Tuesday, January 05, 2010

Glenn Beck's "Birther" Comments Start Firestorm of Anger [Update 3 & Add-On Links]


Wow! I'm not quite sure what to say or think about Glenn Beck's tirade against the "Birthers" on his radio show yesterday. I find it quite curious that his outburst sounded eerily similar to something Keith Olberdummy would say! I have been reading and commenting at the Citizen Wells blog today. Lots of great commentators, videos, and links there.

The best essay was written by Stephen Pidgeon. I found it posted over at The Steady Drip blog. Here is a copy:

OPEN LETTER TO GLEN BECK
from Stephen Pidgeon

Dear Mr. Beck:

You are ill-informed on the "birther" issue. Barack Obama, by his own admission, was a British subject at birth. He has never denied having a Kenyan father, who himself was a British subject as a Kenyan native. This is easly established under the British Nationality Act of 1948. He is therefore disqualified to run for the office of the President, because the office is not available to subjects of other governments. The issue is very simple, and very obvious. Obama himself admitted that he wasn't a natural born citizen when he debated Alan Keyes in 2004.

Let's see you deal with this one. There is nothing "nutty" about it, and it doesn't depend on whether his maternal grandmother tried to cover up a foreign birth in Hawaii by placing newspaper notices. It is as plain as your face. BHO is a foreign national first, and an American secondarily, if at all. That is why he thinks there are 57 states; why he doesn't understand the constitution; why he wants to give us Britain's health care system (it's all in the teeth, don't you know); why he thinks Interpol should have greater authority in the US than US law enforcement; etc. He is a British subject and has no business holding the office of POTUS.

If you think you can overlook this constitutional crisis as not part of the Rubicon, you are mistaken. One constitutional overlook breeds another and the next thing you know, the financial industry is nationalized, the auto industry is nationalized, the health care industry is about to be nationalized, and the energy industry will soon be nationalized.

Ultimately, it is all going to be okay, because socialism only lasts until other people's money (OPM) runs out, and binge spender BHO has spent all the money we have and all the money we will ever have for the next several generations. He spent all of this before he got his socialist healthcare on the table. He and his wife have partied like Eddie Murphy in The Distinguished Gentleman (1992) since taking office, while he has busied himself with overthrowing the constitutional republic, establishing a new Islamic empire worldwide, disarming and crippling America, and unilaterally dividing Israel and Jerusalem. The only budget constraint for Obama is ink and paper (and he is working his way around that) and his foreign policy advisor appears to be "mirror, mirror on the wall". He has bankrupted the nation, which the sleeping Oprah watchers are now discovering for the very first time. The reality of the bankruptcy will hit home with gusto in 2010. Not only will we suffer with 30% unemployment, a complete collapse of real estate, and a complete collapse of the dollar, we will also suffer the slings and arrows of dramatic military defeats, as we let this foreigner steer the ship of state. Most Americans have no idea how bad it is going to get.

As for Obama: he will be one of history's most reviled figures - on a par with Nero - as a fool who couldn't even understand that when he denigrated the United States, he was destroying the very state upon which his safety and his legacy depended. He will suffer dramatic defeat in Afghanistan and Iraq - it will not be like Viet Nam, and his name will be tarred with it. It will be more like the disastrous defeat of Xerxes at Salamis, or the Ottomans at Sisek, or the Moors at Tours; a game changing defeat that will forever cement the destiny of the republic known as the United States of America. Obama will join the other names in history who suffered cataclysmic losses in the lands of Magog.

His legacy? A communist, collectivist fool, brainwashed by red diaper doper babies haunting the halls of ivy league academia whose agenda was to bring back the failed Bolshevik revolution worldwide, who brought his fully bloomed ignorance to power illegally in the US because of the needs of his narcissistic ego, whose illegitimacy caused the US to go bankrupt and to suffer its worst military setbacks in the history of the nation in just a few short months. History will marvel at the foolishness of Americans, and historians will wonder how we as a people could have allowed this to happen. Then, of course, historians will ultimately conclude that the demise of the greatest nation the world had ever known happened because the watchdogs whose duty it was to warn Americans of such possibilities - the so-called news media - conspired with foreign powers and global financial criminals to destroy America from the inside, as a result of their cowardice, malevolence and silence.

Glen Beck: a media persona who simply could not bring himself to utter the truth about Obama - that he is a usurper, holding the presidency illegally and unconstitutionally, because he is without a legal birthright. Let us never forget who shirked their duty to tell the truth in these last hours, and let us not allow history to forget.

STEPHEN PIDGEON


Here is part of one of my comments over at Citizen Wells blog:

I was disappointed and shocked to hear Glenn Beck disparage people who are questioning Obama’s eligibility. He could have just disagreed that it was a “legitimate” issue. Why did he go so far as to mock those who are questioning a person who has sealed his bona fide documents and followed up with an executive order to keep them sealed? Isn’t that highly suspicious and secretive to do by someone who supposedly has nothing to hide?

Perhaps Beck was trying to get attention for the issue – using a negative way to achieve such an end? Was he being sarcastic the whole time?

If he never mentions all of the angry emails that he is most likely getting from former fans of his, then we must conclude that either he believes the issue is a joke or he is being forced to keep quiet about it.

I recall that O’Reilly brought it up on his show – only to label the idea “ridiculous.”

I wonder. Is this issue only going to get out to more people via any T.V. plus radio pundits (except for Limbaugh and Savage who aren’t under any T.V. network contract) ONLY through mocking the issue? Is that the strategy now? Hmmm…I wonder.


A commentator named "terminu" had this to say:

terminu // January 5, 2010 at 2:29 pm

Why can’t people ignore the BC and just focus on the Constitution?

Obama admits he was born British.
He’s therefore no more than a 14th amendment statutory US citizen, a dual citizen and since the Constitution and Minor state no 14th amendment citizen can be a natural born citizen, he’s therefore ineligible.

Simple!



In my response to him I wrote:

Terminu – you have something there. The BC issue is clouding the real, already-out-in-the-open crime (IMO). It’s the Constitutionality of whether or not a dual, British-born citizen could also be considered a United States of America natural born citizen!

The following is on the sidebar at my blog. It is there to educate visitors on the REAL issue! I wish that there was a way to present a lawsuit that would immediately address this:

THE RELEVANT OBAMA ADMISSION
At Barack Obama’s web site, the following admission:

“FactCheck.org Clarifies Barack’s Citizenship

‘When Barack Obama Jr. was born on Aug. 4,1961, in Honolulu, Kenya was a British colony, still part of the United Kingdom’s dwindling empire. As a Kenyan native, Barack Obama Sr. was a British subject whose citizenship status was governed by The British Nationality Act of 1948. That same act governed the status of Obama Sr.‘s children…’ “

Read that last line again.

“That same act governed the status of Obama Sr.‘s children…”

That’s an admission that Great Britain “governed the status” of Barack Obama, Jr. He has chosen to highlight this on his own volition.

And this leads to the relevant question:

HOW CAN A NATURAL BORN CITIZEN’S STATUS BE “GOVERNED” BY GREAT BRITAIN?

A natural born citizen’s status should only be governed by the United States.

