that's trying to get out, but I can usually shut her up with cookies."
Bravo, Gov. Jindal and LA State Legislators.
As I said a few posts ago, "Gov. Jindal has guts." He has signed a law allowing academic freedom in science fields in LA public schools. It was strongly supported by the legislature. Here is a quote from the LifeSiteNews article.
Louisiana public school teachers can now educate their students about the theory of intelligent design and scientific criticisms of Darwinian evolutionary theory thanks to a new law signed this week by Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal. The Louisiana Science Education Act now allows teachers to supplement the state's curricula with additional scientific materials, but groups opposed to any debate over the "origin of the species" have warned that the new law will become the origin of the lawsuits if they believe it facilitates religion.
Lawmakers, however, were enthusiastically in favor of the Act signed by Jindal. The state Senate had passed the bill (SB733) with a unanimous vote, and the state House had approved it by a vote of 93-4.
Jindal, a Catholic with a biology degree, indicated his own affirmation of the bill in a statement saying: "I will continue to consistently support the ability of school boards and BESE to make the best decisions to ensure a quality education for our children."
Louisiana public school teachers can now educate their students about the theory of intelligent design and scientific criticisms of Darwinian evolutionary theory thanks to a new law signed this week by Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal. The Louisiana Science Education Act now allows teachers to supplement the state's curricula with additional scientific materials, but groups opposed to any debate over the "origin of the species" have warned that the new law will become the origin of the lawsuits if they believe it facilitates religion.
Lawmakers, however, were enthusiastically in favor of the Act signed by Jindal. The state Senate had passed the bill (SB733) with a unanimous vote, and the state House had approved it by a vote of 93-4.
Jindal, a Catholic with a biology degree, indicated his own affirmation of the bill in a statement saying: "I will continue to consistently support the ability of school boards and BESE to make the best decisions to ensure a quality education for our children."
Friday, June 27, 2008
Terrible, Good, and Something to Look Into
We will start with some terrible news. Great apes have been given human rights in Spain. Here are some quotes from LifeSiteNews. I added the bold.
A Spanish parliamentary committee yesterday gave its support to a resolution that would grant so-called "great apes" the rights to life, liberty and freedom from torture.
According to numerous mainstream reports, the environmental committee's resolution is supported across party lines and is expected to be passed by parliament, thereby coming into effect as law.
"This is a historic day in the struggle for animal rights and in defense of our evolutionary comrades, which will doubtless go down in the history of humanity," said Pedro Pozas, Spanish director of the Great Apes Project (GAP). "We have no knowledge of great apes being used in experiments in Spain, but there is currently no law preventing that from happening."
According to a Reuters report, it will also become illegal to keep apes in circuses, or for the purposes of television commercials or filming.
Since it's inception GAP has lobbied in favor of a UN Declaration on Great Apes. That Declaration demands, "the extension of the community of equals to include all great apes: human beings, chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas and orang-utans.
"The community of equals is the moral community within which we accept certain basic moral principles or rights as governing our relations with each other and enforceable at law."
The list of "moral principles or rights" includes the three "rights" included in the Spanish parliamentary committee's resolution. Currently, however, it is not clear what penalties, if any, would be levied against an ape should an ape violate these moral principles by, for example, killing or injuring a human being or another ape in a case where it was not necessary for self defence.
To those who have been observing events in Spain these last several years under the socialist government of Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, it comes as no surprise that such an unprecedented resolution would be passed first in Spain.
As bioethicist Wesley Smith explains on his blog in a post on the Spanish resolution, "Of course the purpose of this isn't to merely improve the treatment of great apes - which could be accomplished as it already has been in some places via normal animal welfare statutes. Rather, the explicit point of the GAP is revolutionary - to demote human beings from the uniquely valuable species and into merely another animal in the forest.
"Once people accept that premise," he continues, "Judeo/Christian philosophy goes to the guillotine allowing the utilitarian agenda to proceed unhindered, leading in turn to the moral value of the weak and vulnerable among us becoming archaic, resulting in their loss of the right to life and being used instrumentally for those deemed more valuable. (Lest you think we exaggerate, check out Peter Singer's writings, and who can deny that his values are triumphing?)"
