God's word, but only when we agree...

Good article at The American Thinker about the 'radicalization' of the Church. From the article:

The Church has traditionally believed in a God who has revealed himself in scripture and a God whose authority transcends all times, places, nations, empires, and their governments. This means any church still committed to the idea of a transcendent and sovereign God who has spoken and who has laid down irrevocable rules for the conduct of mankind will inevitably find itself in continual conflict with secularist thinking and structures.

Unfortunately, if the impulse of the Main Line denominations has included a syncretism that includes worshipping a pantheon of gods and goddesses, the response of the conservative churches to the relentless pounding of a left-leaning, secularist world view has often been flight rather than fight.

Many conservative churches have attempted to separate the Church from politics and the culture in general by adhering to a reductionist theology that speaks of personal salvation only; and by creating a neo-monastic, isolated subculture that is a sort of preserve or a safe house for Christians amounting to a full-fledged retreat from encounters with the surrounding culture.

The other reaction too often has been a focus on minutiae coupled with a reluctance to articulate and expound a comprehensive Christian world view that includes such areas as politics, economics and the arts. Many times conservative churches have exhausted themselves in pointless fights. One such fight, for example, involves adherence to the tenets of the Temperance movement. In many conservative churches, grape juice rather than real wine is routinely used for the sacrament of Holy Communion lest teetotalers are offended. Congregations actually have split over such issues, thus proving that those who refuse to be troubled by large matters will inevitably be troubled by small matters.

The Church fails when it focuses on the little stuff while ignoring or lightly addressing world views that are inimically opposed to her beliefs. Currently, neo-gnosticism, secularism, modernism, and relativism are some of the "isms" challenging the Church. Failure to detect and to confront what are essentially ideologically hostile takeovers has resulted in a slow syncretism that has softened and eroded the radically prophetic and culture changing nature of both Judaism and Christianity. The consequence: A new Hellenization has succeeded in changing -- and in some cases completely assimilating -- Christian culture and identity.

These days you'll find many a church who trot out "We are in the World, not of the World". On one level, this is true. Yet, did not Yeshua command that we followers, and I quote, "Spread the Good News" ie the Gospel? So yes, we are no longer of the World, but we still live in it. We are NOT called to huddle in our own little enclaves and smugly watch as the culture and world fall apart. We are who we are, sinners redeemed by the blood of our Lord and Savior Yeshua, the Christ! Did not Yeshua tell us that if we proclaimed Him before man, he would proclaim us before God? So where in the Gospels, or in the New Testament, do you get the notion that we group together and watch the World fall apart? Also, whether you believe in the Free Will doctrine, or Predestination, you still must NOT hide your faith in Him who set you free. You must still spread the Good News. Remember, the World hated Him, and will hate you also. He warned us of that. Look around, and see the forces arrayed against the Truth!

Also from the piece:

 Archbishop Charles Joseph Chaput of Philadelphia is one Native American who undoubtedly would not have joined in the skunk, rabbit, and giraffe parade of the PCUSA. He recently spoke of the necessity of resisting syncretism and the need to fight to retain the cultural identity and influence of traditional Christianity in the midst of what is increasingly a hostile environment:

The world we [Christians] live in is not a friend of the gospel ... It has contempt for Jesus Christ, contempt for the Cross, and contempt for the people who carry their own cross and follow him. Christians now live in a world which is not only inimical to God, to His Son and to the Christian lifestyle, but openly hostile and aggressive towards those who are attempting to live in accordance with God's plan for humanity. They are constantly bombarded with propaganda vilifying them and promoting sinful conduct and evil of every kind in the name of freedom and equality. In addition, the laws of the land are increasingly compelling Christian institutions and individuals, under pain of prosecution and punishment, to act in a manner directly contrary to the divine law.