Hat Tip: Natural Born Citizen blog


The Obama File has archives that prove that the online BC is a forgery:

The Obama File: Obama COLB

Another archived item is even more important. It explains why the Framers of our United States Constitution wrote that the President of the United States must be a Natural Born Citizen and why Obama cannot be one (if his biological father is Obama SR.):

The Obama File: Natural Born Citizen

A blogger by the name of "Don" over at Citizen Wells blog had this to say:

Don in California // January 5, 2010 at 2:43 pm

Christinewjc // January 5, 2010 at 2:35 pm
——————–
Don’t you just know that the Founding Fathers are turning over in their graves, knowing that a British Subject is sitting in the White House as president when we fought a war in 1776 to get rid of the British rulers?


My response:

Christinewjc // January 5, 2010 at 2:53 pm

Yes Don – I know. That is what is so desperately disturbing about it all. How far our nation has drifted from the groundwork (and the protections against enemies foreign and domestic) that was created and written in our Charters of Freedom by our brilliant Founders is so very heartbreaking to witness.





Hat Tips to all links.

Graphic from The Obama File.

*******
Update 1/6/10

Besides the post about Beck's "Birther" comments, The Right Side of Life has two more posts that share much more information regarding the Chrysler plaintiffs vs. Obama lawsuit.

The first post dates back to December 9, 2009. There are 597 comments following it!

I only read through some of them, but left a comment of my own there:

Christinewjc Says:
January 6th, 2010 at 8:24 am
Today’s post about Beck ridiculing the “birthers” led me back to this post. There are 587 comments! I haven’t read them all, but read through some of the back and forth between Qwertyman and Linda. The following comment by Linda caught my attention:

Linda says:
December 13, 2009 at 6:21 pm
qwertyman says: Quote mining is not nice.

I did not ‘quote mine’ as you charge me to have, what I did was quote the Edw. III statute that defined what a naturtal born subject was at the time of the adoption of the Constitution.

Blackstone himself concurred with this definition in his Commentaries.

Further more, I gave the links for all readers to research for themselves and if anyone is ‘quote mining’ it is you. It is a long and exhastive commentary, as well are the other 2 links that it references to and they all come to the same conclusion,

Native does not equal natural born and as Kent put it, Natives are:

artificial persons created by law

Thus there can be nothing natural about a native born person’s citizenship, they aquire it through naturalization under US laws if they so desire.

This agrees with The Obama File’s archives that recognize the fact that there are actually three kinds of U.S. citizenship – natural born citizen (required for POTUS), native born citizen, and naturalized citizen.

Consider this. If Obama was so sure that “native born citizen” is considered to be, by Constitutional law, the same as “natural born citizen” (required for POTUS), then why on earth would he spend 1.5 million dollars hiding his COLB and other bona fide documents (which would most likely prove that he attended college in the U.S. as a foreign exchange student)?

Why all the secrecy?

Answer: he is hiding something – something BIG! Just like the Dems are hiding what’s in the health care bill. C-span requested recording the discussions and they got a big fat NO. Isn’t this highly disturbing?

This particular case (IMO) has the best chance of succeeding in the courts. God speed Mr. Pidgeon and Mr. Donofrio!


There is an update on the Chrysler case - The Right Side of Life: Chrysler Bankruptcy Motion to Reconsider Filed

Another comment I left over at The Right Side of Life blog:

Christinewjc Says:
January 6th, 2010 at 8:54 am
The following is just my opinion, but from what I can recall about the rare moments that Beck has mentioned the BC issue on his radio show in the past, his reasoning has more to do with the fear of unrest in the nation due to overturning the votes of the majority of the people and what would transpire to “fix the mess” (e.g. Joe Biden becomes president? VERY scary thought) yada, yada, yada. His libertarian views shine through with this issue. Apparently, he doesn’t see that the fraud of Obama claiming he was qualified, and the Dem party being complicit in such deceit – isn’t the best way to defeat Obama’s POLICIES. Beck is more concerned with preventing, and/or overturning (when necessary) the terrible Marxist POLICIES Obama is shoving down the throats of Americans; rather than booting out the Marxist usurper through the COLB issue.

Still, what surprises me today is that he went so far as to mock the “birthers.” He hadn’t done that in the past. Therefore, I am wondering what his motivation is? Perhaps he was just being sarcastic? Maybe he thinks that it’s a lost cause and therefore, wants to discourage people from pursuing it? I doubt that would work. He may have helped inspire people to join the 9.12 Project and the TEA Party movement, but he’s not going to get people to give up on the eligibility issue. It is way too important!


Update 2 on 1/6/10:

In the cause of "Helping to Spread the Word," I include the following explanation from The Birthers.org website as to the extreme importance of why Article II, Section 1 states:



“No person except a natural born citizen, or a citizen of the United States, at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the office of President; neither shall any person be eligible to that office who shall not have attained to the age of thirty five years, and been fourteen Years a resident within the United States.”


Quote:

Article II, Section 1



The founders of our Nation wanted a nation for everyone, where ones status of birth would not limit their ability to succeed in almost any task that they could set their hearts and minds too. Yet, they had put pen to paper to set aside only one aspiration from all citizens and to reserve that for a class of citizens whose members are called “a natural born citizen,” the office of the President of the United States of America.



Article II, Section 1



“No person except a natural born citizen, or a citizen of the United States, at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the office of President; neither shall any person be eligible to that office who shall not have attained to the age of thirty five years, and been fourteen Years a resident within the United States.”



There are some interesting phrases here that all have significance to the mindset of the Founding Fathers. The key phrase here is, “a natural born citizen,” as opposed to “a native born citizen,” “naturalized” or even “a citizen.” Before we look at what “a natural born citizen” is, let’s look at the other phrases, so the clear meaning of a Natural Born Citizen becomes clear.



Looking at the text of the Constitution there was a small window of opportunity for a class of citizens, who were just simply “a citizen” to become the President. This Grandfather clause expired with the death of the last citizen born before June 22, 1788.



or a citizen of the United States, at the time of the adoption of this Constitution,



Considering that all of the Founding Fathers were at least on July 4, 1776, British subjects, they needed to include themselves as possible Presidential candidates. These “original citizen” Presidents included, George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson and the last “original citizen” President was William Henry Harrison.



If they had not included themselves, then the age requirement included in the qualifications for President would mean that America would have to wait until July 4, 1811 for the first “natural born citizen” to come of age.



neither shall any person be eligible to that office who shall not have attained to the age of thirty five years,



Yet, they were not so liberal in just allowing any former British subjects to be President. Note that also the qualifications for President is included a duration of residency.



and been fourteen Years a resident within the United States.



To understand why they chose 14 years, is to start to understand why they also penned the phrase “a natural born citizen.” Our Constitution was adopted on September 17, 1787 and if we subtract 14 years we come to September 17, 1773. Nothing significant happened on this date, but it creates a state where our first “original citizen Presidents” needed to be physically present at the start of and during the War of Independence, unless like Franklin they were overseas engaged in the business of the United States. This is born out in the Journal of the Senate of the United States of America (July 7, 1798), and this is also in many of the debates on ratification.


Because as stated there were no “natural born citizens” ready to be President, the age and duration of residency also created another significant point. Thirty-five minus 14 is also 21, the “age of majority.” This means that these “original citizen” Presidents would have needed to make a conscience adult decision to be an American and would have earned the right to be President, by willingly risking their lives simply by being present in the thirteen States, while this Nation fought for its independence.



Yes, there is a small window of opportunity, when someone could have come to America and became President, without having risked their [life] in a War of Independence. This short period was from February 4, 1783 when Britain formally declared an end to the War of Independence until September 17, 1787. Our Founding Fathers were men of the highest principles and integrity, they said what they meant and meant what they said. In the same Constitution, that holds the qualifications for President, is written Article 1, Section 9, these same men wrote,



No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed.



