Two Best Blog Posts

The two best blog posts of the day appeared at Nice Deb's and Orly Taitz's sites.

1. Inauguration Free Zone

I'll join that!

Excerpt (but go to Nice Deb blog for links within post):

Didn’t watch it…won’t cover it. Heard the Benediction was a race-baiting travesty... heard Obama took some cheap shots at Bush during his speech…heard the Obamanuts in the crowd taunted the outgoing Bush.

Nope…sorry. You’ll have to go somewhere else for commentary. Can’t do it…my blood pressure can’t take it.

Just keep this in mind, though: Huge crowds once jeered Jesus. Huge crowds once cheered Hitler. In fact Hitler won with 98% of the vote. These are the times we are living in. Good has become evil, and evil good.

MORE OUTRAGE:

DoublePlusUnead finds an old video that shows how classless, lefty fanatics who booed, and taunted Bush’s departure, welcomed him the same way. Liberalism is truly a mental disorder. And these mentals have won the day.

Couldn't have said it better!

The second post was over at Dr. Orly Taitz blog:

Copy of letter:

....please post as open letter BEFORE if and when Obama is sworn in.
To All Americans,

I am drafting this letter as dawn is approaching in the early morning hours of 20 Jan 2009. My public voice regarding issues before us and surrounding the office of the President of The United States will soon and for the moment fall silent; as my Oath and Military law requires. So it is that I humbly ask of all those Americans who love and support our country to become the voices of those who serve in the Armed Forces. This torch of freedom , at least in the short term, is passed to you. Your voice and demand for justice is your right, your heritage and the heritage that will pass to your children and with the grace of God to their children. As for me, although I believe in good faith I must continue to put my trust in the Military Officers appointed above me and in the Supreme Court for now, I KNOW that there is NO law made of man that should, can or will silence my voice in prayer. This too is protected in our Constitution. As I have asked that your public voices be heard I also ask, in this battle for our Freedom, each and every one also let you voices be heard in prayer.

I am so thankful for the courage and valor of “Dr. Orly” and have truly been moved to tears by one who came here from another land and has taken upon herself to fight those gaining power that would seemingly have so little regard for our Constitution and our Freedom. I am proud of her beyond words.

As a Military Officer and American I am keenly aware that our freedom is not a debt, but has been bought and paid for with untold sacrifice and with sacrifice must be defended. Do not despair however in this hour regardless of the events of this day. Take heart and help Orly and all those fighting for us; if for nothing else do it for “Old Glory”.

So if and until God again opens a door so that my voice again can be heard in a public forum, I leave you with this:

The critical words of Barak Hussein Obama regarding the faults in our Constitution and our Country.

The constitution states what governments can not do TO you....."the constitution does not say what your country should do for YOU on your behalf. "

In other words he is saying the Constitution should spell out what the Country should do for YOU .

The words of JFK

…."Ask NOT what your country can do for YOU but ask what YOU can do FOR your Country ." Fight for her, stand up for her !!

Wow! Quite powerful!

*******
Update: This one is really good, too!

Statement From Northeast Intelligence Network

True Friends of Israel (Alert! New Attack!)

Is anyone else out there bothered and worried about Barack Hussein Obama's refusal to share his positions about the current Middle East crisis going on between Israel and Hamas?

I know. He is hiding behind the statement that says, "there can only be one presidential administration at a time." I know. It is said that there can only be "one foreign policy" at a time.

So, what does this tell us?

Take the economic situation and policy decisions being made (and currently being planned by the new administration.) It's out in the open. In fact, Obama supposedly is having (or, may have already had) a news conference on the subject. Why is it OK for discussion of this but not the other? [Update: Just as has always been suspected of Obama's candidacy - he's into "spreading the wealth around." Of course, he is scaring people to death while encouraging it! The news conference showed this tactic - up front and center in Obama's remarks! Michael Reagan was ahead of Obama's game from the start:

Stimulating Bankruptcy And Chaos]

The answer is two-fold.

1. The economy subject of "bailouts" are mostly agreed upon by both parties - with only a small segment of conservatives (who don't have ANY influential voice in Congress anymore) who would rather wait and see if the first bailouts work.

2. The foreign policy of the future Obama administration disagrees with the current Bush administration and will most likely drastically change direction. The nomination of a pansy, inexperienced candidate for the CIA chief position - Leon Panetta - is an indication of the 180 degree turn that Obama will take on intelligence gathering and foreign policy management. [Update: Jeremiah Films has links to several articles concerned about this appointment, too!]

Therefore, Obama does not want to show the public "his hand" yet.

I think that Israel already knows that her security will mostly fall upon Her own shoulders once Obama is in office. The steadfast loyalty, security, unconditional stance and friendship of the United States government (of the past) with Israel might (tragically) be severely at risk.

I know. I sound like an alarmist. I sincerely hope that I AM WRONG about this. However, the indications so far don't look good regarding the Obama foreign policy inferences that we are currently getting.

I realize that my assumptions are coming from an "argument from silence." However, I can't shake the feeling and belief that if Obama was truly, in fact, ready to defend Israel against all enemies - like past administrations have - then he would have stated much more emphatically that he agrees with the Bush administration that Israel has the right to defend herself in the current battle with Hamas terrorists.

This morning, I was reading a back issue of Newsmax magazine. There was an ad in it from an organization called "FLAME" which stands for Facts and Logic About the Middle East. I have heard of this organization in the past and have read some of their ads. However, I have not had the time to read much at the website. If you click on the link above and scroll down, you will see several links to various ads that they have shared in magazine publications to help educate people about the truth regarding the conflicts going on in the Middle East. Their goal is to separate fact from fiction, truth from myths, and logic from propaganda regarding Israel and the Arab nations that hate her, despise her, surround her and outrightly have declared their wish to destroy her.

Went back to the link (above) and found a few ads that I think are very important to read:

The “Root Cause” of the Middle East Turmoil
Would peace descend if the Arab-Israeli conflict were resolved?

Turmoil in Gaza
What can the world, what can Israel do to restore order?


Rockets Over Sderot
What should Israel do to stop this outrage?
[This one shares the fact that Israel needed to retaliate against Hamas because of the constant barrage of missiles being shot into her land!]

Note this portion:

Israel’s attempt to stop the shelling of Sderot has so far been a failure. But what should Israel do? The answer is obvious: Israel should openly declare to Gaza and to the world at large that every rocket that falls on Sderot or on any place in Israel will immediately be responded to by a rocket aimed at where it came from. Since Gaza is packed with humanity, it is clear that such a tit-for-tat approach would cause many civilian casualties. That would be a tragedy, of course. But, it is pretty clear that the rockets would stop in short order. Sure, “the world” would object. But a country’s first duty is to protect its citizens from attack. That is what we would do. That is the very least any country would do.

That paragraph was practically prophetic in its declaration that "the world would object." We have seen the pro-Palestinian protests going on in several parts of the world - including - unfortunately, the United States.

There are over one hundred ads to view at that link. I plan to take my time and read through most of them.

It is a well known fact that our news media is run by the far-left. Most, unfortunately, may think that they can hide their true positions on the Israeli/Arab conflicts. However, the truth is that many are secretly, if not openly anti-Zionist. Many far left Democrats are, too.

Case in point.

Several posts ago, I put up a link to Mike Rucker's blog post called "Wars With No Victors." Mike shared a letter he had received from a man named "Bill Burton." In the comment thread, I asked Mike if this was the same "Bill Burton" (recall, he often did commentary on the Fox News Channel) who worked on Obama's campaign. Mike seemed to think that it probably wasn't the same man. Maybe so. But if it was, then perhaps we could draw some inkling about where Obama might stand regarding "Zionism." Here is a copy of the "Bill Burton" letter:

There will be a (probably) huge demonstration in front of the C N N center this Saturday begiinning at 2 p.m. and going for a couple of hours. The sponsors are some local Palestinian-rights groups who don’t have a website up and running. I heard about it this Tuesday at a prior demo for the same cause.