If it comes down to mans Law versus God's Law, I'll choose God every time. I follow the Christ, not flawed fallen man. Again, and this can't be stressed enough, Christ PROMISED us troubles. Following him would not be easy. It never has been. Yet, is not adversity the fire that purges us of impurities, burns away the dross, so to speak? Make no compromise when it comes to what Christ commanded of us.We are commanded to "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and body. Also to Love your neighbor as yourself." Now, there are those who would twist this to mean that you shouldn't ever point out the wrong that people do. That you shouldn't 'judge'. I think that term is way perverted from it's intent. We make judgments every day. Do you want your kid hanging out with a known drug dealer? No?! Who are YOU to judge? See what I mean about twisting it out of true? You must be intolerant when it comes to truth. Truth is exactly that. Truth. We must, however, share it in love, remembering that we are not perfect. That's tricky. Even though we are saved and redeemed by the blood of Yeshua, we still fall into sin. Anyway, read the article.   

U.S. Foreign Policy, Obama and McCain: The Jihadi's bestest buddy...

So. John McCain makes a trip to Syria to hang out with the 'Rebels' aka Al Qaeda. He wants the U.S. to get involved in ANOTHER civil war. This should tell Arizonan's just how stupid they were to send this idiot back to the Senate. Obama's foreign policy is what has the Middle East on fire. He picks the GREATER of two evils, and supports it. Now. Make no mistake. Bush screwed the pooch by not pulling out as soon as the Taliban was chastised, and while he likely should NOT have gone into Iraq, since he did, he should have left as soon as Saddam was captured. The U.S. Government, as it's been constituted since Johnson, should NEVER engage in Nation building. Our Government is terrible at it. An abject failure. Obama has to be the worst. Because of him, the Middle East is MORE likely to explode into all out war that will drag the rest of the world down rather than less. He is supporting jihadi's. Not just once. There IS a pattern here. He apparently love's the jihadi's more than anything else. How he must hate the west. Then, he has idiots like McCain and Lindsey Graham calling for action in Syria! Didn't you bloodthirsty asshats learn anything from Libya?? Because Obama violated the Constitution by getting involved there, he toppled Gadhafi, and brought about not only the persecution of Christians, but the deaths of 4 Citizens that he cowardly turned his back on. Oh, and how did Egypt work out for ya?! Christians and Coptics are murdered now. And the military and police just stand by and let it happen! Barry is about as Christian as Mohammed the pederast. America used to be God blessed. I don't know how we could be now.

Thoughts on the Boy Scouts..

I am torn with what the Boy Scouts have done. I was a Cub Scout, and later a Boy Scout. I'm torn, because I know where the decision will lead. The Homosexual Lobby won't rest until it's perverted every institution. Within a couple of years, they will allow homosexual Scout Leaders. THAT, is where they lose me. Shocked, are you? Here's why I've come to this conclusion, after much thought. How many young boys are really homosexual? How many actually have those leanings vs how many have been brainwashed by one or both parents. Remember, many in Scouting are misguided boys from divorced homes, like I was. Confused, angry and alone in many ways. You'd be surprised what a boy like this can be made to think normal. You really would. So how many are really homosexual? Are they Homosexual in practice, or have they not crossed that damnable line? 

Here's the thing. I think that, for a young boy, he's got no real clue as to his sexuality, other than his parents, the indoctrination centers called public schools, and perverted society to pattern his life after. He may have those thoughts, or been given those thoughts, been lead to them, but he hasn't crossed the line. Indeed, no one crosses that Final Line with Christ, until they completely deny Him. Maybe some of these boys, given exposure to a regular man, in the atmosphere of doing things boys SHOULD be doing, camping and such, will be helpful. Maybe it won't, I don't know.

I do know this, until that boy is old enough to KNOW the consequences of his actions, there's a chance that the scouts can help set him on a better path, offer him a different way. I know that it helped me. Not as much had I spent more time, but what time I spent was not wasted. This is where I've wound up on my thought path. When the Boy Scouts finally capitulate to the Homosexual Mafia, then, and only then, will they be dead to me. I know it's inevitable. The Homosex lobby will accept nothing less than the destruction of things like marriage and the Boy Scouts. They will also continue their attempted destruction of any religion that refuses to call them normal. Anyway, there it is.

What so many don't get...