They were not going to treat this 1783 to 1789 class of “immigrant citizens” guilty of being unfaithful to America by passing a law saying so. A Bill of Attainder is a law that makes a group of citizens guilty of a crime without the benefit of a trial. Ex post facto law is a law passed after the fact to make something illegal or legal, at the time it happened. They chose instead to set a date, September 17, 1787 that allowed anyone who was an original citizen on that date regardless of place of birth to be President. If you became a citizen on September 18, 1787, it would have been too late for you to qualify to be President of the United States of America without being a natural born citizen.



Returning to the phrase “a natural born citizen,” you can now see that the Founding Fathers made a conscience effort to insure that the office of the President of the United States of America would have been held by only those men who were loyal to the cause of the United States of America. They selected as criteria for themselves loyalty above all else. The President of the United States must be above all else loyal to this Nation, and the principles that it was established upon.



As they pondered the Constitutional office of the President, they knew that one day their generation would pass away. Those men who proved their loyalty on the field of battle would eventually sleep under the field. This pool of men with proven loyalty to the Nation would literally die out one day. Sensing this, they knew that they could only trust the power of the office of President to a group of citizens who would have the best chance of being loyal to the country, those who only know America and only knew what it was like to be American.



On July 25, 1787 John Jay wrote to George Washington, “Permit me to hint, whether it would be wise and seasonable to provide a strong check to the admission of Foreigners into the administration of our national Government; and to declare expressly that the Commander in Chief of the American army shall not be given to nor devolve on, any but a natural born Citizen.”



The common sense of this was immediately and unanimously incorporated into our Constitution. It cannot be said that this was without debate, there were a few who initially thought that excluding naturalized citizens might limit the number of affluent people with money to come to and invest in the new country. This small minority was afraid that the rich would not immigrate if their opportunities were limited. The fact that there was debate is significant because it signifies that this provision was not slipped into the Constitution, in the late hours of the night.



If they choose as a requirement for President for themselves, proven loyalty, and what they would choose for the next generation of Presidents would be “natural loyalty.” How they determined what natural loyalty is they looked toward nature. They did not need Congressional studies for a definition, as it was self-evident to them. A persons place in life comes from ones parents. This concept is found in nature, it is self-evident. Nature claims kinship, our most primitive and natural form of citizenship, from blood, while nations claim citizens from the soil, or their place of birth. They decided that the best way to protect the integrity of the office of President of the United States was a combination of the two.

The next time the term “natural born” would be used by the first Congress. Chapter III, of the Naturalization Act of 1790 stated that “a natural born citizen” was one whose parents were citizens of the United States, regardless of where they were born.

They used the plural, and not singular. The majority membership of the first Congress was made up of both members from the Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convention. It is obvious that these men, who wrote both the Constitution and first naturalization law [had] seen that it was the parents who instilled a sense of belonging to their children. This sense of belonging would be deemed loyalty.



The fact that they wanted parents, in the plural to be citizens is because they wanted to limit as much as possible any political and emotional attachment to the “old world.” They wanted neither the mother nor the father to influence “a natural born” candidate for President, with a sense of foreign allegiance. They made the requirements for “a natural born citizen” to be from parents who were either born in the United States or made a conscience decision to become “naturalized citizens” of the United States. They observed in the law of nature that a child follows the condition of their parents, and if the parents were split in their loyalties, the child would be split in loyalty to America.

With the Naturalization Act of 1795, they amended the law that allowed a foreign-born child of American citizens to be called “natural born,” not because they believed they were wrong on the premise of the loyalty deriving from the condition of the parents. They were not, because they still granted “naturalized citizenship” at birth to these children. What they realized is that other nations were not following the law of nature, but were instituting feudal laws that were based on Roman law. These laws said, regardless of the parents’ citizenship, that any child born on the soil of the King, the King had the right to claim as a subject of the Crown, forever. Their intention was to insure that “a natural born citizen” would have only one natural loyalty, and could be legally claimed as a citizen of only one country.



No one can deny that it was the intention of the Framers of the Constitution to protect the sanctity of the office of the President of the United States from foreign influence, either natural or legislated. They believed that the parents American citizenship, either natural or by choice would guard against the influence of foreign cultures. That birth within the United States of America by American citizens, made sure no other world power could ever make a claim for the allegiance of our President.

At the end of the war of Independence, England wanted to give Americans dual citizenship. In correspondence between David Hartley an British negotiator for the Treaty of Paris, and Benjamin Franklin, in which Hartley writes, “Neither shall the independence of the United States be construed any further than as independence, absolute and unlimited, in matters of government, as well as commerce. Not into alienation, and therefore the subjects of his Britannic majesty and the citizens of the United States shall mutually be considered as natural born subjects, and enjoy all rights and privileges as such in the respective dominions and territories in the manner heretofore accustomed.” While some may have considered this a good thing, the Founding Fathers reject this “last minute” act of generosity for the Trojan horse it was, that tried to subvert our Nation into a nation of dual citizens, whose citizens were ultimately subjects subservient to the Crown.



Article II, Section 1 is not about simply being born in the USA, it is about having only a complete and total loyalty to the United States of America, and no other. Any President who puts the interests of the United States of America second, has demonstrated that he is not “a natural born citizen” of this Nation, but is merely a puppet of worldly powers. Imperfect as some may believe, it is our legacy. A heritage paid for by the blood of patriots that is ours to either guard and protect or to abandon for the always-changing temporary passions of the multitudes. /quote (bold mine)

Hat tip:

The Birthers.org

*******

Update on 1/8/10:

In a "madder than hell and we're not going to take it anymore" manner, the Citizen Wells blog owner doesn't hold back his blistering anger with Glenn Beck. He has stated that he has tried to contact Mr. Beck (good luck with that) and I have read elsewhere on the blogs that Beck's radio call screeners hang up on anyone who calls in about the "birther" issue; so I doubt that an apology (as requested by CW) to the millions of birthers who follow Beck's shows will be forthcoming.

Here's the link to the post:

Citizen Wells:
Glenn Beck, Insults Americans, Birthers, Beck is uninformed, Glenn Beck can you hear us?, Listen and apologize or else, Glenn Beck insults on video


There are currently 177 comments (as of 1/8/10 at 7:35 a.m.)! Wish I had the time right now to read them all!

P.S. A thought just came to me. Does Beck include Rush Limbaugh, Sarah Palin (who he once admired greatly) and all the rest of the "famous" political personalities in his disparaging rant against the birthers??

I will be away from my computer for most of the day (after 10:00 a.m.) so be patient regarding comment releasing. Hopefully I will be able to check this blog between 5-6 p.m. to release comments, then again after 9 p.m.

There are SO MANY GREAT BLOG POSTS listed on my sidebar today, so I will just be lazy (time constraints) and post the links here:


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Monday, January 04, 2010

Can Truth Survive in a Postmodern Society?


Continuing on with my goal to apply chapter quotes from John MacArthur's book, "The Truth War: Fighting for Certainty in an Age of Deception," we move forward to Chapter One.

MacArthur's chapter title asks, "Can Truth Survive in a Postmodern Society?"

Excerpt:


Jesus answered, "You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice."

Pilate said to Him, "What is truth?"
- John 18:37-38


Considering who stood before him and the gravity of the issues he was being asked to decide, Pilate's attitude was astonishingly dismissive. But he did raise a vital question: What is truth?