The demonstration to call for the Israeli’s to stop their bombing, armored attack, naval attacks, and blockade of Gaza. No food or medical supplies get into Gaza except for a trickle through tunnels to Egypt, which the Israelis are bombing. Similar demonstrations are going on around the U.S. and around the world. The Zionists are like mad dogs. They killed two Hamas fighters to provoke the missile attack from Hamas, and then they launched the massive attacks they’d planned for almost 6 months.
Current news on Gaza can be found at:
http://www.prisonplanet.com and
http://www.takingaimradio.com/audiofiles/

And click to play this (very knowledgeable and thorough report) by Shoenman and Shone:
http://takingaimradio.com/mp3/
takingaim081230.mp3

Sorry I forgot to get the word out earlier.

Bill

(italics and red bold mine)

Is that statement fact or fiction? Is this man spreading propaganda? I will let each reader decide.

Back to the FLAME website.

I found the following question quite intriguing. The question was asked, Christians and Israel
Are Christians Israel’s supporters or its detractors? and when I clicked on the essay answer it revealed what I have often suspected about many, if not most of America's "religious left's" feelings and opinions about Israel:

Is “divestment” the new anti-Semitism? In contrast to the Evangelicals’ solid support of Israel stand certain “mainline” leftists-oriented churches. On the forefront are the mainline Presbyterians. In 2000, they launched a campaign to divest from five U.S. companies (Caterpillar, Motorola, United Technologies, ITT, and CitiGroup), which they claim are complicit in Israel’s mistreatment and suppression of the Arabs under their administration.

The United Church of Christ (UCC) took similar action and it seems that the Episcopalian hierarchy is also contemplating such a course. The Anglicans, the British equivalent of the Episcopalians, passed a similar resolution last year. Gratifyingly, most of the rank and file of these churches entirely disagrees with their leaders. It provokes their outrage and has also caused bipartisan condemnation in Congress.

As far as the robust Israeli economy is concerned, any possible divestment by those churches would not be much more than a pinprick. But what is significant and important is that, in hypocritical self-righteousness, those church leaders have cloaked their antipathy toward the Jews in the socially more acceptable mantle of anti-Zionism or anti-Israelism. Would those elders recommend that their church divest from Spain for their “suppression of the Basques,” from China for the “subjugation of the Tibetans,” or from the Arab countries for their ruthless exclusion and worse of their fellow Christian citizens, the genocide of their blacks, and for the mistreatment of women? Of course not – it is Israel, the only democratic country in the entire Middle East, that merits the condemnation of the leaders of those mainline churches. It makes one wonder, doesn’t it!

Contrast that with what is known about the steadfast support of Evangelical Christians for Israel and Her people:

One solid friend of Israel came to the fore. Today, American Evangelicals are the staunchest supporters of Israel. This support is largely based on the faith shared with the Jews that the land of Israel was willed by God to the children of Israel. It is a primary reason for America's friendship and solidarity with Israel. The Evangelicals believe that their end-of-time scenario will be hastened by the establishment of a Jewish state in that land.

Jews fully reciprocate the love that the Evangelicals feel for Israel. Christian institutions in Israel thrive and have the support and full protection of the government. Christian schools, Christian churches and other Christian institutions prosper. A large Christian pilgrimage center is to be built in cooperation with American Evangelicals. A Christian embassy in Jerusalem represents the interests of Christians in Israel and serves as messenger about Israel throughout the world.

[J]ews and the State of Israel can rejoice in the solid friendship and the sturdy support of American Evangelical Christians. Also, the Roman Catholic Church, under the wise guidance of the saintly late John Paul II, has recognized its crimes against the Jews over the centuries and has asked for forgiveness and understanding. It is only the hypocritical leaders of certain mainline Protestant churches who, against the will and belief of their rank and file, derogate the State of Israel and promote the phony issue of divestment of companies that supposedly support its alleged mistreatment of the Arabs under its administration and the violation of their human rights.

Conclusion:

What type of "Christian" church did Obama hail from?

I rest my case.

Hat Tips:

FLAME: Facts and Logic About the Middle East

Jeremiah Films

Mike Rucker's blog

*******
Update:

Oh great...now Hezbollah from Lebanon is attacking Israel!

Joel Rosenberg's blog: ROCKETS FIRED FROM LEBANON AT ISRAEL: Fears of a second front

End times prophecy tells us that there will be a "ganging up" of haters of the nation of Israel. Is this just a preview? Or, is the prophecy already starting and coming to fruition?

*******
Second Update:

Another great article to read over at Culture Watch:

Israel, Hamas and Moral Equivalence

Related posts:

Prophecy Continually Being Fulfilled

We Are Witnessing Biblical Prophecy

Jerusalem Countdown

David's Incredible Prophecy of Israel's Enemies Today

Zechariah's Warning to Bush and Condi

Discerning Signs of the Times

What Pleases the Lord?

Doesn't it seem that the troubles in this world that Jesus Christ warned us about have increased exponentially over the last few years? If this world, and everything in it, were all that "there is," how sad, depressed, and worried we should be at this time in our nation's history.

No matter what happens regarding the Obama ineligibility issue, I can STILL have the peace that surpasses all understanding because I belong to Jesus. No matter what transpires here on this earth, God is STILL on the throne of heaven - and His ultimate plan for our salvation and the salvation of His people - the Jews - will come to pass.

Non-believers often scoff at Christians for believing in the prophecies of the Bible. They don't believe in Christ, or the Rapture, or Christ's Second Coming. However, we have the proof that we need because God's Written Word has never failed us - and never will fail to achieve what is written in prophecy regarding the end times. With over 300 prophecies about Jesus (many of which have already been fulfilled - the rest to be fulfilled at his second coming) in the Bible, we can trust our Lord and Savior to do exactly what he has spoken through the Scriptures.

Who do YOU trust in this world?

Don't you find it very difficult to trust ANY politician these days? I think that the last presidential politician that I found quite trustworthy was Ronald Reagan. No one is perfect, but President Reagan was probably THE most trustworthy and when compared to our Founding Fathers through individual faith, hope, love, governance, and adherence to our U.S. Constitution, Reagan can be looked up to, highly regarded and fondly remembered for his pride, patriotism, security, and love for America.

Conservatives were thrilled with V.P. candidate Sarah Palin. She reflected many of the beliefs and policies of Reagan. How awesome it would have been to have her serve as vice president! She is a future, conservative candidate who will hopefully bring our nation back toward the Founding Father's original intent.

Today, I feel as though we are hopelessly surrounded by liars, cheats, usurpers, Marxists, Communists, socialists, licentious liberals and downright immoral politicians. And, those who should speak out against this onslaught of misery apparently refuse to do so.

Why?

Probably hundreds of reasons.

Perhaps the biggest reason is because they don't want to lose their jobs and source of income. The second reason is that they don't want to lose their power and prestige; therefore, they will go along with the crowd in order to keep the status quo - no matter how damaging, debilitating, and dangerous this will be - to our people, our military, our economy, our laws, our morality, our rights, our religious rights and freedoms, and our future as a nation.

The United States of America was built upon a love for God and the Judeo-Christian laws, ethics, and values. How very far we have drifted from the original intent of our Founding Fathers! If any one of our nation's founders could come back and see how our nation is being governed today, they would never believe it! Imagine how absolutely appalled they would be!

