Some Thoughts and a Linkfest!

I have been doing a LOT of thinking and reading ever since Mitt Romney dropped his bombshell of an exit from the Republican presidential nomination race at the CPAC convention yesterday.

The moment that Fox News announced that one of Romney's campaign managers confirmed that he would announce his "suspension" (a.k.a QUITTING!!) during his speech to a crowd of cheering conservative Republicans at CPAC, I have to admit that my heart sank. I didn't even vote for the guy! But knowing that Romney saw the writing on the wall, and it said "you don't have a chance against McCain," just saddened my heart. There is something to be said about a person who fights on, despite overwhelming opposition and the creeping realization that the chances for success are slim to none. However, I do admire Romney for two things. First, his motives for dropping out of the race were not selfish. He showed that he loves America more than he hates losing. Second, the fact that he made his announcement after that terrific speech - which was chock full of conservative and moral values talking points - forced a liberal cable news station like CNN to broadcast it to it's audience! Brilliant! They probably hated it, too! Ha!!

When Laura Ingraham came up to the podium, I didn't know whether or not she knew of Romney's intention to announce his withdrawal from the race. Later, I did find out that she was given the word about 10 minutes before she introduced him. How disheartening is that?? I'm sure that she must have been filled with emotions...disappointment, sadness, and the realization that McCain would probably end up being the nominee.

Not so fast!

There is still one other man left standing! His name is Mike Huckabee.

Now, I know that many of my fellow Christian friends don't endorse him. I also know that many of my fellow conservative friends either don't endorse him, or they don't want to endorse him! That's O.K. It's nothing new. People will disagree about politics. The fact that we don't disagree about Jesus Christ or conservative principles still unites us.

Is John McCain's selection as the GOP presidential candidate for 2008 inevitable? It might be. Go ahead and groan. I have been. My friend Matt W. over at Thoughts, Commentary, and other various ramblings states many concerns about McCain.

David Limbaugh over at Newsmax has several articles about the liberalism of John McCain.

However, I really think that there is still a spark of hope. McCain has not yet won the nomination. Mike Huckabee is still committed to continuing on in the race.

My friend Holly over at On the wRite Side shared a Digg post that brought me over to The Conservative Voice article that states, "Why Huckabee Can Win, Like Lincoln Did."

Chuck Campbell wrote:

"Observation likely made prior to Romneys exit from the field but interesting nonetheless. With a little faith and hope anything is possible."

A commenter named these3remain over at Digg had this to say:

This is a God-size task because right now, the numbers are stacked against Huckabee. He only has 192 delegates; to win the nomination , he needs somewhere around 1191. This means he needs 83.3% of the remaining primary delegates while Juan McAmnesty has somewhere in the neighborhood of 703 delegates and therefore only needs to win 40% of the remaining primaries' delegates. God does specialize in the impossible. If this should happen, all the glory should definitely go to Him.

Yep. The Huckabee challenge is indeed one that might just need a miracle!

I like the analogy that Mike shared during his speech after Super Tuesday (paraphrased here):

'It only took one of David's smooth stones, aimed correctly, to defeat the giant - despite Goliath's suit of armor!'

I'm glad that Huckabee is still in it, even though the media naysayers don't think he has a chance. It might be good to see some debates between him and McCain.

This election is serious business. However, we often have the need for comic relief. Where do I go for this? Doug Powers' blog!

Take a look at this posted video over at The Powers That Be - Obama-mania: Is Being a Great Ora-Tater an Accomplishment?

Doug writes:

Monday night, Sean Hannity asked a question of a focus group consisting of over a dozen people who described themselves as Obama supporters.

Q: "Can you name any one specific accomplishment of Barack Obama?"

A: "……. uh……. ummm…… he's a great ora-tater…."

I'll do much better than anybody in that pro-Obama focus group by naming one political accomplishment of Barack Obama: He's convinced a bunch of vacuous boneheads to vote for him — and that's really the only accomplishment any politician has to have on his or her resume, isn't it?

Go look at the video! It would make a great weapon in a GOP campaign commercial!

Commenter "Earl" over there had the best follow-up line:

If hillary has her way the great ora-tater will become the great mashed-tater.

Don't miss Doug's latest post. Obama might need to step to some extra security. The wrath of the Clintons has only just begun!

Well, that was fun. Now, back down to the serious stuff.

I want to share several article links. However, I have been debating in what order I should present them to you.

Perhaps I should present them in the order that I had read them.

1. Over at Laiglesforum, Donald Hank presents the case that the emergent church Christian-left pastors have taken the purpose-driven left turn through embracing the Democrats and their liberal ideals.

Donald writes:

According to the Family Research Council, a new Barna poll shows that the “born again,” whatever that might mean this week, now overwhelmingly support Hillary (20% of the “born again” vote) and Obama (18%).