Where, after all, does this concept come from, and why is it so basic to all human thought? Every idea we have, every relationship we cultivate, every belief we cherish, every fact we know, every argument we make, every conversation we engage in, and every thought we think presupposes that there is such a thing as "truth." The idea is an essential concept, without which the human mind could not function.

Even if you are one of those trendy thinkers who claims to be skeptical about whether "truth" is really a useful category anymore, to express that opinion you must presume that truth is meaningful on some fundamental level. One of the most basic, universal, and undeniable axioms of all human thought is the absolute necessity of truth. (And we might add that the necessity of absolute truth is its close corollary.)


I just loved how Mr. MacArthur begins this chapter. He utilizes the very words of Jesus Christ himself - who is not only the truth, but also the way and the life. This brings us right to the first bullet point quote which reveals the 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.


MacArthur goes on to list dozens of Scripture verses that describes our God of truth. Jesus is the truth incarnate - the perfect expression of God - and therefore the absolute embodiment of all that is true. Jesus also stated the fact that the written Word of God is truth. It is described as pure and unchangeable - that which cannot be broken (see John 10:35).

MacArthur:


Praying to His heavenly Father on behalf of His disciples, Jesus said this: "Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth" (John 17:17). Moreover, the Word of God is eternal truth "which lives and abides forever" (1 Peter 1:23).


Those who object to the biblical definition of truth find themselves rebelling against it at every turn. How could they not? If someone believes that "truth is relative" and elevates "my (his/her) truth" over the absolute truth as it is revealed in the Bible and in the Person of Jesus Christ, the undisputable evidence reveals deliberate and culpable unbelief.

The explicit revelation of Scripture is the only infallible interpreter of "what is truth!"

MacArthur:


Since Scripture is also the one place where we are given the way of salvation, entrance into the kingdom of God, and an infallible account of Christ, the Bible is the touchstone to which all truth claims should be brought and by which all other truth must finally be measured.


I have spent a lot of time in today's post sharing what MacArthur has written in the beginning of this chapter because it is vitally important to understand not only the biblical definition of truth, but also the inadequacy of all other definitions. This leads us to the next bullet point quote:


The moment you begin to ponder the essence of truth, you are brought face-to-face with the requirement of a universal absolute - the eternal reality of God.


The next quote goes hand in hand with the previous one:


The one most valuable lesson humanity ought to have learned from philosophy is that it is impossible to make sense of truth without acknowledging God as the necessary starting point.


That quote must drive atheists, agnostics, and skeptics crazy!

I think that because of the certainty that most born-again Christians have in their faith - especially when they freely share their faith in Christ with others - it drives non-believers to anger, resentment, persecution against believers, scorn, rejection and even sometimes goes so far as to promote the harm and killing of Christians.

Why?

That's a topic for another discussion. But you may find a hint or two in the following examples I will share.

I have mentioned a discussion between Christian Apologist, Greg Koukl and Deepak Chopra before at this blog, but it bears repeating here. Notice how in my comment back then, I perceived and described Chopra's opinion of faith as "embracing his uncertainty":



This broadcast was absolutely fabulous! Greg Koukl pointed out the fact that people can have differing beliefs regarding faith, but that it is logically impossible for them all to be true at the same time. His trust in Jesus Christ and God's Word stood in direct contrast to Deepak Chopra's, who admitted "embracing his uncertainty." Koukl's view demonstrates a steadfast and true faith where Chopra's view can only lead to theological oblivion.


Now, in the "politically correct" cultural climate of today, along with the "ultra-tolerant" demand that no one claims absolute truth (which includes not embracing anything with certainty so as not to offend anyone), we can see how many non-believers might object to Mr. Koukl's certainty conclusion. At the same time, they may happily embrace Mr. Chopra's "tolerant" choice of uncertainty. Why? Because the position of theological oblivion is more desirable to the skeptic than holding to the truth as revealed through the Person of Jesus Christ.

Not to be redundant, but the truth is, one of these two has to be wrong!

Since Chopra is viewed as being more of a "New Age type Hindu" (labeled by a show commenter), his "uncertainty" is more appealing to postmodernists than someone who holds to certainty in their belief (like Mr. Koukl does) for the Risen Savior, Jesus Christ.

Another example. This morning I received a very timely email from my message board and blogging friend, Sosthenes. His email shares the positive side of what Brit Hume shared on a segment of Fox News Sunday in regards to how Tiger Woods can heal his soul. But of course, those who object to anyone expressing any Christian viewpoint (especially when on national T.V.) dove right in to disparage Hume (see Gateway Pundit: It Has Begun… Libs Attack Brit Hume For Promoting Christianity on Sunday Talk Show ) for sharing such advice.

Sosthenes' email shared the following:




Brit Hume turned evangelist on Fox New Sunday, in a segment with panelists predicting the future for Tiger Woods after Woods' notable "transgressions" (now a 2009 top euphemism, along with "Appalachian Trail," as a signifier for "mistress.")

Hume forecasts Woods will recover as a golfer but

...Whether he can recover as a person depends on "his faith. He's said to be a Buddhist. I don't think that faith offers the kind of forgiveness and redemption that is offered by the Christian faith. So my message to Tiger would be, "Tiger, turn to the Christian faith and you can make a total recovery and be a great example to the world."

This fits with the interview he had with The Hollywood Reporter when Hume retired from Fox News in 2008. Asked what he'd like to do in his free time, Hume said enjoying his family came first but then, he said:


I certainly want to pursue my faith more ardently than I have done. I'm not claiming it's impossible to do when you work in this business. I was kind of a nominal Christian for the longest time. When my son died (by suicide in 1998), I came to Christ in a way that was very meaningful to me. If a person is a Christian and tries to face up to the implications of what you say you believe, it's a pretty big thing. If you do it part time, you're not really living it.

Woods got similar advice from A. Larry Ross, minus the slap to Buddhism, in a column recently at Huffington Post. Ross, spokesman for Rev. Billy Graham and Rev. Rick Warren, is a veteran of evangelism talk. It was a column on grace and the God of "second chances."

And Jews have advice, too. Rabbi Irwin Kula told the Jewish Journal that the Nike spokesman -- and the rest of us -- should learn from the patriarchs that you can't "just do it" when "it" is wrong.

Does Tiger Woods have to have a faith -- any faith or just your faith -- to be seen as good again?

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/Religion/post/2010/01/fox-news-tiger-woods-brit-hume-forgiveness-evangelical/1


In true predictable form, many of the recent comments at that USA Today article link are negative (as of 9:20 a.m. PT). However, I did find one that was on point:



HisSon (0 friends, send message) wrote: 6m ago
If Buddhism and Christianity had been reversed in Brit's comment, the haters would still have been jumping up and down with joy trying to be the first to criticize Christianity. It doesn't matter any more. There used to be a time when Christianity and Biblical Principles were respected despite one's own personal religion. Now it's just find any reason to disparage Biblical Christianity. Brit was trying to share what has been a help to him. He was trying to be helpful not critical. What's so difficult to understand about that?


MacArthur writes about the great "paradigm shift" that has occurred. The world of human ideas is currently "in a serious state of flux" (to put it mildly!). Today, it is more like chaos! There has been a radical, wholesale overhaul in the way people think about truth itself.