Smith concludes, "In the world being born out of the ashes of the sanctity/equality of human life ethic, value will be subjective and rights temporary - depending on one's individual capacities rather than humanity. And we will see apes - animals (and eventually other animals), which are completely oblivious about the hue and cry being mounted against human worth in their names - being viewed as more important than some humans."
Note how evolution, socialism, and the UN are all tied in to this. As a side note, I would love to see the US get out of the UN.
Now on to some good news. Yesterday the Supreme Court overturned DCs hand-gun ban. To me this proves that the Court can still read the Constitution and rule in favor of the people. I find that encouraging.
The U.S. Supreme Court has struck down Washington D.C.'s ban on handguns, saying individuals have the right to own guns.
In a 5-to-4 landmark decision Thursday, the high court struck down the 32-year-old ban, saying it violates the second amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The court also struck down the city's requirement that legally-owned firearms be equipped with trigger locks or kept disassembled in the home, saying that makes it impossible for citizens to use arms for the lawful purpose of self-defense.
And now I leave you with something to look into. I was unaware that many vaccines use human fetal tissue. I was also unaware that there are ethical alternatives. http://www.cogforlife.org/ was recommended on Faith2Action.org's Hot Battle Action Steps. If you go to COGForLife.og, there is a link on the left side that says vaccine sources. It gives a list of vaccine brands that use non-human fetal material for the vaccines. So, if you vaccinate your children, ask your doctor for the brands that don't use baby parts.
A Spanish parliamentary committee yesterday gave its support to a resolution that would grant so-called "great apes" the rights to life, liberty and freedom from torture.
According to numerous mainstream reports, the environmental committee's resolution is supported across party lines and is expected to be passed by parliament, thereby coming into effect as law.
"This is a historic day in the struggle for animal rights and in defense of our evolutionary comrades, which will doubtless go down in the history of humanity," said Pedro Pozas, Spanish director of the Great Apes Project (GAP). "We have no knowledge of great apes being used in experiments in Spain, but there is currently no law preventing that from happening."
According to a Reuters report, it will also become illegal to keep apes in circuses, or for the purposes of television commercials or filming.
Since it's inception GAP has lobbied in favor of a UN Declaration on Great Apes. That Declaration demands, "the extension of the community of equals to include all great apes: human beings, chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas and orang-utans.
"The community of equals is the moral community within which we accept certain basic moral principles or rights as governing our relations with each other and enforceable at law."
The list of "moral principles or rights" includes the three "rights" included in the Spanish parliamentary committee's resolution. Currently, however, it is not clear what penalties, if any, would be levied against an ape should an ape violate these moral principles by, for example, killing or injuring a human being or another ape in a case where it was not necessary for self defence.
To those who have been observing events in Spain these last several years under the socialist government of Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, it comes as no surprise that such an unprecedented resolution would be passed first in Spain.
As bioethicist Wesley Smith explains on his blog in a post on the Spanish resolution, "Of course the purpose of this isn't to merely improve the treatment of great apes - which could be accomplished as it already has been in some places via normal animal welfare statutes. Rather, the explicit point of the GAP is revolutionary - to demote human beings from the uniquely valuable species and into merely another animal in the forest.
"Once people accept that premise," he continues, "Judeo/Christian philosophy goes to the guillotine allowing the utilitarian agenda to proceed unhindered, leading in turn to the moral value of the weak and vulnerable among us becoming archaic, resulting in their loss of the right to life and being used instrumentally for those deemed more valuable. (Lest you think we exaggerate, check out Peter Singer's writings, and who can deny that his values are triumphing?)"
Smith concludes, "In the world being born out of the ashes of the sanctity/equality of human life ethic, value will be subjective and rights temporary - depending on one's individual capacities rather than humanity. And we will see apes - animals (and eventually other animals), which are completely oblivious about the hue and cry being mounted against human worth in their names - being viewed as more important than some humans."
