Clueless Emma

Green religion movement hopes spill wins converts - Yahoo! News

NEW ORLEANS – Where would Jesus drill?

via news.yahoo.com

Hmmm...I don't remember the Great Commission being anything like "Go ye therefore, and guard all beaches, protecting the trees , Teachingthem to observe all things natural and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen."

Seven arrested in FBI raids linked to Christian militia group | detnews.com | The Detroit News

At least seven people, including some from Michigan, have been arrested in raids by a FBI-led Joint Terrorism Task Force in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana as part of an investigation into an Adrian-based Christian militia group, a person familiar with the matter said.

via detnews.com

These are not biblical Christians!

Deliver us, Obama!

Emergent Heresy Again

"This year, a group of "Emergent Christians," led by one of the United States' most influential pastors, Brian McLaren have announced they will actually be 'observing' the Muslim holy month, along with a Muslim 'partner,'" writes Joel Richardson in a WND commentary today. "Ramadan is the month that Muslims thank Allah, their god, for revealing the Quran to Muhammad, their prophet. On McLaren's personal blog, he recently announced his intentions: 'We, as Christians, humbly seek to join Muslims in this observance of Ramadan as a God-honoring expression of peace, fellowship, and neighborliness.'" 

from WND

Faith and Freedom

"I call not upon a few, but upon all: not on this state or that state, but on every state; up and help us; lay your shoulders to the wheel; better to have too much force than too little, when so great an object is at stake."—Thomas Paine, 1776

Federal law mandates that all high schools, colleges and universities across the country that receive federal funds host educational events about the Constitution on Constitution Day, September 17. Yet as John W. Whitehead points out in his latest commentary, the best way to celebrate the Constitution is by knowing and exercising your rights.

Formally adopted on September 17, 1787, the Constitution has long served as the bulwark of American freedom and as an example for struggling nations worldwide. Unfortunately, the rights enshrined in this vitally important document are under constant attack. And this month's Faith and Freedom newsletter shines a spotlight on three vitally important religious freedom cases being litigated by The Rutherford Institute before the U.S. Supreme Court.

In Busch v. Marple Newtown School District, Institute attorneys are fighting for Donna Busch's right to read a few verses from Psalms as part of an "All About Me" kindergarten classroom program intended to spotlight her son Wesley and his favorite book, the Bible. School officials actually told Mrs. Busch that the Bible is illegal in public schools. Incredibly enough, school officials then suggested that a book on Halloween might be an appropriate substitute!

In McComb v. Crehan, Institute attorneys are fighting for high school valedictorian Brittany McComb's right to give God credit in her graduation speech as the reason for her success in school. School officials actually unplugged Brittany's microphone just as began speaking about her Christian faith.

And in Nurre v. Whitehead, Institute attorneys are fighting for Kathryn Nurre's right, as part of a school woodwind ensemble, to be able to perform an instrumental arrangement of Franz Biebl's "Ave Maria" at graduation. Mind you, no words were to be sung—just an instrumental piece was to be played! School officials actually defended the ban as necessary in order to avoid offending someone in the audience.

We hope you'll take a moment to read about these and other critical cases and issues affecting your rights. Thank you, and God bless you, for continuing to stand with The Rutherford Institute as we strive for liberty and justice for all.

The Rutherford Institute

We ain't Great Britain yet, folks

From Time:

"Muslim Americans are also increasingly battling to adhere to their religious beliefs in the workplace and other public spaces. In Philadelphia, the police department disciplined an officer for wearing a hijab (a headscarf that covers hair and sometimes the neck), and the move was upheld in court. Legislators in Oklahoma and Minnesota have proposed legislation that would prohibit women from wearing a hijab for drivers-license photos. And in Oregon, the state legislature just affirmed a law prohibiting public school teachers from wearing religious garb. The law was originally developed in the 1920s as an anti-Catholic measure aimed at priest collars and nun habits, and it was supported by the Ku Klux Klan. Now some Muslim advocates worry that they are being targeted the same way. "Attire is always a red flag," says Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Council for Islamic-American Relations. "But what we're seeing is the overall trend of a vocal minority in our society trying to block any accommodation to Muslims."