MacArthur:



Unfortunately, instead of acknowledging what truth demands and yielding to the necessity of belief in the God of truth, contemporary Western thought has devised ways to rid human philosophy of any coherent notion of truth altogether. The concept of truth is therefore under heavy attack in the philosophical community, the academic world, and the realm of worldly religion. The way people think about truth is being totally revamped and the vocabulary of human knowledge completely redefined. The goal, clearly, is to usher every notion of truth off into oblivion.


Jesus told us the real reason for every denial of truth: "Men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil" (John 3:19).

MacArthur:



Here the Lord Jesus says people reject truth (light) for reasons that are fundamentally moral, not intellectual. Truth is clear -- too clear. It reveals and condemns sin. Therefore, "everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed" (v. 20). Sinners love their sin, so they flee from the light, denying that it even exists.

The war against truth is nothing new, of course. It began in the garden when the serpent said to the woman, "Has God indeed said...?" (Genesis 3:1). A relentless battle has raged ever since -- between truth and falsehood, good and evil, light and darkness, assurance and doubt, belief and skepticism, righteousness and sin. It is a savage spiritual conflict that literally spans all of human history. But the ferocity and irrationality of this present onslaught seems quite unprecedented.


Go read the comments at the USA Today article link. You will see glaring examples of the "war against truth" in all its postmodernist confusion and blame. And, as MacArthur states, the onslaught of "ferocity and irrationality" that skeptics use to discredit biblical Christian faith. Notice that I didn't write "Christian faith." This is because the definition of "Christian faith" has been so skewed by post moderns who may claim to be "Christians," but haven't taken the step to be genuinely born again in Christ (see John 3).

MacArthur:



Postmodernism suggests that if objective truth exists, it cannot be known objectively or with any degree of certainty. That is because (according to postmodernists), the subjectivity of the human mind makes knowledge of objective truth impossible.


What's more:



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


That's a mouthful! Basically, what postmodernists are saying is that they despise truth claims! They are guilty of rejecting truth and embrace skepticism. Recall Deepak Chopra's statement that he is comfortable "embracing his uncertainty?" That is a relativistic statement that pleases those who enshrine skepticism and doubt, but reject absolutes and truth such as the kind that is revealed in the Bible and in the Person of Jesus Christ.

MacArthur:



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.


This paradigm has been taken so far today that there are many who dispute whether anything is "evil." Make a list of all the evils that this far leftist administration's actions have promoted and you will see that this is (unfortunately) very true.

You might ask, why do postmodernists think that way?

MacArthur:



The Emerging Postmodernists have blurred the line between certainty and omniscience. They seem to presume that if we cannot know everything perfectly, we really cannot know anything with any degree of certainty.


MacArthur goes on to say that the ages-old war against truth has moved right into Christian community. This has happened in every major era of church history. That is why the apostle Paul was constantly engaged in battle against the lies of "false apostles [and] deceitful workers [who transformed] themselves into apostles of Christ" (2 Corinthians 11:13).

It is our duty to pass the truth on to the next generation (see 1 Timothy 6:20-21). We are under obligation to join the battle and "contend for the faith which has been forever delivered unto the saints."

Despite the fact that this battle rages all around us today (i.e. radical Islam, atheism/skepticism, false religions, apostate Christianity etc.), there is STILL a lot of reasons for being filled with joy!

MacArthur:



The current climate of postmodernism does represent a wonderful window of opportunity for the church of Jesus Christ. The arrogant rationalism that dominated the modern era is already in its death throes [Note from Christine: more so after what we have endured in America in 2009 than ever before!]. Most of the world is caught up in disillusionment and confusion. People are unsure about virtually everything and do not know where to turn for truth.


Jude certainly understood this! He urges believers to earnestly contend for the faith against all falsehood, going so far as to encourage us to do everything possible to deliver souls from destruction: "pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh" (Jude 23).

MacArthur:



So we are ambassador-soldiers, reaching out to sinners with the truth even as we make every effort to destroy the lies and other forms of evil that hold them in deadly bondage. That is a perfect summary for every Christian's duty in the Truth War.



Reference:

The Truth War: Fighting for Certainty in an Age of Deception by John MacArthur, Nashville, TN, by Thomas Nelson, 2007, pp. 1-26.

Hat Tips:

Sosthenes via email.

USA Today

GateWay Pundit

Sunday, January 03, 2010

Rev. Bresciani: 2009 - The Year of the Lie


The following brilliant post written by Rev. Michael Bresciani of American Prophet doesn't even need any kind of introduction by me. Just read it and marvel at the stunning accuracy of it all! I'm speechless!

Christine


*******

2009 the year of the lie - 2010 the year of reckoning

by Rev Michael Bresciani, Jan 2, 2010


Those who think truth is a relative mix of situation ethics, existentialist mind wresting and just doing what feels good, usually don't bother with questions about what is true.



Those who seek only the truth stand in shock when they discover how few people care about the truth altogether. This is what we call a sad truth.



Trying to keep up on current events is hard enough but trying to keep up with the latest fabulous falsehoods, fickle phantasms, feints, fibs, fabrications and flip flops of the far left, Dem's and liberals who now follow the President in metered step is completely exhausting.



The task of following the lies is daunting so I thought I'd just jot down every lie or flip flop that only the President made since he began to run for office. I couldn't keep up with that either. To my surprise I found a few websites that were already engaged in cataloging those lies. One site has a list of over 150 specific lies the President has told in slightly less than two years.



Unfortunately one or two little websites on the backwaters of that vast informational ocean we call the Internet doesn't draw very much attention from anyone. With only one TV news agency that still endeavors to tell the truth (Fox) and the other half dozen major outlets doing most of their reporting from the hip pocket of the President most of America it could be said, is walking in the dark.



Even more disturbing is the fact that many of them prefer to take the walk down liar's lane rather than cutting through the barrage of rhetoric, exaggeration, hyperbole, deviance and political baloney. Who wants to cut through a thick jungle if there's a nice clean paved road to the same destination? The trouble with that easier PC road is that it doesn't always lead to the place a person or a nation wants to be.



Americans who are dedicated to the truth find themselves frantically swimming back to the lighthouse each time another politician, educator, news anchor or mindless minion wrecks yet another ship in this grand old fleet called the United States of America. If we named our years like the Chinese then 2009 might be called 'the year of the lie.' Those sick of witnessing national shipwrecks have already begun to name 2010 the 'year of reckoning.'



Perhaps it is what caused actor Ben Stein to say recently that he thought President Obama is unconsciously wrecking America all the while he believes he's doing what is good for us all. Perhaps it is the same unconscious drive that brought over a million people to the inauguration of the President in Washington DC, even though not one of them was actually formally invited.



The only way to gather a million people anywhere is to give something away. There is never an empty seat in the audience of the Price is Right or the nightly broadcast of Wheel of Fortune or the venues where Oprah gave away cars to some of those in the audience. The promise made on the day of the Obama inauguration was that 'change' was about to begin. In order to give change a chance, something had to be given away, to the astonishment of those now carefully following Obama's antics, appointments and approbations it seems he is prepared to give the whole country away.



It is said that people who don't want to face the apparent truth simply deny what they see. That may work fine for the simple follower but leaders are straddled with the task of creating an alternate truth for the remaining folks who still want the real answer and for the record itself. Here is where a leader creates a truth to substitute for real events in real time. Sounds like double speak, so let's see if we can find one prime example.