This nation was created as a Constitutional democratic republic. But we cannot survive as such unless we are a moral, God loving and God-fearing (revering) peoples.

In a previous comment thread, I shared the fact that one of the first acts of our new Congress was to suppress the Republican minority from influencing legislation and decisions over the next four years. This is just the tip of the iceberg, my friends. Look out and hold onto your wallet - we are about to be tsunami ed into economic, moral, and foreign policy turmoil by Big Government that wants nothing to do with republicanism nor conservative values. To them, the Constitution of the United States of America is either "just a piece of paper" or "a document that can be usurped" because a popular politician mesmerized and manipulated millions of voters through the use of appealing to their feelings rather than towards what is right, true and good for our nation. The Media of Mass Deception, unfortunately, helped keep the truth about Obama and his ilk from public scrutiny. Now, we are stuck with the possibility of a usurper being sworn into the highest office of the land.

I have no idea what will transpire between now and January 20th. Either SCOTUS will uphold our Constitution, or they will renege on their sworn oaths to do so and allow Obama into the White House.

I was thinking about what Christians will be doing over the next four years. It is quite possible that the Internet will come under Marxist government control and blogs like mine will be undermined or even shut down. It is quite possible that the "Fairness Doctrine" will eliminate conservative talk radio. Free speech will become "politically correct speech only" allowed.

I think that Christians will not only be suppressed from sharing the Bible (via "hate-crimes" legislation that is actually "thought crimes" in action) verses that "offend" some; but also will come under persecution as well. It is already happening. It will only get worse. The ACLU will see to it that Christians are silenced from openly sharing the gospel. Wait and see!

So what are we to do over the next four years?

I found a blog post (via "Dave" at Digg) that shares what is most important for Christians in this life. Through Scripture verses, it shares "What Pleases God." I found it very informative and comforting. I hope and pray that reading it will bless you and give you hope - the real kind - not the fake "hope" that has been touted by a politician whose views change direction every time the wind blows.

Jesus is the Rock of our salvation. Nothing can take us away from being His. He is the genuine Hope that lives within all believers. One day, we will each see him face to face at the culmination of all of history. When my work here on this earth is done, He will call me home. The excitement in my soul and spirit as I look forward to that day makes me shout, "I can't wait to see my Lord!" Meanwhile, I will continue to work at what pleases the Lord!

In Christ's service,

Christine

*******
Copy of post at "Beef on the Grill" blog:

Thursday, November 08, 2007

What pleases God? Let the Scriptures speak…

I read in Ephesians 5:10 where it says in the NIV, “and find out what pleases the Lord.” What pleases the Lord?

Hebrews 11:6: And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

Hebrews 13:16: …and do not forget to do good and share with others for with such sacrifices, God is pleased.

Romans 12:1-2: Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Psalm 69:30-31: I will praise God's name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving. This will please the Lord more than an ox, more than a bull with its horns and hoofs.

Micah 6:7-8: Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.


I Timothy 5:4: But if a widow has children or grandchildren, these should learn first of all to put their religion into practice by caring for their own family and so repaying their parents and grandparents, for this is pleasing to God.

I Timothy 2:1-3: I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone-- for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior,

Colossians 1:10-13: And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves,

I Thessalonians. 4:1-12: Finally, brothers, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more. For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus. It is God's will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God; and that in this matter no one should wrong his brother or take advantage of him. The Lord will punish men for all such sins, as we have already told you and warned you. For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit. Now about brotherly love we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other. And in fact, you do love all the brothers throughout Macedonia. Yet we urge you, brothers, to do so more and more. Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.

Galatians 6:7-8: Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.

Romans 15:2-4: Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written: "The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me." For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

1 John 2:17: The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.


Posted by Judi Seehusen at 10:49 PM

(some bold mine)


Hat Tip: Judi at Beef on the grill blogspot

Patriotic and Resilient Citizen Resistance

Once again, it's "Blogment" time! Being that my time in limited for blogging today, I wanted to share a comment that I had originally posted in reply to commenter "Rebecca" in yesterday's post. She had mentioned that another radically pro-abortion person was most likely to gain a congressional seat in CO.

Earlier this morning, I received two emails on the topic of abortion. Here is the blogment:

I see Obama as the worst kind of liar. He tries to appear "neutral" by inviting someone like Rick Warren to the Inauguration (the gay activists are having a FIT about that) [Update: Oh boy...Obama's REALLY in the dog house over this!!], and claims that though he's pro-"choice" (code word for pro-death-to-babies-in-the-womb!), he wants to CLAIM to work to make abortions "legal, safe, and rare."

Ironically, I got an email from a dear friend this morning who shared this:

Rick Warren Not Satisfied with Making Abortions 'Rare'

The Christian Post reports that megachurch pastor Rick Warren may be on good terms with President-elect Barack Obama, but does not support Obama's policy of making abortions "rare." In an interview with Beliefnet Editor-in-Chief Steven Waldman, Warren said, "Of course I want to reduce the number of abortions... But to me it is kind of a charade in that people say 'We believe abortions should be safe and rare." He continued, "Don't tell me it should be rare. That's like saying on the Holocaust, 'Well, maybe we could save 20 percent of the Jewish people in Poland and Germany and get them out and we should be satisfied with that,'" Warren said. "I'm not satisfied with that. I want the Holocaust ended."

I also got an email entitled, "Pre-born in peril under Obama" from a pro-life activist who shared what Obama will do TO INCREASE ABORTIONS:

+ + Urgent Pro-Life Update ++

12/17/2008

Dear Christine,

With only weeks to go before the Obama presidency begins, Pro-lifers across the nation are fearful that he will promote the most radical abortion agenda in the history of our country...

To begin with, we anticipate that Obama will quickly sign "The Freedom of Choice Act" - abolishing any state or federal regulations on abortion!

-parental notification rights would be terminated.
-waiting periods for abortions would cease to exist.
-requirements for full disclosure wouldn't be necessary.
-the barbaric partial-birth abortion procedure would again become a legal option.

Most importantly, the Act would repeal the Hyde Amendment restricting the use of federal funds on abortion!

Without question Obama's intent is not to protect pre-bornlife, but rather make it even easier to destroy!

It makes me physically ILL to think about HOW DRASTICALLY THE PRE-BORN ARE GOING TO BE IN PERIL UNDER OBAMA.

*******

There is a petition that you can sign at Grassfire.org

The Resistance States:

As an American citizen, while I will show respect to President-elect Obama, I oppose the far-Left and socialistic elements that comprise the centerpiece of his agenda. I recognize that it will take a patriotic and resilient Citizen Resistance to block implementation of this agenda and I join with others who oppose these threats to our liberties.


Specifically, I Resist:

Socialistic wealth redistribution including any and all tax increases and big-government welfare programs.

Silencing conservatives through the Fairness Doctrine and other efforts that restrict free speech.

Open border anarchy including amnesty for illegal aliens and promotion of multi-nation “unions”.

Government-run health care that weakens our system and imposes more tax burdens on citizens.

Weakening of our military through rapid pullback from Iraq, defunding our troops and overall disarmament.

Social liberalism including radical pro-abortion agenda, the end of marriage and the homosexual agenda.

Liberal court activism that undermines faith, family and liberties while expanding government control.

Post-American globalism that diminishes our global role and threatens our national sovereignty.

Environmental extremism, the CO2 tax, undermining coal and nuclear, and bans on exploration.

Weakening the 2nd Amendment through unconstitutional gun laws that take away or penalize us for owning firearms and our right to defend our family, our property, and ourselves.