The Klan? Really? No, people, there is no minority trying to block "any accommodation to Muslims," there is a majority insisting that we not create special rights for any one group. Follow the rules, do what everyone else has to do and make the best of it. If I can't have a bible on my desk, then it would be wrong to allow hijab in the classroom.

Turning a Blind Eye to Murdered Christians [Excerpts]

In June, North Korean's beastly communist dictatorship executed a 33 year old Christian woman for distributing Bibles, while also imprisoning her 3 little children, husband and parents, in conditions undoubtedly ghastly.

Several weeks ago, mobs involving hundreds, and perhaps thousands, of enraged radical Islamists destroyed several Christian villages in Pakistan, responding to incendiary rumors about Christians supposedly desecrating the Koran.   Hundreds of homes were destroyed, and at least 14 Christians were murdered, including three Christian women and a child who were burned alive as the radicals torched houses and shops.

U.S. church groups largely have been stunningly silent about these atrocities.  At least the Geneva-based World Council of Churches and the Church of England's Archbishop of Canterbury denounced the Pakistani outrages.

But U.S. church groups like to reserve their fire for what's really important, such as denouncing Israel for evicting two Palestinian families from their homes in East Jerusalem.   On August 2, Israeli police, executing a court order, evicted 50 Palestinians from their houses in the Sheikh Jarrah section of East Jerusalem.  Apparently the Palestinian tenants were refusing to pay rent to the Jewish owners, claiming that the homes were rightfully theirs.  The Jewish landlords sought the court order against the tenants.  The legal history behind the properties, across decades of Israeli, Jordanian, British and Ottoman control, is naturally messy.

This messiness did not hinder Churches for Middle East Peace almost immediately to contact Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to demand that the U.S. "insist on the immediate reversal of this ill-considered eviction and on the restoration of these houses to their former residents."   The signers include the Catholic Bishop who chairs the U.S. bishops' Committee on International Justice and Peace, the Episcopal Church's Presiding Bishop, the President of the United Methodist Council of Bishops, the Stated Clerk of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the General Minister of the United Church of Christ, the Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the National Council of Churches, and several left-leaning Catholic orders, among others.

Mark D Tooley

Phrase of the Day

"Jews: get this through your head once and for all. The Islamic world, under its current leadership, is just not into you"

Laura Rosen Cohen

Anti-Semitism: Healthy and Flourishing

"The irony is a mordant one. The Jew finds himself redeemed at the expense of the Knesset, and the diaspora is vindicated by the liability of Israel. Thus the ordinary Jew has become a “good Jew” while the Jewish state is relegated to the doghouse. The vilification merely persists in a different guise."

David Solway

Why Reiki Is Not of God and Dangerous to Those Who Employ It.

From ReikiDangers:

[Here are listed] web sites that are written to clarify about the occult of reiki and to point towards the Grace of God, in Christ Jesus our Lord. To share the biblical Truth about reiki and tell about practical experiences with ex-reikians. We are listing these websites as a unified Christian voice, to warn you about reiki and guide you Home to God. Because there is Hope, there is a better alternative for reiki, found in Jesus. Just repent and turn to the Truth, the Light of Salvation which is found in Jesus Christ, get saved and set free. We are blessing you, not condemning, in fact this is between you and God and not between Church and you, nor between christians and reikians. The bible says clearly; Eph 6,12: for we are not wrestling with flesh and blood, (people) but against the powers (reiki) against the spirit forces of wickedness in the heavenly (supernatural) sphere, (reikidemons) ...this is not personal, it is spiritual. We have selected more then 30 websites from all kind of Churches and from saved ex-reikians who proof [sic] reiki spiritually occult, dangerous and not from God.

From Probe Ministries:

In a book entitled Basic Questions on Alternative Medicine, a corporate project by members of the Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Kregel Publications, 1988), there is a short chapter on Reiki (pp. 61-63). I will draw some information from that chapter. Although Reiki claims to be an "ancient healing practice that Buddha (and Jesus) used," all records of it were lost. It was allegedly rediscovered by Mikao Usui, a Zen Buddhist monk, in the mid-1800s "during a psychic experience." Additionally, it is claimed that details about lost aspects of the practice have "been revealed through channeling." Channeling is the New Age term for mediumship and involves contact with, and usually possession by, "spirit guides." The authors of this chapter state that a second-degree Reiki practitioner "learns about spirit guides and how to contact and use them in healing sessions." They further state that third degree Reiki masters give "complete control of healing sessions to their spirit guides." Healing sessions appear to be based on the use of "life-energy" (i.e. ki, chi, or prana), which is sent from the practitioner into the patient's body.