After the attempt to blow up a Detroit bound flight on Christmas Eve the suspected terrorist was taken to hospital and security agencies scrambled to piece together what went wrong. With access to the reports of every major intelligence agency, several days on the beaches of Hawaii to collect his thoughts and an entire nation waiting in the wings for a chance to hear the assessment of the events and what could be known of the suspect Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, here's what we got. Mr. Obama labeled him as an "isolated extremist" and returned to the lavish beaches of Hawaii. This is an alternate truth from what looks like an alternate universe.



We all accept the whimsical notion that 'beauty is in the eye of the beholder' but has the extreme political correctness of the day finally put truth under the same maxim? Is truth only in the eye of the beholder? In fact some things are just plain ugly regardless of who is doing the beholding. The truth is just like that; it stands on its own with or without anyone's support or recognition. It's OK to see Mr. Abdulmutallab as a terrorist even as we wait for the President to catch up to the truth.



The ugly truth is that we now know that Mr. Abdulmutallab had strong ties to Al Qaeda and should not have been allowed so much as a chance to fly a kite over the United States much less to board an airplane bound for one of our major cities.



The nation seems to be splitting into two camps, one I call the Pontius Pilate crowd and the other is the band of faithful that think truth not only can be known but it was incarnated in the person (Jesus Christ) who said he was the truth (Jn 14:6) Those in the other camp make box office history by attending movies about vampires and avatars then sit around in college classrooms, discussion groups and TV punditry spectacles debating the old Pontius Pilate nonsensical and dishonest retort of "what is truth?" (Jn 18:38)



If someone never knew the truth or if they still need to ask the question of what it is, doesn't it seem that this would be the last person we would want to elect to public office? Not today.



Truth is never relative and it is not born of convenient similitude. Al Gore's inconvenient truth is one such example. In spite of serious dissent from the scientific community, doctored scientific evidence and a biblical promise that global warming will not be what brings down the rise of man it still looks that way so why give it up?



Cronies of Darwinism fare no better. If we look like monkeys we must have come from monkeys the millions of missing links notwithstanding. The Darwin scheme has seen its better day since the advent of creation science but why give it up?



If we insist on discovering truth by loose associations then what is the difference between Bernie Madoff's robbery of billions of dollars and Barack Obama's nine trillion dollar debt bequeathed to our grandchildren. If it looks like a Ponzi scheme then who should we put in jail, can we say for sure? If we followed the same protocols we did for Darwinism and global warming then we must conclude that if it walks like a duck, if it quacks like a duck then it must be a duck.



Just when we are nearly convinced that we have a duck, we hear a zipper and out of the duck costume steps a man who says just because it looks like socialism, just because it looks like a Robin Hood complex, don't worry it's not socialism or her nasty twin communism, it's really something called 'change.' Here is where we might want to hear someone say amen but we could even settle for a duh if there's a teenager in the house.



The other truth about those who can't seem to identify the truth is that they are never true to much of anything with the exception of their own personal interests.



It is recorded no less than eight times in the four gospels that Jesus said "He that hath ears to hear, let him hear." It is puzzling only because almost everyone he spoke to had perfectly good ears. The mystery vanishes when it is seen that all that is heard that has any lasting value was said to come from revelation. The best example is when Jesus asked his disciples who men thought he was. They offered a few answers but then he asked them who they thought he was. Peter answered that he was the Son of the Living God.



Christ said he indeed was correct but then he said "Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven." (Mt 16:17) Truth was not relative to what surrounds it or what speculations accompany it. According to Christ rather than being relative it was revelational.



When something is revealed it is God breathed and it passes out of the normal spectrum of time. It is not just an old thing from the past or a piece of the future somehow made known in the present. It is from the realm of the eternal. Such truth will withstand every test of time, it will outlast everything cast against it and when all lesser truths become moth eaten memories long since forgotten, the truth of God will be seen to establish a kingdom that will never end.



The last but equally important thing about truth that comes from revelation is that it is always applied truth. It is never general proverbial wisdom or mere 'take it or leave it' moral-isms and pious platitudes. It speaks to one person, a nation or the entire world and does not require the assent of the hearer to be true. It is never truth in the eye of the beholder. Because it is from eternity it crosses generational lines and there is never a time when it is not true, it applies in every moment of time, past, present and future.



Here is one of those truths. Be it president or pauper the Lord hates lies. The source of lies (Jn 8:44) has not changed since the days of antiquity; the result of lies is always the demise of the liar and those who believe those lies.



America was not founded on lies, it has for a time followed a few crafty pied pipers but not for long. It is this great nation that produced great minds like that of Abraham Lincoln. He addressed the business of piping an alluring song to the people to misguide them. Yes, we have all read it at some time or another but let's look at it once again as we start the new year of 2010.



"You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time." Abraham Lincoln (1809 - 1865)





You may re-post this article to your website or blog or email it to your friends. Do not alter it in any way. You must include author and a link back to the source which is http://www.americanprophet.org

*******
HUGE Hat Tip:

Rev. Michael Bresciani of American Prophet.org

There You Have It: APPEASEMENT

There is something VERY FISHY about the handling of the Christmas Day attempted terrorist attack by a 23-year-old "underwear bomber." World Net Daily reports: HOMELAND INSECURITY
Report of 2nd man cuffed from Flight 253 confirmed
U.S. Customs and Border official apologizes, reverses himself – 'This is the FBI's 4th story'


Why would the FBI make up four separate stories about the incident when eye witnesses were there to counter their made-up stories?

Could it involve some sort of cover-up?

Nice Deb's post: Where Does The Buck Stop In The Knickerbomber Intelligence Failure? may have the answer:

This report, posted by The Prowler on December 29 offers some clues as to why dots were not connected:

“We have agreements with a number of different countries that work with us cooperatively on intelligence matters,” says the State Department employee. “A number of the treaties work through our justice departments or foreign offices or intelligence and interior or homeland security agencies. Several departments here in Washington got the information from London and it didn’t trigger anything within our own system.

This employee says that despite statements from the Obama Administration, such information was flagged and given higher priority during the Bush Administration, but that since the changeover “we are encouraged to not create the appearance that we are profiling or targeting Muslims.


Could this episode just be the natural result of an administration that doesn’t take the war on terror seriously, indeed, doesn’t even believe in such a thing?

Charles Krauthammer seems to think so:

The reason the country is uneasy about the Obama administration’s response to this attack is a distinct sense of not just incompetence but incomprehension. From the very beginning, President Obama has relentlessly tried to downplay and deny the nature of the terrorist threat we continue to face. Napolitano renames terrorism “man-caused disasters.” Obama goes abroad and pledges to cleanse America of its post-9/11 counter terrorist sins. Hence, Guantanamo will close, CIA interrogators will face a special prosecutor, and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed will bask in a civilian trial in New York — a trifecta of political correctness and image management.

And just to make sure even the dimmest understand, Obama banishes the term “war on terror.” It’s over — that is, if it ever existed.

Obama may have declared the war over. Unfortunately, al-Qaeda has not. Which gives new meaning to the term “asymmetric warfare.”


This may explain the odd detachment that many have noticed in Obama’s statements about the “alleged” terror plot.

None of this is supposed to be happening.

One thing is for sure – pretending that there is no war on terror, and giving terrorists civil liberties that only American citizens should enjoy, plays right into our “alleged” enemies’ hands.


Read this comment from The American Spectator link:


Ret. Marine 12.29.09 @ 6:34AM
"I'm just saying that a number of us were encouraged to have a different mindset about such intel and such individuals, and today, we are encouraged not to have that same mindset."