Saw this over at Market Ticker and just shook my head and asked "Why is this so hard for people to get? From the post:

• Fast And Furious (guns for drug lords, resulting in murder of Americans and Mexicans)
  
• Robosigning (over 100,000 perjured affidavits filed in court cases)
   
• IRS Tea Party and other group and individual abuse in direct violation of the law (politically-based harassment and now apparently-perjured testimony before Congress)
  
• Money Laundering for terrorists and drug lords (by multiple large banks)
  
• Intentional and unlawful destruction of property rights (GM bondholders screwed for political cronies in the UAW)
  
• Intentional and unlawful destruction of your saved wealth (QE, QE2, QE3, QEinfinity, $1 trillion+ deficits, etc; Treasury and Federal Reserve actions)
  
• Benghazi (apparent illegal arming of terrorists, then an attempt to reverse that leading to the attack on our CIA outpost and what appears to be intentional indifference and orders to stand down during the attack that had to come from the White House despite ability to respond; this amounts to conspiracy with the terrorists to kill Chris Stevens and the others who died.)
   
• Swindles by the billions in countless schemes during the 2000s related to securitizations and other hinky deals (where despite black letter legal requirements for actual endorsement and delivery of documents banks simply did not comply and now argue there should be no penalty for not having done so, and that these defects are "mere procedural errors" despite intent to not comply.)  The result is that our land title system no longer has any resemblance of integrity.
  
• Intentional destruction of anything approaching a "free market" for health care going back 30+ years and now compounded through active conspiracy by Obama and all of the political parties to grant, protect and enforce through government monopolies and cost-shifting resulting in cost escalations of 500-1,000% or even more against market prices and now, with Obamacare, abuse of the IRS tax power to force another 100% or more increase in those expenses down your throat for the express purpose of enrichment of those in the medical industry.

I'm sure I've missed a bunch, but this is a good start.
What do all these (and more) have in common?  
The people's refusal, as Americans, to stand and demand that The Rule of Law be restored and honored and that those who refuse to do so be impeached (if in government) and stand trial for their abuses.

Now, considering that large numbers of those who no longer see life this way are supporters... er... robots of this President and his Party, Obama and Democrats uber alles, I am not surprised. For them, the fact that he's Democrat and black, means he can do anything. If he were also gay, he'd be the perfect progressive man. What makes my teeth itch, is that most other citizens, don't care either. The number calling for serious consequences for this Administrations corruption, lies and complete disdain for the Constitution and the Law are few. The lapdog Obama sphincter puppies are currently upset about the inJustice department's attack on the AP, but many care little about the Administrations continued attack on FOX News. After all. It's JUST FOX. They're not really news. I think I find that attitude by lefties and progs the most despicable and offensive. Just proves what I've often said. It's the left you have to fear with regards to tyranny. Their hate of any dissent, and their propensity to commit atrocities in the name of their 'Greater Good', has been shown time and time again through History, especially since the early 20th Century.

To the lapdog Goebbels Media, sooner or later, and it IS pretty late, you'll have to choose your souls, or your messiah. He won't allow any divided allegiance. If you haven't tumbled to that by now, you never will. The same holds for those who blindly support this Administration, and, to a growing extent, the Democrat party. The party seems to be tacking hard to the left. The Republican Party is a mere shell. There are very few left with, to quote from a movie I like, Balls, Attitude and  Determination. The willingness to stand AGAINST the old guard, the establishment, who've become more like the progressives they purport to stand against. They're Big Government types too. Combined with the leftward lurch of the Democrat Party and a compliant, complacent and traitorous press, and you have all the fixin's for tyranny to sprout. Make no mistake, it will come. Unless large numbers of the populace wake up, and soon, it WILL come.

So, now what?

I know my writing has a certain doom and gloom about the future of this Nation, and the world. I sound too pessimistic. In a worldly way, maybe I am. For a long time, perhaps 20-25 years, I haven't cared much if I live or die. Please don't misunderstand. I love and enjoy life. I think a good day is any day you can get out of bed, take a breath, and thank God for the experience. Yet, if I didn't wake up, it wouldn't bother me either. Then all the pain of this life, the physical and the spiritual, would be over. Yet, as is taught in His Word, His grace is sufficient. So, I thank God for every day, and I thank Him when I get up in the morning. Remember the words of Plumb's I Need You Now? "...How many times have you given me strength to just keep breathing?" Some days, I need that. There are days I wish I'd stop. Yet, this life is a gift from him. I've had more than one go around, so what I have now is a bonus. Though I live every day in pain, he gives me strength to continue on. I find joy in each day. Some days, I have to look a little harder than others, but it's there. God doesn't make life easy, nor following His son. Remember, Yeshua promised us troubles and suffering because of Him. For the world hated Him, and still does, before it hated us. That's why I'm distrustful of preachers like Olsteen. Yeshua didn't promise us riches, either. So I'm also skeptical of the prosperity preachers, as well as the 'name it, claim it' crowd. I am in no way perfect. I fall into sin every day, sometimes in thought, and sometimes I add a few 'deeds' to that. Some days, it depresses the hell out of me. Yet, He is faithful, and forgives.