The greatest concern would seem to be the identity of the "spirit guides." Since they are typically contacted in ways expressly forbidden in Scripture, and since they advocate unbiblical ideas and practices, it is honestly quite difficult to view them as anything other than the biblical demons. The authors of this chapter conclude by stating: "Reiki is antithetical to biblical Christianity. Channeling is a way of communicating with spirits to obtain information not otherwise accessible. It is denounced in the Bible as sorcery, mediumship, and spiritism (Lev. 19:26, 31; 20:6; Deut. 18:9-14...)."

A former Reiki master who has become a Christian wrote this testimony to Sue Bohlin:

"Reiki is something that is very mis-stated, and misunderstood, by those outside of the Reiki circle. Having been in it, I can tell you everything you need to know. I will tell you right up front that it was a hard one to shake, that it was VERY real and beneficial, but that it is decidedly non-Christian. "I highly recommend anyone looking into it to just stop. Prayer is very powerful, and is our direct link to God through Christ. If we petition directly for healing, it may come. If we have faith that it WILL come, our chances are far better. As with anything we are to test, does Reiki point either the practitioner or the client to Christ? No. Big no. It uses a Universal energy that is non-personal and can be manipulated. You can pray to God, to the Earth Mother, to Mother/Father God, etc. But it in fact leads you AWAY from Christ. "It is all about what you FEEL in your hands, what you FEEL in your spirit, what the client FEELS in their body/emotions/spirit. In that regard it is very very real. My hands get hot, I hit a place of extreme peace and quiet, I heal people who feel a tingle or hot spot or whatever. Their headache, menstrual cramps, emotional distress, bruises, whatever, goes away. But is God glorified? No way. Is self glorified? Yes.

"If it is so good and right, why do practitioners go on to other things once they hit Master level? The teacher who taught me was going on to accupuncture and other new Reiki teachings. Always something else, something new, something you NEED to be a true master. Sound familiar? It is like everything else in this world, but Christ. There is no lasting peace, no connection with the universe, there is a big void in your soul that is not going away. WE ALL NEED CHRIST! I told my wife when she questioned my stopping in my search for peace once I found Christ (she had followed my years of searching through New Age theologies, etc) that Jesus Christ filled the hole. All the puzzle pieces fell into place and everything suddenly made sense. For a long time after that I tried to make Reiki fit into Christianity but it didn't. I prayed a lot about it. God firmly and solidly showed me in Scripture how it couldn't work. The two major things against it, regardless of how well it works, are 1) it does not point anyone to Christ and in facts points people away from a single triune God, and 2) it is no different than all the pagan rituals in the Old Testament that would have people pray to the rain god or fertility god, etc. They must have worked or people wouldn't have kept praying to them, and God's people wouldn't have been attracted to them. But either way it isn't what GOD has asked us to do. Everything we need is in Him. We can pray for any healing we need."

From Christian Answers for the New Age:

Reiki and Jesus: There is no evidence that Jesus used Reiki, as many Reiki books and teachers assert. Jesus, being God the Son, did not need a technique, but healed because His nature was the same as God's (which is what being the "Son of God" signifies), and God is the Healer and Giver of life (Genesis 1 and 2; Psalm 103:1-3, 147:3; Hosea 6:1; Matthew 4:23; Luke 4:18; John 10:10; Acts 11:18).

Jesus' miracles of healing were not just to cure, however, but were a sign that He was the promised Messiah. Luke 4:18 refers to prophecy of the Messiah as a healer in Isaiah 61:1. In Luke 7:18-23, John the Baptist sends a messenger to ask Jesus if He really is the Promised One, the Messiah. Jesus replies: "Go and tell John the things you have seen and heard: that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them," (v.22). In His answer, Jesus refers to two Isaiah passages, Isaiah 35:5 and 61:1, which gave John the confirmation he asked for. Jesus was not channeling a universal energy, but was acting with the power of God.