Note how evolution, socialism, and the UN are all tied in to this. As a side note, I would love to see the US get out of the UN.
Now on to some good news. Yesterday the Supreme Court overturned DCs hand-gun ban. To me this proves that the Court can still read the Constitution and rule in favor of the people. I find that encouraging.
The U.S. Supreme Court has struck down Washington D.C.'s ban on handguns, saying individuals have the right to own guns.
In a 5-to-4 landmark decision Thursday, the high court struck down the 32-year-old ban, saying it violates the second amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The court also struck down the city's requirement that legally-owned firearms be equipped with trigger locks or kept disassembled in the home, saying that makes it impossible for citizens to use arms for the lawful purpose of self-defense.
And now I leave you with something to look into. I was unaware that many vaccines use human fetal tissue. I was also unaware that there are ethical alternatives. http://www.cogforlife.org/ was recommended on Faith2Action.org's Hot Battle Action Steps. If you go to COGForLife.og, there is a link on the left side that says vaccine sources. It gives a list of vaccine brands that use non-human fetal material for the vaccines. So, if you vaccinate your children, ask your doctor for the brands that don't use baby parts.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Taking a Stand
After all the bad news in the previous post, I thought you might enjoy two stories of people taking a stand. The first, from LifeNews, is the most encouraging.
The rash of abortion centers closing down continues and pro-life advocates in Dallas, Texas are excited to learn that they're next on the list. Aaron Women’s Health Center, a late-term abortion facility, will be closing its doors, and that's good news for the people who have prayed for this day to come.
The closing follows on the heels of recent closures of abortion centers in other states, including Kentucky and New York.
Aaron Women’s Health Center was one of three abortion businesses in Texas authorized to do late-term abortions when it upgraded its facility in early 2005 to comply with a new state law regulating abortion centers as "ambulatory surgical centers."
When it complied with the new law, it qualified to do abortions on unborn babies older than 16 weeks’ gestation.
Members of the Catholic Pro-Life Committee, the Respect Life Ministry of the Catholic Diocese of Dallas, maintained a constant presence of peaceful prayer and sidewalk counseling in front of Aaron’s for over a decade.
The second is Gov. Jindal's response to the Supreme Court's ruling against Louisiana's law allowing the death penalty for child rapists. Gov. Jindal does have guts. This story is from WorldNetDaily.
Shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court announced it struck down the death penalty for child rape in his state, Louisiana Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal signed a bill authorizing castration of sexual offenders.
Jindal – frequently mentioned as a potential vice-presidential nominee – said he was "especially glad" to sign the Sex Offender Chemical Castration Bill "on the same day the Supreme Court has made an atrocious ruling against our state's ability to sentence those who sexually assault our children to the fullest extent."
"Those who prey on our children are among the very worst criminals imaginable," Jindal said in a statement.
In a 5-4 vote announced yesterday, the Supreme Court's majority said imposing the death penalty in child rape cases violates the Constitution's ban on cruel and unusual punishment.
"The death penalty is not a proportional punishment for the rape of a child," Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote.
The rash of abortion centers closing down continues and pro-life advocates in Dallas, Texas are excited to learn that they're next on the list. Aaron Women’s Health Center, a late-term abortion facility, will be closing its doors, and that's good news for the people who have prayed for this day to come.
The closing follows on the heels of recent closures of abortion centers in other states, including Kentucky and New York.
Aaron Women’s Health Center was one of three abortion businesses in Texas authorized to do late-term abortions when it upgraded its facility in early 2005 to comply with a new state law regulating abortion centers as "ambulatory surgical centers."
When it complied with the new law, it qualified to do abortions on unborn babies older than 16 weeks’ gestation.
Members of the Catholic Pro-Life Committee, the Respect Life Ministry of the Catholic Diocese of Dallas, maintained a constant presence of peaceful prayer and sidewalk counseling in front of Aaron’s for over a decade.
The second is Gov. Jindal's response to the Supreme Court's ruling against Louisiana's law allowing the death penalty for child rapists. Gov. Jindal does have guts. This story is from WorldNetDaily.
Shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court announced it struck down the death penalty for child rape in his state, Louisiana Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal signed a bill authorizing castration of sexual offenders.
Jindal – frequently mentioned as a potential vice-presidential nominee – said he was "especially glad" to sign the Sex Offender Chemical Castration Bill "on the same day the Supreme Court has made an atrocious ruling against our state's ability to sentence those who sexually assault our children to the fullest extent."
"Those who prey on our children are among the very worst criminals imaginable," Jindal said in a statement.
In a 5-4 vote announced yesterday, the Supreme Court's majority said imposing the death penalty in child rape cases violates the Constitution's ban on cruel and unusual punishment.
"The death penalty is not a proportional punishment for the rape of a child," Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Colorado Against Christian Free Speech
Janet Folger's article from yesterday's WorldNetDaily is full of dreadful tidings. Here is a quote.
You see, Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter signed into law SB 200 and turned public restrooms and locker rooms into a predator paradise where men can enter (and shower in) any female public facility in the state. You'd think that would be as bad as it gets – but wait: Section 8 of that same bill claims to trump the First Amendment:
Section 8. 24-34-701. Publishing of discriminative matter forbidden. No person, being the owner, lessee, proprietor, manager, superintendent, agent, or employee of any place of public accomodation ... shall publish, issue, circulate, send, distribute, give away, or display in any way, manner, or shape or by any means or method, except as provided in this section, any communication, paper, poster, folder, manuscript, book, pamphlet, writing, print, letter, notice, or advertisement of any kind, nature, or description that is intended or calculated to discriminate or actually discriminates against ... SEXUAL ORIENTATION, marital status ... in the matter of furnishing or neglecting or refusing to furnish to them or any one of them any lodging, housing, schooling, or tuition or any accommodation, right [marriage], privilege [adoption], advantage, or convenience ... on account of ... SEXUAL ORIENTATION, marital status ... [which] is unwelcome or objectionable or not acceptable, desired, or solicited.
Forget the public library display of "banned books week" – its "banned books week" all year round in the entire state of Colorado – if those books, paper, posters, folders, manuscripts, pamphlet, writing, print, letter, notice, advertisement, or crayon drawing is said to be calculated, intended, or thought to discriminate against homosexual behavior, or the agenda to rewrite marriage and adoption laws.
Janet is flying to Colorado to break the law and hand out her book The Criminalization of Christianity. When a law like this comes to your state, what will you do?
You see, Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter signed into law SB 200 and turned public restrooms and locker rooms into a predator paradise where men can enter (and shower in) any female public facility in the state. You'd think that would be as bad as it gets – but wait: Section 8 of that same bill claims to trump the First Amendment:
Section 8. 24-34-701. Publishing of discriminative matter forbidden. No person, being the owner, lessee, proprietor, manager, superintendent, agent, or employee of any place of public accomodation ... shall publish, issue, circulate, send, distribute, give away, or display in any way, manner, or shape or by any means or method, except as provided in this section, any communication, paper, poster, folder, manuscript, book, pamphlet, writing, print, letter, notice, or advertisement of any kind, nature, or description that is intended or calculated to discriminate or actually discriminates against ... SEXUAL ORIENTATION, marital status ... in the matter of furnishing or neglecting or refusing to furnish to them or any one of them any lodging, housing, schooling, or tuition or any accommodation, right [marriage], privilege [adoption], advantage, or convenience ... on account of ... SEXUAL ORIENTATION, marital status ... [which] is unwelcome or objectionable or not acceptable, desired, or solicited.
Forget the public library display of "banned books week" – its "banned books week" all year round in the entire state of Colorado – if those books, paper, posters, folders, manuscripts, pamphlet, writing, print, letter, notice, advertisement, or crayon drawing is said to be calculated, intended, or thought to discriminate against homosexual behavior, or the agenda to rewrite marriage and adoption laws.
Janet is flying to Colorado to break the law and hand out her book The Criminalization of Christianity. When a law like this comes to your state, what will you do?