He does NOT, however, keep me from consequences. For that, I am thankful. How else does one learn, if not from our errors? Will we ever be error free? No! We are fallen humans. Imperfect. How can we not sin? Just because we've been born again, doesn't make us sin free. It also doesn't give us leave to willfully continue in our sin just because God will forgive us due to our being washed clean by the blood of the Christ. Paul argues that in Romans, and debunks that attitude. I think more Church's need to talk about sin, and it's consequences, and not just God's lovingkindness. Too much of that can mislead. Read Johnathan Edwars' "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" sometime. Fire and Brimstone has it's place as well.

So, we're aware that I see dark times ahead for what was once the United States. I say once was, because we're not very United now, are we? We have a president that looks with disdain and contempt on those of us who don't worship at the progressive altar, and we, in turn, look back with disdain and contempt. I freely admit my contempt for the man and his acolytes. When I am called a racist, bigot and homophobe for my beliefs, for disagreeing with their little tin god, I tend to flip those folks off, and then tune them out. They are then dead to me.  Now, God says I am to forgive. When Yeshua was asked how often we should forgive, up to 70 times, he said 70 times 7, for as you forgive, so the Father shall forgive you. We must not carry hate in our hearts. It's a pollutant. Forgive, let it go. Anyway, dark times are coming. If the progressives get total control,  well, it won't be pretty for those of us who refuse to accept perversion as normal. To accept tyranny instead of Liberty. To be slaves. So, what to do?

Simple! Obey God before man. If man's law contravene's Gods Law, obey God. Be true to Him who can destroy or save the soul, not to corruptible man. I will bow to no man, nor will I do that which God has declared evil. As long as we keep that in mind, we'll be fine. Remember the scriptures, you have to choose between God and mammon, the false idol. Do you want to gain the whole world, and lose your soul? If you choose God every time, you'll never go wrong. If the world hates you because you follow Him, you're doing it right. So hold onto your faith and trust in Him who made you at all times. He is the rock, the anchor that will allow you to hold your course when the whole world is against you. Also remember to pray for those who persecute as well as those being persecuted. Like the Christian Pastor jailed in Iran who refuses to convert to Islam. Our evil Government does next to nothing for him, but they bend over for Lucifer's favorite 'religion' if it's adherents so much as hiccup.  Remember Matthew chapters 5-7. Yes, it really is that simple. Follow God and Yeshua, not man. No matter what. He, and His Word are your shield. 

One Step from Darkness...

Ellis Washington's column at WND.com Speaks of the Cult of Acceptance. Here's a bit:

Cult of Acceptance: Yes, Lord Satan, but before we have a bringing together, we need a new worldview, and before we have a new worldview, we must have a paradigm shift, a game changer. We need humanity to first change its worldview from biblical theism to evolution atheism. Our useful idiot in England, Charles Darwin, achieved this for us. In 40 years, with the help of our dutiful foot soldiers, the college professors of the academy spread the lies of evolution, atheism, dialectical materialism, social Darwinism, including natural selection, survival of the fittest, the world over.

With this atheist worldview established throughout the Earth, it was easy to establish what the Nazis called Gleichschaltung, or bringing into line, which quickly morphed into forcing into line (at threat of death). Pick any cataclysmic event in the history of the world – paganism, slavery, abortion, the rise of Islam, the Crusades, the Enlightenment, the French Revolution, World War I and II. It all followed the same diabolical pattern, the same two simple techniques and strategies, Weltanschauung andGleichschaltung. We murdered billions and billions and billions of people over thousands of years, which combined to form the Cult of Acceptance.