There you have it, APPEASEMENT. So the difference is the Bush Admin. saw this type of potential threat as a concern for the safety of all traveling public, the little o and his chicken littles do not want to offend his brethren. And what? again, another little lie to cover his kenyan butt from taking a public hit of stupidity? He owns this issue at present, he damn well better start taking responsibility for this Constitutional duties before his boot-lick'n followers, and his bull at the dhs head start to take notice. This is typical little o strategy, blame, deflect, blame, move on nothing to see here gang.
What me responsible?


Yep....

Hat Tips:

World Net Daily

Nice Deb

P.S. Perhaps Obama thought he was becoming a king (as The Anchoress states), instead of a president? That way he wouldn't have to REALLY WORK at anything...

She hit the nail on the head when she wrote:

“I suspect that what Obama wanted was to be the King, not the President. The King’s role is largely ceremonial.”


Sadly, such a revelation also means:

“But we haven’t a Prime Minister” – so well said and so very scary…


Also very true:

[Perhaps it comes down to genuineness. Bush seemed to speak from the heart. Obama does not show his heart, so he is hard to know -admin]


Excellent comment:

Doc
December 30th, 2009 | 9:35 am | #27
Remember, in the Democrats quest to make our enemies love us, dead Americans are acceptable collateral damage. Obama would rather a dozen planeloads of US citizens drop from the sky than instruct our security personel to focus on Muslims entering the country.

The man does not love this country. He wants to remake it. As Dennis Prager said, one does not want to remake what one thinks is good.


THE best comment:

Jeffrey Quick
December 30th, 2009 | 3:53 pm | #33
“Sadly, though, America is not in need of his Kingship.”
But America needs a King. You know which One I mean.


AMEN!

Saturday, January 02, 2010

Radical Islam's Continuing Global Jihad



It was my original intention to continue with "The Truth War" posts today, but I feel that the Lord is leading me in another direction. It all started with a spam comment. I know that may sound a bit strange, but was it a coincidence that the spam comment was posted in a blog post from January, 2008 entitled, Radical Islamic Narco-Terrorism in the UK? Perhaps it was a coincidence. However, as I re-read that post and comments I found out some interesting things.

Back in January of 2008, a Muslim blogger by the name of Umm Yasmin occasionally posted comments here at Talk Wisdom. Here is a copy of a post she wrote back on January 18, 2008 about me and this blog's content:


Radical right struggles with Obama
by U*m*m Y*a*s*m*i*n @ 8:58 am.
Filed under Jihad Against the Munkar

Some radical right Christians* are really struggling with Obama. I have to confess as a Muslim myself I find it tempting to think of Obama as a Muslim who just happens to attend church ;) I think it’s precisely because if he ever was Muslim, what differentiates him from people like Wafa Sultan, Ibn Warraq etc. is that he doesn’t go around demonizing his former faith and its followers. So apostasy (and here Moojan’s ressentiment label does actually work) is a tag that just doesn’t fit Obama, even if he ever was a Muslim.

I originally made the comment that having a US President who has some appreciation of the religion of one sixth of humanity, spanning every continent and practically every culture and language-group, would make such a change from the current one who buys the lie of an inevitable Clash of Civilisations.

* Came across an excellent definition of radical right from Prof. Michael Minkenberg: “ideological core of populist ultra-nationalism which is derived from (but not equal to) an anti-universal, anti-democratic myth of the national community.”

So I think Irfan was right when he questioned Christinewjc’s commitment to democracy (see comments of her previous post on Obama).


Back at my blog link (above) I wrote:




So....a self-identified Muslim feminist (now THERE'S an oxymoron if I ever read one!!!) from Australia believes that she has me all figured out and labeled fairly based on a few blog posts and comments?

Sheesh!

The only thing we have in common is that we both don't like anyone to swear on our blogs...


But look what happens TODAY when I try to go to the original link to her blog within the post:




Forbidden
You don't have permission to access /dervish/2008/01/18/radical-right-struggles-with-obama/ on this server.

Additionally, a 403 Forbidden error was encountered while trying to use an ErrorDocument to handle the request.

Apache/2.2.14 (Unix) mod_ssl/2.2.14 OpenSSL/0.9.8l DAV/2 mod_auth_passthrough/2.1 FrontPage/5.0.2.2635 Server at www.maryams.net Port 80


Hmmmm...isn't that strange??

Why have I been banned access to a post that was written about me and my blog??

In a comment written to Lionheart of the UK (in the 2008 "Radical Islamic Narco-Terrorism in the UK" thread, I wrote:


Back to you and your comments, Paul.

A while back, our President, George W. Bush (who claims to be a Christian) made the statement that Christians and Muslims all worship the same God.

Nope!

Not a chance!!!

I have written about this fact before.

Perhaps Bush said that in a politically correct way to try and ease the tension? Not going to work. Not in a million years.

The Bible has prophesied about this current war, which had its beginnings way back in history from the time of Isaac and Ishmael.

From what I have seen, heard and read, I tend to agree with your assessment, Paul.

Even Umm Yasmin of "Dervish" mentioned:

"I tend to avoid using the word 'moderate' because it implies lukewarm. I.e. I wouldn't want to be called a moderate intellect, or moderately good looking ;)"



So, to call a Muslim a "moderate" is not necessarily a good thing.

I think that you are absolutely correct when you wrote:

"Islam and the Moslem belief system is unconducive [sic] to a civilized society as the facts clearly state, yet we are being forced to accept these people in our midst, and it is not them giving up their freedoms and way of life it is us, we are having to give up our freedoms so as to fall in line and be acceptable to the Islamic way of life."


I agree that we are in the greatest battle against Jihad in history. The lives and way of life for our children and grandchildren are at stake. We must be diligent and continue to fight the good fight against those who are obsessed with our destruction.

Stay in touch Paul!

God bless you!

Christine


I decided to go back to the website for the documentary "Obsession: Radical Islam's War With the West." On the Media page I found an old video of Glenn Beck's T.V. show on CNN Headline News where he has a discussion with Wayne Kopping, the director and editor of the film "Obsession." Go watch that video! I plan to watch the other ones listed there as well.

The increase in attacks against us here at the homeland indicates that all the bluster of the liberals that if we "just talk with them, understand them, negotiate with them, and play nice-nice with the terrorists" simply is not a reasonable alternative and falls flat on it's face in reality!

This topic needed to be revisited by me today. People on the left naively thought that the War on Terror should be re-labeled as an "Overseas Contingency Operation." After the failed Christmas day attack, Obama stupidly called the Nigerian terrorist's act an "isolated incident." Either he is totally clueless, inept, and flawed as a leader of this nation or he is on the side of the terrorists for a purpose that is currently unknown to us. There can be no other explanation for his terrible errors!!

The following blog posts are all excellent in analyzing what America is up against in this global jihad.

Gateway Pundit: He Knew. Obama Warned About Terror Threat to Homeland Before His Golf & Snorkling Getaway …Update: Obama Finally Links Bomber to Al-Qaeda

The American Spectator: In a World of His Own

The Obama File: all stories

Citizen Wells: Obama had warnings all year

Desert Conservative: Terrorists promise more terror

Alan Keyes blog: Whose to blame for terrorisms moral victory?

Founding Bloggers: Was the Christmas jihad al qaeda's first use of petn?