Marriage and the State
A few days ago I wrote a post called "Choices". At the end of it I made the statement that the government will take over any sector we allow it to. That post made me wonder when the government took over marriage. In the Bible you have no evidence that the civil magistrate or even religious officials are necessary to be married. All of the examples of marriages or engagements leaves me with the feeling that God originally designed marriage to be in the authority sphere of the family/couple. I am not sure when the church got involved in performing marriage, but I did find an interesting article at http://www.rhinotimes.com/ about how the civil magistrate got involved in marriage. Here is a relatively long quote from the article by Jeff Katz.
For thousands of years, it was understood that marriage was an institution ordained by G-d. A sacrament. A blessing. A thoroughly and completely religious ritual, much like a Christening or a Bar Mitzvah. So why then would any government official have any standing on how it is to be conducted?
Should the county clerk tell you that you could only christen your child on a Thursday at noon? Does the local bureaucrat tell Jewish families that boys should actually celebrate their Bar Mitzvah on their sixteenth birthday instead of the prescribed thirteenth? The answers to both questions are, of course, no. With the exception of marriage, no religious rite requires a permission slip from the government to perform.
In the 1500s, John Calvin led the effort to institute The Marriage Ordinance (of Geneva), which called for joint "state registration and church consecration" for any marriage to be considered valid. Instead of fighting against this initial governmental intrusion on religious practice, this idea was embraced and advanced. As with all government services, a fee was imposed.
The need for religious involvement in marriage was effectively ended when England established the concept of state sanctioned, or so-called civil marriage in 1837, and this concept was further supported when Otto von Bismarck instituted civil marriage in Germany in 1875. Seizing on this momentum, local hacks and flacks here in the United States began to demand that people tithe to the state for the privilege of receiving a government-issued marriage permission slip in the early twentieth century.
Instead of men of the cloth protesting loudly that the government ought to tend to the business of securing borders and raising armies, they seemed to go along for the ride and began to cooperate.
So now that the state is firmly in control of the institution of marriage, what can be done by private citizens? Easy, exercise our actual rights and demand that our representatives start representing us again. Once you understand the history of the situation we have now, you can see the way clear to rectifying it. Since it is obvious that left-wing judicial activists wearing black gowns are anxious to legislate from the bench, it is more important than ever that the legislative and executive branches assert themselves and reflect the true will of the people.
A federal constitutional amendment defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman would provide the means to keep activist judges from forcing same-sex marriage down the throats of the people. But this should be a major lesson for all. The government is never involved in anything in a small way. We would not be in this situation if people of faith had fought more forcefully against what seemed like a minor governmental foray into the institution of marriage by simply demanding a small fee for the "privilege" of conducting a religious ceremony.
Perhaps we'd all be well served to be on guard against those who promise great rewards, if only we'd give up a small piece of our freedoms. Once you have given up your liberty, be it for reasons of convenience or comfort or perceived security, it is virtually impossible to get it back. The only reason that the government now has to fix this problem of defining marriage is because government created it a little more than 100 years ago.
I encourage you all to support the 2008 Federal Marriage Amendment. A great resource site is http://traditionalwedlock.blogspot.com/.
For thousands of years, it was understood that marriage was an institution ordained by G-d. A sacrament. A blessing. A thoroughly and completely religious ritual, much like a Christening or a Bar Mitzvah. So why then would any government official have any standing on how it is to be conducted?
Should the county clerk tell you that you could only christen your child on a Thursday at noon? Does the local bureaucrat tell Jewish families that boys should actually celebrate their Bar Mitzvah on their sixteenth birthday instead of the prescribed thirteenth? The answers to both questions are, of course, no. With the exception of marriage, no religious rite requires a permission slip from the government to perform.
In the 1500s, John Calvin led the effort to institute The Marriage Ordinance (of Geneva), which called for joint "state registration and church consecration" for any marriage to be considered valid. Instead of fighting against this initial governmental intrusion on religious practice, this idea was embraced and advanced. As with all government services, a fee was imposed.