Update: New Study: High Rates of Psychological Problems and Death Among Post-Abortive Women

That research article if just more proof:

Abortion kills one life and destroys another...

HT's:

Grassfire.org

Scooters Report

Wake Up Americans

*******
Thursday evening Update:

For those of you who are following (or, unsure about the reasons for all the lawsuits) the Obama natural born citizen controversy, the following two videos help to spell it out clearly:

Dr. Orly Taitz - Part 1

Dr. Orly Taitz - Part 2

A Letter to Refute

Dear Friends,

I found this awful, riddled-with-biblical-interpretation-errors "letter of the week" over at WorldNetDaily and decided to post it here so that we can contribute to the refutation of it.

I will be working on my response, but please feel free to address any, or all of the statements that you feel led and prepared to refute!

In Christ,
Christine

*******

The Bible is a house of cards

Posted: April 04, 2008
1:00 am Eastern

© 2008 (WorldNetDaily)

I read and enjoy WND every day, but I'd like to respond with a critical view to Jonathan Falwell's "Was Jesus a liar?" commentary.

Mr. Falwell criticizes Barack Obama because Mr. Obama said something that implies he believes non-Christians can be "children of God."

But, Mr. Falwell opines, the problem is that "such sentiment is not what the Bible teaches. According to God's Word ...," etc., etc., etc.

News media recently reported that Mr. Obama mentioned in a speech that he is not impressed with certain "obscure" passages from Paul's epistles. Therefore, Mr. Obama cherry-picks verses from Scripture. That is, he believes some Bible passages that seem reasonable to him; he decides not to believe verses that don't seem reasonable to him.

Combine these two stories – 1) Mr. Obama's sentiments about parts of the New Testament that St. Paul wrote and 2) his remarks that Jews and Muslims can be children of God – and we see Obama marching to a different drum.

That is, he is apparently not marching in step with fundamentalist Christians.

Further, not surprisingly, Mr. Falwell exhibits fundamentalist tendencies in his editorial.

For example:

He declares that Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever. Why? Because the Bible says Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever.


He says the counsel of the Lord stands forever. Why? Because a verse in the book of Psalms says the counsel of the Lord stands forever.


He notes that "if we follow Christ, we cannot then mold the Bible to fit our needs; treat Jesus as simply a 'good man'" or "embellish the Gospel with man's ideas."

My bottom-line question for Mr. Falwell: Why not? Of course we can do those things. I do at least two out of three of them every day.

There is life beyond fundamentalism. God exists beyond (and in spite of) fundamentalist Christianity.

The Achilles' heel of fundamentalist Christianity is the Bible itself and the long and convoluted history of its coming to be considered (by Bible literalists) the infallible writing of God himself.

The fundamentalist assumes something that is in no way a proven fact: that the Bible is the error-free Word of God.

A study of the origins of Scripture reveals that – contrary to fundamentalists' hope against hope – it is little more than a house of cards.

Indeed, the Bible contains writings that are inspirational and uplifting. But it as well includes accounts of murder, mayhem and immortality by supposedly righteous and godly folks and even God himself. In other words, it paints a picture of God (and followers of God) that makes him out to be a petty, jealous, irascible tyrant.

I do not doubt God's existence. But, when I began to wake up to the precarious state of the "proofs" of the veracity of the Bible, a startling thought slapped my consciousness upside the head:

Does the real God, the one who stands quite apart from the nonsense of the Old and New Testaments (and the nonsense of the tenets of any religion), care if we think he is the self-contradictory, ill-tempered Yahweh? Does it make any difference if we hold onto a distorted, perverted view of the One Infinite Creator?

Yahweh's counterpart in the New Testament is sometimes better behaved, but not always. Yes, Jesus commendably advises loving one's enemies and turning the other cheek. But, especially in the book of Revelation, the Savior will blast you with supernatural nuclear force after the pre-millennial Second Coming if you dare to cross him, if you fail to believe and follow the precise formula that conservative Christians hold to in the name of the Christ of the Apocalypse, Gospels and Epistles.

Here's an interesting exercise for people who are not afraid to travel where the quest for eternal truth leads them:

Investigate the mess that is the biblical canon and listen in on the many interesting debates (readily accessible via the Internet) of conservative Christians with Bible skeptics.

Yes, you can read Josh McDowell or N.T. Wright and their reasonable-sounding standalone arguments apart from any reasonable context. But read their debates with Bible critics instead. The conservative Christians have an abysmal success rate during such professionally moderated discussions.

Mr. Falwell's method of arriving at conclusions is properly to be called circular reasoning.

If you want to prove the veracity of the Bible, you simply cannot credibly do it by citing only the Bible in your arguments. You must do it by relying on your God-given powers of reason, the existence of the universe itself and logical philosophical arguments based on premises that originate outside the Bible. Otherwise your arguments do nothing but run around in circles. Otherwise we can prove that any book is the one and only Word of God that happens to make that outrageous claim on one of its pages.

I want to close by saying that I have not written this letter with the purpose of criticizing Mr. Falwell. I'm sure he is a genuinely compassionate man who has an obvious desire to do what God wants him to do.

But what if God is less than happy with the way Falwell and many others have blindly followed, and then enshrined and worshipped, a collection of writings that – if we can back up from them a moment – can easily be seen to be myth, legend, mistakes and, in many cases, outright hoaxes.

A good place to start: Bart Ehrman's excellent books, such as "The Orthodox Corruption of Scripture," and Albert Schweitzer's series on the quest for the historic Jesus.

My reply to Mr. Falwell's question "Was Jesus a liar?":

Probably not. But we can't know for sure because we have no reliable record of what he did and said or even credible proof that he was an actual historic figure. (Maybe he was; maybe he wasn't.)

J.D.
*******
HT: WorldNetDaily

Leaven and Scabbed Sheep

This morning I found a great Christian blog called "A Little Leaven" which is dedicated to exposing the "leaven" of errors and heresies attacking the church today. The photos, blog posts and explanations shared at the site demonstrate how vital it is for true Christians to be involved with exposing heresies out there while remaining faithful to true Christian doctrine. Doing so helps us to heed the call in Jude's epistle - our need to throughly investigate and expose the damaging lies which are harmful to the true Gospel of Jesus Christ and to exhort adherence to the "faith which was once for all delivered to the saints."

The blog is described in this way:

- A Museum of Idolatry -
This Is What Happens When the Church Fails to Remain Faithful to the Correct Preaching and Teaching of God's Word

Next, in the "Welcome to Our Museum" message we read:

We'd like to thank you for stopping by our Museum of Idolatry. In less than a year we've collected more than 350 exhibits and our collection grows daily. Be sure to subscribe to our RSS feed so that you can be notified of new exhibits.

If this is your first visit or if you haven't already done so, please grab your favorite beverage and spend some time wandering through our exhibit archives. We recommend starting on the "Jesus Junk Wing". Afterwards, if you have the stomach for it, be sure to visit our collection of Christian Erotica.

This Week's Featured Archive Exhibit: Blazing Saddles Bible Study

The "Jesus junk" list contains items that are just plain silly, all the way to items that are insulting and blasphemous. There are many, many items that I had never seen before. Where are these things being sold? Online?

But the "Christian" erotica is most disturbing. Thankfully, they didn't have pictures of the awful blasphemous sex toys being sold at that well-known sex orgy "festival" which was held in San Fransicko. However, be forewarned that what you read and see there is highly offensive.

The name of the blog inspired me to read what the Bible says about "leaven." The term "leaven" occurs 23 times in 20 verses.



Here are just a few Bible verses from the list:

1Cr 5:6 Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?

1Cr 5:7 Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.