As Acts 10:38 says, "God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him." The power of God was not coming through a technique or secret teaching, but from the Person of Jesus Christ. When Jesus conferred this power specifically to and only on His disciples, He "gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every kind of disease and every kind of sickness," (Matthew 10:1, Mark 3:13-15, Luke 9:1). It is His authority over illness that Christ gave the disciples, not a secret teaching or technique.

This authority over disease was only one aspect of the power and authority of the Son of God. He also demonstrated authority in His teaching (Matthew 7:29), authority over demons (Matthew 8:28-24, also in Mark 5:1-17, Luke 8:22-25, as well as many other passages), authority to forgive (Matthew 9:5, also in Mark 2:10, Luke 5:24), authority over nature (Matthew 8:23-27, also in Mark 4:36-41, Luke 8:22-25), and authority over death (Matthew 9:23-26). After His resurrection, He was given all authority: All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. (Matthew 28:18). Jesus' healing magnified the glory of God.

After the blind man by the side of the road was healed in Luke 18:35-43, he followed Jesus, "glorifying God; and when all the people saw it, they gave praise to God," (verse 43). This same praising of God happened after Jesus healed the paralytic (Matthew 9:2-8, Mark 2:10-12, Luke 5:22-26), when He healed the "lame, crippled, blind, dumb, and many others...so that the multitude marveled as they saw the dumb speaking, the crippled restored, and the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel" (Matthew 15:30, 31), when Jesus raised the dead man in Nain (Luke 7:11-16), when He made the woman bent doubled stand straight (Luke 13:13), and when one of the ten lepers healed by Jesus turned back "glorifying God in a loud voice" and falling on his face at Jesus' feet (Luke 17:15, 16).

Israel and Prophetic Proof Part II

Dave Hunt

Israel is the major topic of Bible prophecy, mentioned more than 2,900 times, nearly twice as many times as her Messiah. Without Israel there would be no Messiah and no salvation for anyone, Jew or Gentile. The first mention of His coming is in God's rebuke of the guilty parties involved in man's fall in Eden: the serpent (an identity that Satan retains from Genesis to Revelation) and Adam and Eve. The Bible account is not myth but history. In many places around the world, archaeologists continue to find ancient representations of three figures appearing together: a woman, a serpent, and a tree.

God foretells a long conflict between the serpent and the Messiah and the latter's ultimate triumph that would occur in a way Satan could never have imagined. An old hymn tells it beautifully:

In weakness like defeat,
He won the victor's crown;
Trod all our foes beneath His feet
By being trodden down.
He Satan's power laid low;
Made sin, He sin o'er threw;
Bowed to the grave, destroyed it so,
And death, by dying, slew.      

God's declaration to the three guilty parties is simple and to the point. To the serpent He said, "I will put enmity between thee [serpent] and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed [the Messiah]; it [the woman's seed] shall bruise thy head [a death blow], and thou shalt bruise his heel" (Gn 3:15).

The fact that God does not say "thy seed and Adam's" must indicate that no man would be involved. From that moment, Satan was eagerly awaiting this virgin birth in order to kill the babe. Watching closely as events unfold, Satan learns that the Messiah will be of the seed of Abraham. Ishmael (father of the Arabs) is Abraham's firstborn, but by Hagar, Sarah's maid 7. Finally, Abraham is given a second son by his wife. He is Isaac, "the son of promise." It seems a miraculous birth because for 90 years Sarah had been barren though not a virgin. Satan watches and waits.

Both Ishmael and Isaac were born "in the land of Canaan" among Canaanites who had lived there for centuries (Gn 11:31; 12:5-6; 13:7, etc.). There was no such place as "Palestine" nor any people called "Palestinians." No Arabs would live in so-called Palestine until the savage Islamic conquest of the world began in the seventh century, and they would not claim descent from "the original Palestinians" until the 1950s. Anyone making such a claim via descent from Ishmael is deluded by tradition. Ishmael's father (Abraham) was a Chaldean (Gn 11:31; 15:7) and his mother (Hagar) was an Egyptian (16:1).