Michele Malkin: The myth of the poor oppressed jihadist

The Right Perspective: UK Muslim Integration at Issue after Bombing

Jihad Watch: Al-Qaeda's second banana calls on Muslims to "disinfect" North Africa of Spanish and French

Anti-Obama Blog: Obama describes Nigerian as "isolated extremist" despite ties to Yemen

Political Pistachio: Obama's Military Failure

American Thinker: America Retreats, Mullahs Advance

Michele Malkin: It never ends - jihadi attack on Danish cartoonist

Examiner.com: Radical Islam and America's Future

Hat tips to all links.

And, to show how "politically correct" labeling is in France, read this:

Gateway Pundit: "Youths" torch 1137 cars in France this New Year's eve

Maggie's Notebook: Obama pre-Christmas Security Briefing: Authorities Lie to Us About Second Detained Person from NW Flight 253

*******

Watch this video!

The Third Jihad (30 Minute free version).

Friday, January 01, 2010

Why Truth is Worth Fighting For


Happy New Year everyone! It is my sincere hope and fervent prayer that 2010 will bring us towards Godly guidance in our hearts and lives as we share the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ with this chaotic world and culture in which we currently live.

In my previous post, I included a wonderful quote by C.H. Spurgeon. There is something very special about the preachers of previous centuries. Their preaching is not muddled with "politically correct" jargon that waters down the message of God from the Bible. In fact, commentaries from yesteryear are more often accurate than today's Christian preachers and writers. Some (not all, of course) tend to add their own ideas to what the Scriptures are actually saying. I have spotted such tendencies in several books that I have read. They are good books from very good Christian authors. However, just one misinterpretation of a Scripture passage (or misapplication of certain verses) can skew the true meaning of what God's Word is genuinely revealing to the reader. We are human after all and make mistakes! But we need to be discerning and on the lookout for such errors. It is good and necessary to correct our fellow believers (including me!) when we do make errors. We can do this in a loving way, of course. Unfortunately, even "loving way" corrections are not always welcomed. We must correct each other (and accept correction from others) whenever it is necessary.

The Introduction in John MacArthur's book, "The Truth War: Fighting for Certainty in an Age of Deception" is very fitting for my first post of the New Year. It is entitled, "Why Truth Is Worth Fighting For."

MacArthur writes:

Who would have thought that people claiming to be Christians -- even pastors-- would attack the very notion of truth?

But they are.


I get emails all the time from fellow Christian believers who tell me that they got "kicked off" of a web site, blog, or discussion forum because the Christian host did not like what was being shared. That's truly a shame! It is an opportunity lost. Some Christians think that arguing against each other is a waste of time. Sometimes it is - especially when it involves a petty discussion topic. But other times, answering and/or correcting a misguided, misinformed or incorrect posting can be a very valuable lesson for all readers. That is one goal that I strive to achieve here at this blog.

Since there are visitors who comment here but reject Christianity, the discussions often revolve around politics or the current culture climate. For such people, I would change MacArthur's quote to read, "Who would have thought that people claiming to be the arbiters of truth in politics, the culture, science, education, or even when it comes to the knowledge and application of our founding documents; would attack the very notion of truth?"

Americans today are sensing a strong pull (especially when it comes from our current government, media, and Hollywood) away from truth into the realm of lies, corruption, sin, evil and death. Almost every person that I have had discussion with over the past 12 months says that they can't believe how seriously corrupt the three branches of our government have become! They shake their heads and sigh at the complacency of the media to go along with it!! Many people are relying on the Internet blogs to find out the truth about what is really going on.

The following quote can be applied as one big reason why Obama got elected:

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.


So many Christians and Catholics believed the "spirit of the age" - the lies that the Obama campaign told in order to get elected. Many now regret their votes! But why were they so deceived?

We could list many, many reasons. The next two MacArthur quotes explain one big reason:

Much of the visible church nowadays seems to think Christians are supposed to be at play rather than at war. The idea of actually fighting for doctrinal truth is the furthest thing from most churchgoers' thoughts.


I witnessed a living example of this. During the Proposition 8 campaign, many churches in southern California chose to be absent from the fight to proclaim that marriage is the union of one man and one woman. One church where I previously attended a women's Bible study didn't do a thing to help educate people about what that proposition would mean for the God ordained definition of marriage as well as our free speech rights to proclaim God's Word. Our religious freedoms were at stake and some pastors didn't think it was necessary to fight for it? What were they busy doing instead?

MacArthur nails it:

Church leaders are obsessed with style and methodology, losing interest in the Glory of God and becoming grossly apathetic about truth and sound doctrine. for the moment at least, the battle appears to be turning in the enemy's favor.


Wow! Does that describe this past year or what??!!!

We The People came out in droves at TEA Party protests, Town Hall meetings, 1.5 million strong on the Washington Mall on September 12, 2009, and even on the steps of the Capital Building (on days notice) to let our voices be heard by those who are supposed to be representing us and our wishes. What did the leadership of the House call us for exercising our free speech rights to protest out of control government spending? Pelosi called us "AstroTurf." Left-wing media pundits called us various degrading names as well. Out of these two opposing forces, which was professing the truth and which was promoting lies?

MacArthur:

A biblical perspective of truth also necessarily entails the recognition that ultimate truth is an objective reality. Truth exists outside of us and remains the same regardless of how we may perceive it. Truth by definition is as fixed and constant as God is immutable.


The truth in the above instance is clear. The politicians and pundits were not representing what the people wanted - they were busy promoting their own self-interests as well as lining the pockets of lobbyists who will work to get them re-elected. That is not what our Constitution says that they should be doing!

Our Constitution and other founding documents were created by mostly Christian statesmen who took God's Word very seriously in the formation of our nation. The further that corrupt politicians take us from the words of the Constitution, the less free we become. We become slave labor to those who think they know better than we do about health care legislation, the cap and trade scam, government takeover of businesses like GM, and the list goes on and on.

How did we get here?

MacArthur:

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 truth is under assault today, both in the culture and within some so-called "Christian" churches. We are told throughout the New Testament the importance of fighting for the truth. Second John contains the word truth five times in the first four verses alone. It ends with this sobering message (vs. 7-11):

2Jo 1:7 For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.


2Jo 1:8 Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward.


2Jo 1:9 Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.


2Jo 1:10 If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into [your] house, neither bid him God speed:


2Jo 1:11 For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.

We have deceivers in and around the White House. We have deceivers in Congress, the courts, the media, education, and even in some Christian churches. We are being bombarded by lies and lured with deception! John MacArthur responds, "How faithful Christians MUST respond.

[Jude] was compelled by the Holy Spirit to exhort us with all passion "to contend earnestly for the faith which was once delivered to the saints" (Jude 3).


In MacArthur's book, he examines why defending the faith inevitably requires warfare, rather than the gullible sanguine stance many Christians today seem to favor. He points out why indifference, timidity, compromise, and nonresistance are all ruled out as options for Christians when the gospel is under attack. Jude's warning is particularly applicable for the times in which we live. Not only is the gospel under attack, but our very way of life - our Constitutional Republic - is also under heavy attack by those who have captured the minds of the unsuspecting with their "hoax and chains" mantra.

MacArthur concludes the introduction:

As vital as it is for us to enlist in the Truth War and do battle for our faith, it is even more important to remember why we are fighting -- not merely for the thrill of vanquishing some foe or winning some argument, but out of a genuine love for Christ, who is the living, breathing embodiment of all that we hold true and worth fighting for.


Reference:

The Truth War: Fighting for Certainty in an Age of Deception by John MacArthur, Nashville, TN, by Thomas Nelson, 2007, pp. ix - xxvii.