1Cr 5:8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

According to the Blue Letter Bible Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words - Leaven (Noun and Verb):

Being bred of corruption and spreading through the mass of that in which it is mixed, and therefore symbolizing the pervasive character of evil, "leaven" was utterly inconsistent in offerings which typified the propitiatory sacrifice of Christ.

In the Old Testament, "leaven" was forbidden in all offerings to the Lord by fire, Lev 2:11; 6:17.

In the OT "leaven" is not used in a metaphorical sense.

In the NT it is used (a) metaphorically (1) of corrupt doctrine, Mat 13:33; Luk 13:21, of error as mixed with the truth (there is no valid reason for regarding the symbol here differently from its application elsewhere in the NT); Mat 16:6,11; Mar 8:15

"Leaven" (yeast) was used as a symbol for sin -
1Cr 5:6-8

Matthew Henry's commentary:

IV. He hints the danger of contagion from this example: Your glorying is not good. Know you not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? The bad example of a man in rank and reputation is very mischievous, spreads the contagion far and wide. It did so, probably, in this very church and case: see 2 Co. 12:21. They could not be ignorant of this. The experience of the whole world was for it; one scabbed sheep infects a whole flock. A little leaven will quickly spread the ferment through a great lump. Note, Concern for their purity and preservation should engage Christian churches to remove gross and scandalous sinners.

During a Bible study on Psalm 23, I learned a lot about the harm that even just one sheep with the disease of "scab" can wreck upon an entire flock of sheep:

Keller (author of A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23) goes on to discuss and describe the irritating and highly contagious disease called "scab," which is common to sheep the world over. He mentions how sheep tend to rub heads together in a friendly, affectionate manner. However, when one has the "scab," this terrible disease spreads easily from one to the other.

Keller writes:

In the Old Testament when it was declared that the sacrificial lambs should be without blemish, the thought uppermost in the writer's mind was that the animal should be free of scab. In a very real and direct sense scab is significant of contamination, of sin, of evil.

Again as with flies, the only effective antidote is to apply linseed oil, sulphur and other chemicals that can control this disease. In many sheep-rearing countries dips are built and the entire flock is put through the dip. Each animal is completely submerged in the solution until its entire body is soaked. The most difficult part to do is the head. The head has to be plunged under repeatedly to ensure that scab there will be controlled. Some sheep-men take great care to treat the head by hand.

[S]o I know precisely what David meant when he wrote, "Thou anointest my head with oil." Again it was the only antidote for scab. [Keller adds that an old remedy is olive oil, sulphur and spices.]

In the Christian life, most of our contamination by the world, by sin, by that which would defile and disease us spiritually comes through our minds. It is a case of mind meeting mind to transmit ideas, concepts and attitudes which may be damaging.

Often it is when we "get our heads together" with someone else who may not necessarily have the mind of Christ, that we come away imbued with concepts that are not Christian.

Our thoughts, our ideas, our emotions, our choices, our impulses, drives and desires are all shaped and molded through the exposure of our minds to other people's minds. In our modern era of mass communication, the danger of the "mass mind" grows increasingly grave. Young people in particular, whose minds are so malleable, find themselves being molded under the subtle pressures and impacts made on them by television, radio, magazines, newspapers, [Christine adds: the internet!] and fellow classmates, to say nothing of their parents and teachers.

Often the mass media which are largely responsible for shaping our minds are in the control of men whose characters are not Christlike: who in some cases are actually anti-Christian.

One cannot be exposed to such contacts without coming away contaminated. The thought patterns of people are becoming increasingly abhorrent. Today we find more tendency to violence, hatred, prejudice, greed, cynicism and increasing disrespect for that which is noble, fine, pure or beautiful.

This is precisely the opposite of what Scripture teaches us. In Philippians 4:8 we are instructed emphatically in this matter, "...whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things"! Here again, the only possible, practical path to attaining such a mind free of the world's contamination is to be conscious daily, hourly of the purging presence of God's Holy Spirit, applying Himself to my mind.

Keeping what I have already shared in this post in mind, I'd like to add some quotes from John MacArthur's book, "The Truth War" -

False teachers aren't necessarily even that obvious. They don't wear badges identifying themselves as apostates. They usually try hard not to stand out as enemies of truth. They pretend devotion to Christ and demand tolerance from Christ's followers.

Been there...done that! I have certainly had my share of false converts "demand tolerance" from me. However, such "tolerance" would require accepting their heretical ideas for the sake of "can't we all just get along?"

MacArthur:

We must not take our cues from people who are perfectly happy to compromise the truth wherever possible "for harmony's sake." Friendly dialogue may sound affable and pleasant. But neither Christ nor the apostles ever confronted serious, soul-destroying error by building collegial relationships with false teachers.

You see, it's not "just a little thing" people! Defending the truth in a world of errors disguised as "Christianity" is essential in the truth war!

MacArthur:

Because Gnosticism constantly mutated and metamorphosed and spawned new errors, Gnostic thought was like a persistent virus attacking Biblical Christianity for many centuries. As a matter of fact, Gnosticism was never totally and thoroughly exterminated. Some of the most ancient expressions of Gnostic error are experiencing a powerful comeback in the current generation.

We are supposed to respond to a pseudo-Christian teacher who denies the core truths of Christian doctrine: "Do not receive him into your house nor greet him; for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds."

MacArthur:

John evidently applied that principle in his own practice too. Iranaeus (who was born shortly after John died and was personally acquainted with people who had sat under John's teaching) records that John once refused to enter a public bathhouse in Ephesus when he learned Cerinthus (a Gnostic who insisted that Jesus' deity was an illusion) was inside. So much did John love the truth and hate falsehood that he refused any kind of fellowship (or even casual association) with the peddlers of gnostic notions.

Now, it is extremely important to realize that we are discussing those who profess to be Christians; not skeptics, agnostics, atheists, those of other religions. What this teaches us is that those who borrow truth from Scripture here and there - but then poison it with outright lies are even more damaging than non-believers. Why? Because just like the gnostics of the early days of Christianity, they are guilty of satanic truth twisting (a modern-day example are "The Da Vinci Code" adherents) and are heretics who are undermining the very foundation of true faith!

The caution for our present time is that if those who spread such lies are not opposed and clearly refuted with the plain truth of God's Word, then those who need to know proper, sound doctrine could easily be led astray by postmodern, creeping apostasy.

Yet, it has been my experience, (unfortunately), that many of my Christian friends and acquaintances actually seem more distressed about believers who think the Truth War is still worth fighting than about the dangers of false doctrine.

Why is that?

I think that it has a lot to do with what MacArthur states in chapter 5 "Heresy's Subtlety":

The more aggressively something is marketed to Christians as the latest, greatest novelty, the less likely most evangelicals are to examine it critically. After all, who wants to be constantly derided as a gatekeeper for orthodoxy in a postmodern culture? Defending the faith is a role very few seem to want anymore.

Have you experienced derision because you are involved in "earnestly contending for the faith" as Jude exhorts in his epistle? I know that I have.

MacArthur certainly tells it like it is, magnificently in these concluding paragraphs in chapter 4:

Their complaint has become a familiar refrain: "Why don't you just lighten up? Why don't you ease off the campaign to refute doctrines you disagree with? Why must you constantly critique what other Christians are teaching? After all, we all believe in the same Jesus."

My answer? No we don't believe in the same Jesus!

MacArthur goes on:

But Scripture clearly and repeatedly warns us that no everyone who claims to believe in Jesus really does. Jesus Himself said many would claim to know Him who actually do not (Matthew 7;22-23). Satan and his ministers have always masqueraded as ministers of righteousness (2 Corinthians 11:15). We are not ignorant of his devices (2 Corinthians 2:11). After all, this has been his strategy from the very start.