The need for religious involvement in marriage was effectively ended when England established the concept of state sanctioned, or so-called civil marriage in 1837, and this concept was further supported when Otto von Bismarck instituted civil marriage in Germany in 1875. Seizing on this momentum, local hacks and flacks here in the United States began to demand that people tithe to the state for the privilege of receiving a government-issued marriage permission slip in the early twentieth century.
Instead of men of the cloth protesting loudly that the government ought to tend to the business of securing borders and raising armies, they seemed to go along for the ride and began to cooperate.
So now that the state is firmly in control of the institution of marriage, what can be done by private citizens? Easy, exercise our actual rights and demand that our representatives start representing us again. Once you understand the history of the situation we have now, you can see the way clear to rectifying it. Since it is obvious that left-wing judicial activists wearing black gowns are anxious to legislate from the bench, it is more important than ever that the legislative and executive branches assert themselves and reflect the true will of the people.
A federal constitutional amendment defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman would provide the means to keep activist judges from forcing same-sex marriage down the throats of the people. But this should be a major lesson for all. The government is never involved in anything in a small way. We would not be in this situation if people of faith had fought more forcefully against what seemed like a minor governmental foray into the institution of marriage by simply demanding a small fee for the "privilege" of conducting a religious ceremony.
Perhaps we'd all be well served to be on guard against those who promise great rewards, if only we'd give up a small piece of our freedoms. Once you have given up your liberty, be it for reasons of convenience or comfort or perceived security, it is virtually impossible to get it back. The only reason that the government now has to fix this problem of defining marriage is because government created it a little more than 100 years ago.
I encourage you all to support the 2008 Federal Marriage Amendment. A great resource site is http://traditionalwedlock.blogspot.com/.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Anti-spnaking Laws About Controlling Parents
A few days ago I posted about Canada trying to pass an anti-spanking law. Today I read an article about the result of such a law in New Zealand. So far the result is the intimidation of good parents.
Family First NZ National Director Bob McCoskrie explained that the police review, which shows an almost 300% jump in the number of parents being investigated for minor acts of physical discipline since the law was passed, indicates that there has been almost no reduction in actual child abuse incidents.
McCoskrie also observed, "When the author of the law change Sue Bradford tells us that the law change was never intended to deal with the epidemic of child abuse and child violence, it is quite obvious that this law change was not about solving a problem - it was about telling parents how to raise their children."
Family First NZ National Director Bob McCoskrie explained that the police review, which shows an almost 300% jump in the number of parents being investigated for minor acts of physical discipline since the law was passed, indicates that there has been almost no reduction in actual child abuse incidents.
McCoskrie also observed, "When the author of the law change Sue Bradford tells us that the law change was never intended to deal with the epidemic of child abuse and child violence, it is quite obvious that this law change was not about solving a problem - it was about telling parents how to raise their children."
Where is the Conviction?
I found a disturbing article on OneNewsNow. The thrust of it is this:
Nearly across the board, the majority of religious Americans believe many religions can lead to eternal life: mainline Protestants (83 percent), members of historic black Protestant churches (59 percent), Roman Catholics (79 percent), Jews (82 percent) and Muslims (56 percent).
Have we lost all conviction? Have we lost all sense of truth? Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but through me." Have we forgotten that the default destination of man is Hell not Heaven? Broad is the way that leads to destruction.
The vast majority of Christians need the Truth Project. If you are passionate about truth, I highly recommend going to the training and starting a small group. There is a nation-wide simulcast training that will be happening in September. You can go here to find a host church near you. If there is already a small group in your area, join it. To learn more about the Truth Project go to www.thetruthproject.org.
Nearly across the board, the majority of religious Americans believe many religions can lead to eternal life: mainline Protestants (83 percent), members of historic black Protestant churches (59 percent), Roman Catholics (79 percent), Jews (82 percent) and Muslims (56 percent).
Have we lost all conviction? Have we lost all sense of truth? Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but through me." Have we forgotten that the default destination of man is Hell not Heaven? Broad is the way that leads to destruction.