President Obama continues to apply pressure upon Israel to deal justly with the "Palestinians." He asks these misnamed people to cease their violence against Israel. He must know that this is like pleading with a hurricane for mercy. Since long before the days of Arafat and his partner, Mahmoud Abbas, the PLO Charter's call for Israel's annihilation has been the sworn purpose of every Islamic government in obedience to Muhammad and has been reiterated hundreds of times throughout the Muslim world.

As Mortimer Zuckerman, in his U.S. News and World Report editorial of June 9, 2009, recently reminded world leaders demanding that Israel make "peace" with the Palestinians, the latter's violence is fueled by "the incessant spewing of hatred against Israel in schools, mosques, and the media, especially TV. This poisoning of the mind of the next generation is not just the stock in trade of Hamas and Hezbollah but also of the schools and media controlled by Fatah and reporting directly to Abbas."

In spite of the facts, political and church leaders persist in avoiding any mention of Islam or Muslims when referring to their violence. That is always blamed on "extremists." In fact, Muhammad himself began this trail of death, and his followers have obeyed, as supported by the Qur'an. The simple truth of history is brushed aside by the UN and almost the entire world, including the church and, sadly, our own president.

Being repeatedly condemned by the world for trying to defend itself against suicide bomber attacks that were costing the lives of hundreds of Israelis, including women and children, Israel's only alternative was to build a barrier that would cut off the attackers from entering her homeland. World opinion expressed outrage. The World Court ruled 14-1 that construction must cease immediately and everything be dismantled, with compensation to the Palestinians. The United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution on July 20, 2004, 150-6, calling on Israel to respect the World Court ruling. Only the United States, Israel, Australia, Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, and Palau voted against the resolution. Israel rejected world opinion and, from necessity, has proceeded with construction. Though the barrier has not been completed as of this date, it has already almost totally cut off the infiltration of terrorists.

Israel subsequently "gave back" Gaza, which historically belonged to her. She generously left operative the huge greenhouses that had fed Israel and much of Europe with fresh vegetables and could have done the same for the new "owners." Instead, these new owners tore the structures apart, and the mob carried off the materials for their individual use, thereby losing the potential income from exports that Israel had derived as well as the ability to feed themselves.

Going back to history, in 135 A.D., the Romans destroyed 1,000 Jewish villages, killed 500,000 Jews, and enslaved thousands. Furious that they'd been forced to bring in more legions to quell the rebellion, the Romans angrily renamed what had for more than 1,500 years been known as Israel. They called it Provincia Palestina after the Philistines, Israel's ancient enemies. Those living there became known as Palestinians. Who lived there? Jews! So Jews, ironically were the first "Palestinians." This is what they were called (along with many derisive names that have followed them as they've been hunted from country to country). Only in the 1950s did the Arabs begin to call themselves "Palestinians" in order to gain worldwide sympathy for their acts of terrorism even as UN pressure squeezed Israel into an ever-smaller corner in order to facilitate her destruction. (We document all of this and much more in Judgment Day.)

Since 1948, Israel has been arming herself and fighting back. Her vow of "never again" will be fulfilled but not before Jewry worldwide suffers the worst horror of her history. Under attack by all of the world's armies (Zec 12:3; 14:2; Jl 3:2, Ezk 38:8,9 etc.), Israel will call upon the Messiah, and He will rescue her. It is all declared plainly by the ancient prophets of Israel in the Old Testament (the Tenach).

It has taken the Lord many years and many circumstances to open my eyes to these prophecies. It was all there in His Word, but I didn't understand. How blind I was!

In 1966-67, my wife and I, with our four young children, were living on the third floor of a small seventeenth-century castle in Switzerland. That year was to have been an intensive time of ministry to university students, but God had something far different in mind. Suddenly, an overwhelming urgency to pray for Israel came upon me toward the end of 1966. Even when giving thanks to God at mealtime, I was compelled to include this prayer, "O Lord, I pray that you will defeat, confound, confuse, and frustrate all those who plot the destruction of Israel; turn their counsel into foolishness and protect your ancient people from their evil designs. In Jesus' name, Amen!"

I didn't understand that prayer at the time, but my naiveté was soon dispelled. In Cairo, Egypt, I went into a travel agency and asked, "How can I get to Israel?" The man waiting on me took me aside and whispered, "If you mention that [expletive] word again in this country they'll kill you!" I was shocked. I knew the Bible well but had never realized the significance of Psalm 83: "...thine enemies...that hate thee...have taken crafty counsel against thy people, [saying] let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance." This destruction has been the determined goal of Islam since it was founded by Muhammad.