So it is the very height of folly (and disobedience) for Christians in the current generation to decide all of a sudden that in the name of "love" we ought to sweep aside every aberrant idea about the gospel and unconditionally embrace everyone who claims to be a Christian. To do that would be to concede the whole battle for truth to the enemy.

We must continue the fight.

In this postmodern world, the clear voices of true biblical discernment are few. In fact, many are improperly labeled as "heresy hunters" or pesky whistle-blowers.

Where are the Berean-type believers of today? Such believers used to be commended. Not anymore! Today, many are labeled negatively for standing up for truth. Perhaps that is why there aren't enough believers willing to be ostracized for careful scrutinizing and discernment? In Acts 17:11, we are told how important it is for believers to "search[ed] the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so."

MacArthur provides a detailed history of the heresies that spawned up through those who followed errant doctrines. He shares that spiritual chaos results from false teachers when the church becomes weary of the conflict and ceases to fight against it. In the closing paragraphs of Chapter 5, MacArthur writes:

One of the main lessons of Jude's epistle is that Christians must never cease fighting. We cannot pretend error is no longer worth battling in our generation. We should not imagine that the enemy has finally shifted into retreat mode. The war against the truth goes on continuously, unrelentingly, on multiple fronts - and it always has.

Jude takes a condensed, fish-eye view of all history, starting from the beginning of time. He shows that the Truth War has been a perpetual reality ever since sin first entered the universe. The long struggle between truth and falsehood is one of the central themes of all history.

We all would do well to remember the effects of even just a little bit of leaven.

We all would do well to remember the effects of even just one scabbed sheep.

Most important of all, remember that God uses faithful warriors for the truth as His instruments to preserve the gospel for each succeeding generation.


Jud 1:3
Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.

Best Selling Author Targeted With Venom

The message in "The Marketing of Evil" by David Kupelian certainly has attracted its share of venom, including an unsigned comment, "Will you do me a favor and kill yourself?" and another from Ryan, "I'm SO VERY GLAD I'm not you! Get hit by a bus, please!" If you are a Christian, it may be one of the most important books you will ever read!

read more digg story

So typical of those who hate the truth!

What people like "Ryan" don't realize is that he is allowing condemnation to remain upon his own soul!

Jesus, in his own words in the Bible reveals why people involved in evil hate the truth. The truth exposes darkness. The light shines the truth upon evil and sin.

The venom being spewed against the author of "The Marketing of Evil" is just typical of those who love reveling in evil and sin; while hating the truth, justice, holiness and righteousness of God.

Jhn 3:16
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Jhn 3:17
"For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

Jhn 3:18
"He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

Jhn 3:19
"And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

Jhn 3:20
"For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.

Jhn 3:21
"But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God."

The Power of the Cross

While viewing Pastor Ken Silva's Apprising Ministries site, I read the following magnificent post entitled, The Power of the Cross.

What a fabulous read for the beginning of the new year!

The entire article is SO GOOD and you will certainly be blessed, and biblically educated when you read it all!

It was really difficult for me to pick out an excerpt to share. However, the following portion stood out as an excellent description of why I blog here at Talk Wisdom.

If you have been reading here at my blog over the past 2 1/2 years, my posts cover varying points about the Bible, Jesus Christ, and how our sin-saturated culture needs the Gospel so desperately.

The following segments from Pastor Silva's essay point out the danger of the heresy movements which are so "in vogue" today. In addition, his writing warns those who are trapped in such movements of the severe error of falling for the cross-less gospel.

The Cost of the Cross



And a further word to the wise–as the fire begins to come upon this wicked generation in America–really knowing Jesus is your only hope. For the Bible says – But mark this: There will be terrible times in [these] last days (2 Tim. 3:1). Look–many who’ve been “playing” church are already fleeing–but “The Lord knows those who are His” (Numbers 16:5; 2 Timothy 2:19). And remember – They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us – 1 John 2:19.



If you listen closely you can hear Jesus ask – You do not want to leave too, do you (John 6:67)? Men and women–I remind you that a man ought to examine himself (1 Cor. 11:28) – to make sure he is in the faith (2 Corinthians 13:5). And I exhort you dear brother and dear sister–don’t be a “Demas.” For some of the saddest words in the Bible are Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me (2 Tim. 4:10).



And those that love the world will also hate the cross of Christ–because it pierces the very heart of mankind just as the nails pierced the hands and feet of our Savior–Jesus of Nazareth. The Power Of The Cross cuts right straight through our self-ishness and pride. And, it is for this very reason that the message of the Cross will never be popular. MacArthur reminds of this when he puts us in the shoes of the Apostle Paul as he first began to preach Christ crucified.



If the Gentile attitude [toward the Cross] was bad, the Jewish attitude was worse and even more hostile. They detested the Roman practice [of crucifixion] and scorned it even more than the Romans did. In their view, anybody who ever ended up on a cross fulfilled Deuteronomy 21:23, ”His body shall not remain overnight on the tree…for he who is hanged is accused of God. Does that mean the eternal God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the Lord Himself was cursed? How could God curse God? It’s absolutely unthinkable. The Messiah cursed by God? To the Jews it was impossible to imagine…


The Jews gagged on the idea of a crucified Christ. It made the Gospel unbelievable… If it wasn’t enough that crucifixion bore such a shameful stigma, there was also the shameful simplicity of the cross. A repudiation of worldly wisdom (pp.28,29,30).


And, if we hope to have any real impact on this postmodern culture for Christ, it will never come through the seeker sensitive message of a purpose driven life, nor will it ever come through the self-absorbed musings of the submerging emergent church. A.W. Tozer is right that we must get people today to understand that the:



The old cross is a symbol of death. It stands for the abrupt, violent end of a human being. The man in Roman times who took up his cross and started down the road had already said good-by to his friends. He was not coming back. He was going out to have it ended. The cross made no compromise, modified nothing, spared nothing; it slew all of the man, completely and for good. It did not try to keep on good terms with its victim. It struck cruel and hard, and when it had finished its work, the man was no more.


The race of Adam is under death sentence. There is no commutation and no escape. God cannot approve any of the fruits of sin, however innocent they may appear or beautiful to the eyes of men. God salvages the individual by liquidating him and then raising him again to newness of life.


That evangelism which draws friendly parallels between the ways of God and the ways of men is false to the Bible and cruel to the souls of its hearers. The faith of Christ does not parallel the world, it intersects it. In coming to Christ we do not bring our old life up onto a higher plane; we leave it at the cross. The corn of wheat must fall into the ground and die.


We who preach the gospel must not think of ourselves as public relations agents sent to establish good will between Christ and the world. We must not imagine ourselves commissioned to make Christ acceptable to big business, the press, the world of sports or modern education. We are not diplomats but prophets, and our message is not a compromise but an ultimatum. (http://www.crossroad.to/Excerpts/
books/faith/tozer-cross.htm).

From The Shadow of His Cross



And so we thank God for The Power Of The Cross and we need not be ashamed For [even though] the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing,…to us who are being saved it is the power of God (1 Corinthians 1:18). And to paraphrase a common theme in the teaching of Dr. Martin: If you don’t believe that everyone who won’t come to that Cross is lost–and if you don’t believe everyone who will not believe that Jesus is Lord and Savior is perishing to eternal damnation in the indescribable horrors of Hell–then what in the world are you bothering to call yourself a Christian for?

HT: Apprising Ministries

The Truth War

I have almost completed reading the book that I previously blogged about called "UnChristian - What a New Generation Really Thinks About Christianity."