The vast majority of Christians need the Truth Project. If you are passionate about truth, I highly recommend going to the training and starting a small group. There is a nation-wide simulcast training that will be happening in September. You can go here to find a host church near you. If there is already a small group in your area, join it. To learn more about the Truth Project go to www.thetruthproject.org.
Monday, June 23, 2008
The Rise and Fall of Nations
I get updates from the Center for Christ and Culture. The beginning of this one got me thinking.
In this heightened political season, there are many, including some Christians, who believe the fate of the nation rises and falls on the outcome of November's presidential election. That is not to say that politics and elections are inconsequential–the nation prospers from good leaders and suffers from the inept–but are government and political leaders really the hope or ruin of a nation?
I started thinking about the rise and fall of nations in the Bible.
1. The nation of Israel rose or fell depending on the heart of the people (which was usually significantly influenced by the judge or king). When the people followed the LORD with all their hearts, they (as a country) prospered. When they rebelled, the LORD sent the Philistines, Moabites, or Assyrians to oppress them.
2. Some nations that didn't fear the LORD at all were given great power to fulfill His purpose. This usually entailed oppressing the Israelites so that they would repent and turn to the LORD. After the Babylonian captivity, the Israelites did not return to idol worship. The Greeks gave the "world" a common language and the Romans built roads. Both of these factors were important for the spread of the Gospel.
I think that today the LORD's nation is the Body of Christ. This nation is declining because even Christians are not seeking the LORD. I think that any nation will prosper the more their individuals seek the LORD. I also believe that if God has to ruin this nation to get our attention he will.
I encourage us all to pray prayers of national confession. Here is part of mine.
O LORD, I confess that as Christians in the United States of America we have allowed evil to gain ground and we have not aggressively taken ground for the Kingdom. We do not strive for excellence, but are OK with offering you a living sacrifice of mediocrity. In fact, mediocrity is promoted because excellence makes people look “out of touch”.
We are destroying the innocents and their blood and souls are crying out against us! We allow children to be killed so that we can be more materialistic, more sexually immoral, and more self-centered. We have allowed our children’s souls to be destroyed at day-cares and public schools for the sake of money and fitting in and because of apathy. We have not kept our promises to stay married and have gotten divorced for no scriptural reason. Because of divorce our children have suffered yet again.
We have not trusted in your scripture to be inerrant and so have allowed our children to be taught that they came from hydrogen gas and will turn to dirt when they die. We have allowed them to be taught that they are soulless animals acting only on instinct and intelligence. Because of this many of our children lose faith or never find it. We have not trusted your scripture to be inerrant so we have become pluralist saying Judaism and Islam are both paths leading to you.
We Christians have not been God-seekers, but only God-accepters. We have become dependent on preachers for our Bible knowledge, youth ministers to develop faith in our children, and programs to bring people to you. We do not embrace you as Lord, but only accept you as savior. So there are thousands of churches that are full of physically mature people who have been Christians a long time and yet are not mature spiritually and do not participate in the harvest of souls. O LORD, change the face of your church. Only that will change the face of our country.
In this heightened political season, there are many, including some Christians, who believe the fate of the nation rises and falls on the outcome of November's presidential election. That is not to say that politics and elections are inconsequential–the nation prospers from good leaders and suffers from the inept–but are government and political leaders really the hope or ruin of a nation?
I started thinking about the rise and fall of nations in the Bible.
1. The nation of Israel rose or fell depending on the heart of the people (which was usually significantly influenced by the judge or king). When the people followed the LORD with all their hearts, they (as a country) prospered. When they rebelled, the LORD sent the Philistines, Moabites, or Assyrians to oppress them.
2. Some nations that didn't fear the LORD at all were given great power to fulfill His purpose. This usually entailed oppressing the Israelites so that they would repent and turn to the LORD. After the Babylonian captivity, the Israelites did not return to idol worship. The Greeks gave the "world" a common language and the Romans built roads. Both of these factors were important for the spread of the Gospel.
I think that today the LORD's nation is the Body of Christ. This nation is declining because even Christians are not seeking the LORD. I think that any nation will prosper the more their individuals seek the LORD. I also believe that if God has to ruin this nation to get our attention he will.