How is it possible that seemingly devout Christians could support the party that stands like a phalanx behind partial birth abortion and redefining marriage into oblivion and opposes biblical free market principles?

Look no further than “America’s Pastor” and the Saddleback Church, where Obama and Hillary were guests last year. Rick Warren, while claiming to be acting in a Christian, conciliatory manner, treating these leftwing politicians as though they were ideological equals (perhaps they are), was in fact spreading the message that it’s ok for evangelicals to vote for pro-abortion politicians who spurn the free market, because they are decent folks like him, concerned with the same issues, like AIDS, poverty, and peace. Thus his message is in line with the rest of the “religious left,” which, in terms of social issues, can be summed up:

Abortion, marriage and the like social issues pale against the problems of poverty, the environment and world peace. The Democrat message of ending poverty and disease and seeking world peace is a Christian one. It is un-Christian to oppose abortion and gay marriage because this sullies non-Christian sensibilities.

These hopelessly naive people have never learned the lessons of the War on Poverty or the lessons on appeasement taught by the clueless Neville Chamberlain. Sheep-like, their followers fall into line.

I have mentioned in the past that claiming to be "born-again" does not necessarily mean that one genuinely has been born again through Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. Not to get too far off topic, but Jesus warned us, in the parable of the wheat and the tares, that genuine believers would grow in the churches alongside false converts.

Mat 13:24 ¶ Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:


Mat 13:25 But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.


Mat 13:26 But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.


Mat 13:27 So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?


Mat 13:28 He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?


Mat 13:29 But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.


Mat 13:30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.

It is important to remember that Jesus was talking about those who perceived themselves to be believers.

Back to Donald's article.

When all the celebrating is over, the purpose-driven pastor [refers to Rick Warren] and prosperity-driven pastor,[refers to Joel Osteen] respectively, and their ilk have succeeded in blinding people to the truth, of which older, biblically minded religious leaders once convinced the majority of their flock, namely, that the platforms of the Democrat party are inconsistent with the message of Christ, who did not support killing the unborn, command taxpayers to care for the poor or order nations to make peace with implacable enemies bent on destroying them. In fact He said “you will always have the poor with you,” and that he had come to “bring not peace but a sword.” Unlike Confucius, for example, He was indifferent to the workings of government. He healed the sick and fed the multitude only to show who He was. Thus when some of that multitude followed Him across the sea and asked Him to “show us a sign,” He understood they didn’t really want or need a sign, because He had already fed them miraculously. They hinted that the “sign” should be in the form of handouts, manna from heaven. They wanted socialism, a perfect Kingdom of God free of hunger, i.e., essentially the Democrat platform.

Donald has brilliantly explained how, and why, the emergent church movement exists. The bolded part demonstrates only just a few points of error where the emergent church movement has gone astray.

There is nothing wrong with desiring to help the sick and feed the hungry. As Christians, we are to do what we can to help our neighbors in need. However, the connection Don has made towards socialism cannot be ignored.

Socialism is highly linked to postmodernism. One of postmodernism's highest goals is "tolerance," (which, btw, has a hijacked meaning of complete acceptance with no need to repent of immoral behaviors) being used as an overriding virtue. The belief that everybody's belief system is right for them is more acceptable than any idea of judgment. Therefore, people have come up with the idea that they should be free to pick and choose what to believe about Jesus. This has led people to not only make their own religion, but because they view Jesus as being "big on love," they eliminate the concept of judgment and hell and created their own kind of Jesus...in their own image. People, this is idolatry! Plain and simple.

They create their own "godliness." They believe that no one's opinion[s] should trump anyone elses. The established biblical Christian tenet of absolute truth is out the window.

The "new" and "rethink" Christianity is a do-it-yourself spirituality. This is known as "syncretism," which is the blending of elements from various faiths into a new form of spirituality. Orthodoxy is thrown out the window. Syncretists adopt doctrines that seem appropriate to them and leave behind others that they regard as offensive or outdated. You could label it the eclectic approach towards an unrecognizable form of "Christianity," which, is a far cry from the truth. The historical Jesus has now become a designer Jesus.

Why is biblical Christianity so despised by many today? Precisely because Jesus claimed (and is) the truth. People understand that truth is a belief, story, ideal, or statement that matches up with reality or corresponds to the way things really are. Yet, for some, they want to take a pragmatic viewpoint and believe that whatever works for them is true. But relativism always falls apart, in the end. Relativism cannot be lived out consistently. There is a mismatch between its theory and practice.

For Biblical Christians, the truth is revealed in God's Word and through the Person of Truth, Jesus Christ. It is true even if people don't acknowledge it. Absolute Truth is true even if no one knows it, admits it, agrees with it, follows it, or even fully grasps it.

New Testament scholar Andreas J. Kostenberger wrote:

The very notion of truth has largely become a casualty of postmodern thought and discourse. Truth is no longer "the" truth, in Jesus' terms who claimed to be "the truth." Rather it is conceived of as "your" truth or "my" truth - that is, different yet equally legitimate ways of perceiving reality. Hence truth is simply one's preferred, culturally conditioned, socially constructed version of reality.