Read it all, it's short. His point is pretty well spot on. If you go against the Enlightened Crowd, you're marginalized, derided and, eventually, targeted for destruction. One need only look to history for examples. All of the despots of the last Century did it. They had willing followers who were convinced of their cause's importance, and were willing to allow ANYTHING to accomplish it. I saw this comment on another blog, and it speaks to this clearly. "You cannot reason with people who in their hearts, believe they are doing what is best for everyone, and are willing to kill you to see it done." Look at the Benghazi hearings. The Obama Sphincter puppies are doing all they can to obfuscate and discredit the hearings and the witnesses. They will go to any lengths to protect their guy, no matter what.  

Now, contrast this with what we hear today. Don't agree with Global Warming? You're a crazy climate denier. Disagree with Obama, you're obviously a racist. Disagree with 'gay marriage', you're a homophobe and a bigot. Do you see the pattern? Now, consider this. The schools are run by people who think like this. These are the people who you trust to teach the next generation. Teach, not indoctrinate. Yet, that's what's going on. Parents, tell me your kids aren't becoming good little progressives and turning their backs on values and morals you've tried to instill. Not all, to be sure. Yet, a growing number are being lost. Add that to the numbers of those already lost, and you'll see why I believe the dark times are not that far away. The National Government is taking more and more power for themselves. What did you think Obamacare was about? Healthcare? No. It was a raw power grab. When you give the government control of something like your healthcare, by fiat they now can tell you how to live. After all, they're paying the bill.

For decades, Progressives have been destroying the morals and ethics of the nation, while dumbing down the youth, and molding them in their image. They've also refused to secure the border, thus letting in millions of illegals, and every 5-10 years, granting them amnesty and citizenship. They are NOT natural conservative voters. They are flawed humans who are bought with welfare and other programs, the fruits of the labor of others, what Bastiat called "Legalized Plunder". Progressives have also done all they can to drive the Christian God out of the public square.  It won't be long before the little 'persecutions' become bigger and more blatant. Why? The Cult of Acceptance that Washington writes about. 

Study Job

At the Church I belong to, we've been studying the Book of Job in a lesson about suffering. I've long said to those who question why Christians in particular, and people in general suffer if God is all loving, that, God is also just. Also, Christ did not promise those who follow him a happy, easy or unpainful life if we took his name as our Lord and Saviour. In fact, he promised trials, for the world will hate us for his name, and to remember that the world hated him before it hated us. So, we'll have trials though we call on His name. This will make us stronger if we remain faithful and do not fall away. So, don't expect all cookies and cream if you choose to follow the risen Lord. Expect trials and hardship. Expect to be derided because of your faith and trust in Christ. What we've been studying, is our reaction to our, and others suffering. Job is instructive in this.

Job's friends say HE must have sinned to account for the tragedies that befell him. Job declared his innocence, and cursed the day of his birth. He did not blame God. He remained righteous and upright. I have always loved the book of Job. He didn't blame God for what befell him.  He didn't accuse God. I can't say that, can you? Long ago, I used to accuse God. As I grew through life, and after I came to study Christ, I stopped blaming God. Instead, I began to look to Him for meaning, understanding, and strength. I have found all three. Sometimes all at once, sometimes singly or in combination. So, am I always happy as a follower of the risen Christ? No. Do I expect to be? No. Am I joyful? Almost every minute of every day. Why? Because I am saved by his sacrifice, washed clean by his blood, and made righteous before the Father because of the Son. He didn't promise me ease in this life. He promised me everlasting life, after this one. I'll take that over earthly riches and ease any day.

We will suffer in this life. The introduction of sin into God's creation by Adam forever poisoned this life. The Word speaks of suffering many times, as burning away the dross. For instance, when gold is heated to the proper temp, the impurities float to the top. Without the heat, in our case trials, the impurities can't be seen or removed. Hence, the trials strengthen our faith, trust and resolve to follow Him. To stand firm when others fall away because of ridicule or persecution. Faith is a lot like a muscle. If it's not worked, it atrophies and shrinks. Over time, it can't do the smallest of tasks. Faith is like that. If you exercise it, it will become stronger and you'll get through anything, with God. If you don't, it will wither and blow away in the breeze.