I encourage us all to pray prayers of national confession. Here is part of mine.
O LORD, I confess that as Christians in the United States of America we have allowed evil to gain ground and we have not aggressively taken ground for the Kingdom. We do not strive for excellence, but are OK with offering you a living sacrifice of mediocrity. In fact, mediocrity is promoted because excellence makes people look “out of touch”.
We are destroying the innocents and their blood and souls are crying out against us! We allow children to be killed so that we can be more materialistic, more sexually immoral, and more self-centered. We have allowed our children’s souls to be destroyed at day-cares and public schools for the sake of money and fitting in and because of apathy. We have not kept our promises to stay married and have gotten divorced for no scriptural reason. Because of divorce our children have suffered yet again.
We have not trusted in your scripture to be inerrant and so have allowed our children to be taught that they came from hydrogen gas and will turn to dirt when they die. We have allowed them to be taught that they are soulless animals acting only on instinct and intelligence. Because of this many of our children lose faith or never find it. We have not trusted your scripture to be inerrant so we have become pluralist saying Judaism and Islam are both paths leading to you.
We Christians have not been God-seekers, but only God-accepters. We have become dependent on preachers for our Bible knowledge, youth ministers to develop faith in our children, and programs to bring people to you. We do not embrace you as Lord, but only accept you as savior. So there are thousands of churches that are full of physically mature people who have been Christians a long time and yet are not mature spiritually and do not participate in the harvest of souls. O LORD, change the face of your church. Only that will change the face of our country.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Choices
While I don't like McDonald's because of their decision to place an executive on the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, I decided to post about them anyway. Yahoo News reports:
A Virginia man lost about 80 pounds in six months by eating nearly every meal at McDonald's. Not Big Macs, french fries and chocolate shakes. Mostly salads, wraps and apple dippers without the caramel sauce.
I want to point out that restaurants are not responsible for the weight issues of others. Most often obesity is caused by the person making poor choices. I know that there are exceptions, but they are the exceptions not the rule. I get tired of the liberals out there touting the idea of a fat tax.
What this country needs is more personal responsibility not less of it! God gave you a brain and a conscience. It is up to you to use them. Of course, He also gave you free will so you don't have to use them. But generally there are consequences if you don't.
Every adult knows that it is a poor health choice to eat a bunch of sugary and fatty foods. If you choose to do it anyway, that is your choice. No one forced it upon you.
I would also like to take this opportunity to point out that the government is willing to take control of any sector we allow it to. It started out seemingly benign.
1830's- education (formerly in the hands of parents)
1930's-the poor (formerly in the hands of the church/individuals/families/labor)
1954- the church (formerly free of government controls until LBJ offered them a contract with the government called a 501(c)3.)
Today- the family, children, your food, etc., etc.
When are we going to yell, "Stop! You can go no further."
A Virginia man lost about 80 pounds in six months by eating nearly every meal at McDonald's. Not Big Macs, french fries and chocolate shakes. Mostly salads, wraps and apple dippers without the caramel sauce.
I want to point out that restaurants are not responsible for the weight issues of others. Most often obesity is caused by the person making poor choices. I know that there are exceptions, but they are the exceptions not the rule. I get tired of the liberals out there touting the idea of a fat tax.
What this country needs is more personal responsibility not less of it! God gave you a brain and a conscience. It is up to you to use them. Of course, He also gave you free will so you don't have to use them. But generally there are consequences if you don't.
Every adult knows that it is a poor health choice to eat a bunch of sugary and fatty foods. If you choose to do it anyway, that is your choice. No one forced it upon you.
I would also like to take this opportunity to point out that the government is willing to take control of any sector we allow it to. It started out seemingly benign.
1830's- education (formerly in the hands of parents)
1930's-the poor (formerly in the hands of the church/individuals/families/labor)
1954- the church (formerly free of government controls until LBJ offered them a contract with the government called a 501(c)3.)
Today- the family, children, your food, etc., etc.
When are we going to yell, "Stop! You can go no further."
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