As I read Steve Camp's blog post today, I found myself recalling the Emergent church attitudes and errors that were blatantly obvious within the theme of "UnChristian." The philosophy, premise, and theological opinions of the book authors stand in stark contrast to the biblical truth of the matter that John MacArthur points out in his new book, "The Truth War."


On the back cover of the "UnChristian" book it says in large black type:

1. Christianity has an image problem

2. Leaders offer vision for the future.

Note this very telling sentence:

"Find out why these negative perceptions exist, learn how to reverse them in a Christlike manner, and discover practical examples of how Christians can positively contribute to culture."

Steve's warnings in his blog post expose the conceptual errors inherent in the "UnChristian" book.

He writes:

Temporal vs Eternal

Emergent Christianity guts the faith to appeal to culture; and their myopic view of the kingdom of God predisposes them to be more concerned with the temporal, than the eternal.

The ECM has two Fundamental Flaws:
1.) a lack of reverence for God and His Word; and

2.) the unquenchable need to contextualize the Christian faith in adapting it to culture.

This is gangrenous to authentic Christianity. Erosion of the truth always begins with the subtle wandering away off the path of the essentials of the faith.

I have found that the Emergent church movement and several of its errant offspring movements, have the bad habit of moving towards either a "cross-light" (i.e. - "light" meaning, severe de-emphasis of the depravity of man and his need for repentance at the foot of the cross of Jesus Christ in order to be reconciled back to Holy and Righteous God) or, just tend to ignore the subject altogether. Some have become so steeped in cultlike error that they have even gone so far as to actually call Christ's sacrifice for man's sin as "insane" and, thus 'celebrate' a totally cross-less Gospel.

Since the authors of "UnChristian" are so concerned with "negative perceptions" about Christian faith, why would they want to preach the Cross of Christ which is "offensive to those who are perishing?"

The answer?

They wouldn't...and they don't!

In their skewed worldview, tolerance trumps the need to preach repentance.

I am currently reading John MacArthur's "The Truth War." It is EXCELLENT! I think that I first heard about the book at Steve's Camp on This blog.

EVERY CHRISTIAN needs to read this book! You will then be better able to discern the truth, that is, Orthodox, Biblical Christianity and recognize the falsehoods and deceptions of the Emergent church, gay "christian" movement, and "seeker-sensitive" false teachers (like Brian McLaren).

MacArthur's subtitle says, "Fighting for certainty in an age of deception."

Deception is rampant in today's culture. It's not only deceiving those who have absolutely no Christian beliefs, but many deceptions disguised as "Christianity" are fooling many who claim to be Christians.

Those who deem themselves as Christians, yet are ignorant of what the Bible teaches, could end up going to an emergent church without having the discernment ability to recognize any errors being taught by the leaders there. This is especially problematic when the teaching and preaching at these churches are not biblically sound. The attraction of the "emergent friendly" atmosphere might "tickle their ears" but will, unfortunately, lack the sound doctrine of the true gospel of Jesus Christ.

MacArthur has so many great quotes in his book that it is hard for me to choose which ones to share today.

As I continue to read through The Truth War book, I plan to blog about portions of this important book that will definitely help readers have more of an ability to discern truth from error.

For now, I want to show how MacArthur demolishes the "UnChristian" authors' premise in their book. Here are just a few of the relevant quotes:

"The idea that the Christian message should be kept pliable and ambiguous seems especially attractive to young people who are in tune with the culture and in love with the spirit of the age."

"People are experimenting with subjective, relativistic ideas of truth and labeling them "Christian." This trend signals a significant departure from Biblical and historic Christianity."

"The postmodernist recoils from absolutes and does not want to concede any truths that might seem axiomatic or self-evident. Instead, truth, if acknowledged at all, becomes something infinitely pliable and ultimately unknowable in any objective sense."

[Time out. For those who might be interested in seeing a debate that shows how a "postmodernist recoils from absolutes," I invite you to view a video that shows the exchange between New-Age guru Deepak Chopra and Christian Apologist and Ambassador for Christ, Greg Koukl on a program called "Faith Under Fire." The video is a bit grainy, but it's certainly worth your time to see that as the dialogue progresses, Chopra takes pride in "embracing his uncertainty," yet, verbally indicates that his relativistic worldview causes him to recoil from Koukl's certainty in his faith about the Person of Jesus Christ.]

Back to John MacArthur's quotes:

"Uncertainty is the new truth. Doubt and skepticism have been canonized as a form of humility. Right and wrong have been redefined in terms of subjective feelings and personal perspectives."

Here is the crux of the emergent movement. The notion that certainty about anything is inherently arrogant.

I have read countless blog posts from people who refuse to repent because they want to hold onto a particular sinful lifestyle; yet, make want to make the claim that they are Christian. This is wildly popular today in this age of postmodernism. The "UnChristian" book was filled with applause for the "do not judge" view!

How ironic is it that the belief that no one can really know anything for certain (e.g. "my" truth tells me differently from "your" truth mantra) is emerging as virtually the one dogma postmodernists will tolerate!!

MacArthur provides a biblical definition of truth.

Truth is that which is consistent with the mind, will, character, glory, and being of God. Even more to the point: Truth is the self-expression of God.

He goes on to support this claim with Bible quotes, including what Jesus has said about truth. He also shows the necessity of absolute truth, why we can only get it from God, and how all other definitions which try to omit God, hopelessly fall short.

If you took the time to view the video of Chopra and Koukl's debate, you would have noticed that Chopra holds to the idea that his own cynicism should be regarded as the most splendid of all virtues! You can actually see the contempt on his face and his dislike for Greg Koukl when Greg shares the fact that (paraphrased here) "since all religions claim different things, logically, it is impossible that each religion can be true all at the same time."

Chopra thinks that his view is more "tolerant." He thinks that his view is more "noble." Chopra even naively claims that unlike Koukl, he does not "impose" his beliefs upon everyone else.

Greg nailed it when he came back at Chopra's hint of having "humility" with the fact that Chopra has sold millions of books promoting his views about his "uncertainty."

This claim of uncertainty on the part of Deepak's worldview is supposed to be an indication that Chopra isn't "imposing his views" upon others? C'mon!! How hypocritical is that?

Greg Koukl's book, "Relativism: Feet Firmly Planted in Mid-Air" describes Chopra's worldview and exposes the irrationality of it.

Absolute truth does exist. It can be found in the pages of the Bible.

To claim religious neutrality is a fallacy. There is no such thing. Even the religions of atheism, skepticism, and secular humanism all have an object of worship. Namely, the self!

What is really sad, my Christian friends, is the fact that false teachers like Brian McLaren have much more in common with Deepak Chopra than with the Truth of Orthodox, Biblical, historic Christianity.

What does this tell us?

It tells us that the emergent church movement is moving away from the truth into a spiritual oblivion, similar to the one that Chopra embraces!

MacArthur writes:

Listen, for example, to how Brian McLaren sums up his views on orthodoxy, certainty, and the question of whether the truths of Christianity are sound and reliable in the first place:

How ironic that I am writing about orthodoxy, which implies to many a final capturing of the truth about God, which is the glory of God. Sit down here next to me in this little restaurant and ask me if Christianity (my version of it, yours, the Pope's, whoever) is orthodox, meaning true, and here's my honest answer: a little, but not yet. Assuming by Christianity you mean the Christian understanding of the world and God, Christian opinions on soul, text, and culture...I'd have to say that we probably have a couple of things right, but a lot of things wrong. 1

1 Brian McLaren, A Generous Orthodoxy (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2004), 293.

McLaren suggests that clarity itself is of dubious value. he clearly prefers ambiguity and equivocation, and his books are therefore full of deliberate doublespeak. In his introduction to A Generous Orthodoxy, he admits, "I have gone out of my way to be provocative, mischievous, and unclear, reflecting my belief that clarity is sometimes overrated, and that shock, obscurity, playfulness, and intrigue (carefully articulated) often stimulate more thought than clarity." A common theme that runs throughout most of McLaren's writings is the idea that "there is great danger in the quest to be right."