[Source: Andreas Kostenberger, gen. ed., Whatever Happened to Truth? (Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway, 2005), 9.]

Notice that Kostenberger uses the term socially in his quote regarding "socially constructed version of reality." Right there, we have the mindset and entryway right into the path of socialism. And, what does socialism here in America hold as one of its highest ideals? Liberalism.


Now, keeping all of this in mind, please read this excellent article called A Liberal Christianity Intensifies Radical Islam Threat.


Notice how the article begins:

The Western church’s growing tendency to blur theological differences and not uphold the absolute truth is contributing to the threat of radical Islam to the Western world, said a highly respected expert on Islam.


Patrick Sookhdeo, the director of the Institute for the Study of Islam and Christianity, said churches are moving away from central doctrines that teach about separation and instead conforming to secular society’s ideology of inclusion.

“When faced with the uniqueness of Christ we become inclusive. He loves everybody so we talk about love, and hell and damnation goes out the window,” said Sookhdeo. “It becomes too embarrassing. So our church has conformed itself according to society.”

What does this tell us? It tells us that the various tenets, values, and anti-morality socialistic-bent liberalism invading the evangelical churches is attempting to capture the public's attention through a portrait of Jesus that is only nice and loving, while ignoring the fact that He will one day return as the Holy and Righteous Judge of the universe! This new "designer" Jesus does not have any resemblance to the biblical, historical Jesus that has been traditionally embraced by the church over the past 2,000 years.

Sookhdeo isn't afraid to preach the truth:

Christians are afraid to admit that only believers in Jesus Christ will be saved and others – Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists – are lost, because that would be arrogance in a society dominated by secular humanist ideology, Sookhdeo argued.

“If the U.S. church goes the way of Europe and embraces liberalism in its theology then it will embrace liberalism in its life,” said the British Anglican canon. “And if it embraces liberalism in its life then the church will die and not only will the church die, but society around it will also die.”

“What worries me is this,” he added. “I say this to churches in Britain. I can’t say it of the U.S. Is the Lord taking His candlestick from Britain and from Europe? Is the Lord saying: ‘I’m going to vomit you out of my mouth, because your sickness is beyond cure? You are so taken with other gods, you have prostituted yourself enough. I’m finished with you.’ It is a question and a question we must address, not just in Europe but here also.”

Islam is one of these gods which Christians are embracing, said Sookhdeo.

I know. You must be thinking that the last sentence above cannot possibly be true. Think again.

Archbishop of Canterbury seeks adoption of Islamic law
'It is not as if we are bringing in an alien and rival system'


Commenter John 14-6 sums it up:

Patrick Sookhdeo is absolutely, 100% correct. Christian liberalism bears a huge responsibility for the problems we are facing with Islam. If the church does not stand up strong and present the faith boldly, the absolute truth of Jesus Christ as being the only way, the only truth and the only life, then Islam will run rampant and roughshod across Christendom. It's already happening because of what Christian liberalism has done to the church (what's left of the church) in places like Germany, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Denmark, and most certainly what is happening in England. Today, the Archbishop of Canterbury said England should be "resigned" to accepting partial Sharia Law. I rest my case.

I hope that these thoughts and links have made you aware of the dire consequences that would ensue if either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama become our next president. With their lack of resolve on the War on Terrorism, our nation could be in grave danger. Their socialistic, liberal, "leave Al Qaeda, the Iranian insurgents, the Taliban and Hamas alone and there will be peace" attitudes indicate to me that they could end up being just like that Archbishop - be "resigned" to accepting partial Sharia Law. After all, it would be the inclusive, tolerant, and morally relativistic thing to do...in their spiritually blinded eyes...wouldn't it?

Hat Tips:

Christian Business Daily
World Net Daily
The Powers that Be
LaiglesForum
On the wRite Side
Thoughts, Commentary, and Other Various Ramblings
Newsmax - David Limbaugh
The Conservative Voice
CNN Politics
Digg
The Christian Post

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Update @ 4:56 p.m. PT -

GCMWatch has an excellent post up which presents and explains the term "diaprax." Author and Pastor, D.L. Foster, demonstrates how that term (diaprax) is related to both the emergent church movement heresy and the gay "christian" movement heresy. His research on these issues expose the diehard efforts of such groups - through the use of fraudulent and deceitful purposes - to attack and skew the truth of God's Word in their not-so-secret attempts to undermine the true Gospel of Jesus Christ.

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Second Update @ 5;45 p.m. PT -


At least someone involved with the clergy over in the U.K. finally had the brains to speak out against the Canterbury Fairytale Archbishop!

'Resign,' clergy tell Archbishop of Canterbury
Call for Williams to quit part of backlash over sharia comments