Doesn't McLaren's doublespeak (which is masterfully pointed out by Dr. MacArthur's comments about McLaren's quote from his book) eerily remind us of Satan's encounter with Eve in the Garden of Eden and how he (Satan) led her astray by saying, "Did God really say....?"

Hat Tips:

Camp On This

GCM Watch

Faith Under Fire

The Truth War

******* to be continued *******

This Ideological Battle

GCM Watch kindly, graciously, and most importantly, truthfully, responds to my previous post at their blog with We Will Not Neglect to Do Good.

Sometimes I read comments at other blogs (usually the liberal gay "christian" ones) that make outrageous claims about Bible believing, born-again followers of Christ.

Here's a brief list of some claims I have read in the past (about me and other bloggers listed in my previous post):

1. She (they) must be closeted gays.
2. She (they) have an unnatural "obsession" about gays and/or lesbians.
3. She (they) are haters, bigots, intolerant, unloving...yada...yada...yada.
4. She (they) must not have a life.
5. She (they) are Bible "idolators." (Now THATS a new one!)
6. She (they) are too rigid in their beliefs (the "love thy neighbor" defense for approval of homosexual behavior).
7. She (they) _______________________. (Your turn to fill in the blank!)

The fact is, in this day and age, countering the homosexual agenda is front and center in not only the social issues of our day, but also the religious issues confronting us at this time in history.

Regarding the social/society end of the spectrum, I recently received a newsletter from the Alliance Defense Fund (notice the new banner at top of blog) which points out all the ways and methods that the ACLU and their allies (including the NEA and GLSEN) are hell bent on forcing all students to undergo homosexual indoctrination in the public schools - with or without parental permission - and are determined to take away parents' rights IN ORDER FOR GROUPS LIKE THE ACLU, NEA, AND GLSEN to promote their evil agenda.

Don't believe me?

Here's a quote from a health textbook for high school freshmen:

"You may come to the conclusion that growing up means rejecting the values of your parents."

Have you ever read anything so completely brazen and hypocritical as that??

It gets worse; far worse.

I am currently awaiting permission (and, hoping to receive an emailed copy so I don't have to type it all!) to post the ADF newsletter about the homosexual onslaught that is being dumped upon our children in public schools.

Despite this bad news, we can still take heart! The leading Christian legal alliance (ADF) is standing up to them - and winning. More on the details in an upcoming post.

For now, I want to share the letter I wrote to ADF today:

Dear Mr. Alan Sears,

First, I would like to extend my sincere appreciation for all that you and ADF are doing to defend our religious rights and freedoms in America.

I am also writing to request permission to post the letter that I recently received in the mail entitled "Homosexual Agenda: Taking Away Parents' Rights."

I have a blog called TalkWisdom which is dedicated to to defending the tenets and values of Biblical Christian faith. I include many of the social issues of our day to my readers with the hope that some will rise up as Christian Culture Warriors who are willing to share our worldview and stand up for Jesus Christ in our present circumstances.

When I read the mailed ADF newsletter, I was particularly upset to read that liberal clergy are now being allowed into the schools to help with the homosexual indoctrination of our children. Yet, several years ago when my son and daughter were in high school, the GSA advisor and assistant principal would not allow an ex-gay speaker (who happens to be a born-again Christian) into the school to speak to the students. We even told them that his message would not be overtly Christian nor proselytizing in nature; just about how his HIV status had led him through his own journey out of homosexuality. He was flatly denied a chance to speak to the group.

Now, years later, I read that a liberal-left "clergy" member is welcomed into these indoctrination assemblies just because he agrees with the radical pro-homosexual agenda.

I have blogged about the dangers of the gay "christian" movement and the "clergy" who have absolutely turned their backs on the truth of the Bible and have allowed sin, evil, and homosexual proclivities into their invented heretical doctrines.

Why do such "clergy" get access to our children in the public schools, but born-again evangelical Christians and/or ex-gays are not allowed to speak because of "religious reasons?" This is so hypocritical, it's astounding!

I have recently mailed a donation to ADF, placed your organization's banner at my blog (http://talkwisdom.blogspot.com/), signed the "My Religious Freedom: Add Your Voice" pledge, and would also like to post the entire letter that I received from ADF at my blog.

If permission is granted, would you be kind enough to send an email copy so I can cut and paste it to my blog?

Thank you for your consideration in this matter. May God continue to bless the great work that you are doing throughout our nation. I am certainly with you in this effort to stand up stand up for Jesus Christ and our Judeo-Christian morals, values and rights in our present circumstances. I agree that we need to share the truth in love, for Jesus is our Savior, Lord, and King, and His love needs to be shed abroad in our hearts and in our world - now.

Sincerely,

Christine

Hopefully, I will get an emailed copy to post. If you haven't heard all of the horrible details of what is happening in our schools regarding homosexual indoctrination, you will most likely be shocked by what I will share in my next post.

For now, I want to share one paragraph that led me to write to Alan Sears:

* Mandatory "diversity" assemblies that often include presentations by advocates of homosexual behavior and even clergy, who claim that the bible strongly supports same-sex relationships.

Unless I have missed something along the way in this ideological battle, that is the first time that I have heard that any public school has allowed clergy in to promote the homosexual indoctrination agenda. Of course, these are gay christian movement advocates; not Bible believing evangelical Christians.

Can you now see why exposing the gay christian movement is so very important at this time in history?

Now, lest many of my detractors who read here call me an alarmist, I must tell you that I do what I do for the sake of the children, and all future generations that will be subjected to such lies being brought forth by the evil, sinful, homosexual agenda in schools.

My next post will include many of the victories that the ADF has enjoyed because, as Alan stated in his newletter:

Sears emphatically believes that "with God's grace, we can and will win against this onslaught."

It is because the ADF organization is truly biblically Christ-centered that so many victories have been brought about through them.

Lastly, I want to share a comment that I had posted to gcmwatch's article (link above):

Thank you for recognizing TalkWisdom in this post. We certainly need to work together to counter that unspoken goal of the gcm: to kill, steal, and destroy.

This portion (from GCM WATCH) is the truth and so very powerful:

This type of struggle is uniquely Christian because our faith is only one held to an uncompromising standard of truth. Therefore, those who hate that truth will stop at nothing to dismantle it…even if they have to do so from the inside! And no wonder for satan himself is transformed into an “angel of light”. This costume affords him stealth access to the church and its pulpits. And his “ministers” pretend to be ministers of righteousness, but secretly have one goal: to kill, steal and destroy.

I am reminded of what Jesus said in his prayer to God the Father in John 17:13-19

And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.

I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.

They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.

And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.

Despite this onslaught of error being promulgated by the gcm, we can still have Christs’ “joy fulfilled in themselves (ourselves!).”

Why?

Because despite what evil may come our way, we are being “sanctified through the truth.”

Our fellowship in this effort is spoken about through the words of Christ:

Jhn 17:9 I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.

Jhn 17:10 And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them.

Jhn 17:11 And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we [are].

No matter what transpires on this earth, we have the total assurance of life eternal with our wonderful Savior, Jesus Christ! What a celebration all believers will have when we are with him!

Jhn 17:2 As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.

Jhn 17:3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

Christ is so awesome. I have Holy Spirit happy chills…