Muslims are fighting against the God who calls Himself the "God of Israel" 203 times in the Bible. What an embarrassment it would be if Israel could be destroyed! It could never happen, for that act would destroy "the God of Israel" as well. He will not allow it.

Interacting with the very friendly people our family met as we drove the length and breadth of Egypt in our VW minibus in late May 1967, we repeatedly heard the words, "The 19-year war." What war was this? It took a while for that cryptic phrase to sink into our dull understanding.  From the so-called 1948 cessation of hostilities until 1967 was 19 years. Even as they professed peace, but inspired by Egypt's dictator, Gamal Abdul Nasser, the 40 million Muslims surrounding Israel had been arming nonstop to achieve her destruction. Nasser had sworn to lead the Arab world to a glorious victory. The humiliating defeat of the Arab armies in "The Six Day War" of 1967 ended Nasser's bombastic boast that he would destroy Israel. He subsequently had a nervous breakdown from which he never recovered.

In May 1948, Israel had declared its independence and was instantly attacked by the combined might of 40 million Arab/Muslims surrounding her. This tiny nation of 600,000, with its hastily assembled, hurriedly trained, and poorly equipped army of 60,000, with weapons smuggled in from Czechoslovakia (France, Britain, America, et al., would sell them nothing) fought for its survival against an enemy that had sworn its utter annihilation. They "crushed 600,000 soldiers of four Arab armies, well trained and heavily armed [with tanks and planes, of which Israel had none], reinforced by units from seven additional Arab countries, not to mention the active help of the British." This quote is part of the lengthy endorsement of Judgment Day by a retired Israeli General.

Three times God calls Israel the "apple of his eye" and warns: "He that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye" (Zec 2:8; Dt 32:10; Lam 2:18). The statements that Barack Obama continually makes in favor of Islam are not only alarming for his own sake and the sake of the United States but are a slap in the face of the God of Israel. I can only warn him with what God himself told Abraham regarding the subsequent mistreatment of his descendants: "I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed" (Gn 12:3).

In a hotel room in Tyre, Lebanon, the evening of June 3, 1967, our family prayed for direction from God. We had visas to drive through Syria into Jordan and then return by the same route. The newspapers the next morning gave the answer clearly. We immediately headed north through Syria and had, by God's grace, barely gotten across the border into Turkey when the war broke out. 

In spite of hundreds of very clear declarations by Jewish prophets and the promises that God has given to His people, about 30 percent of today's Israelis claim to be atheists. He wants to bless them and protect them, but how can He, when they continue to reject Him? The following is just a sample of what God has repeatedly said to His people: "I should soon have subdued their enemies, and turned my hand against their adversaries...fed them also with the finest of the wheat: and with honey out of the rock should I have satisfied thee.... But my people would not hearken to my voice; and Israel would [have] none of me"
(Ps 81:11-16).

Israel is both under God's judgment because of its continual rejection of the God of Israel, but at the same time, He has not abandoned her, and woe to those who take God's judgment into their own hands!

In the meantime, the nations of the world continue to become a party to Islam's deception by attempting to force Israel into what can only be a false "peace." What Islam has in mind is not what the peacemakers naively intend. It's called a hudna, the "peace" that Muhammad made with the Meccans for ten years. Long before then, under a pretense, Muslims attacked and took over that "holy" city, which had so long been the goal of the hajj (long practiced before Muhammad's birth by most Arab tribes). Of course, this ancient custom, along with others, such as the feast of Ramadan, have been taken over by Muslims. Thus, history is perverted to make it seem that these had always been Islamic practices.

Ramadan had for centuries been agreed upon by warring Arab tribes to be 30 days of peace. At just the right time to allow him to attack a passing caravan, Muhammad received a "new revelation" that Muslims could fight during this time. Ramadan has become a time of the deadliest attacks of Shiites against Sunnis (does this demonstrate to the world that "Islam is peace?")

These prophecies are so important for the strengthening of our own faith, but what about those whom we want to bring into the faith of the God of Israel? We need to provide to everyone with whom we speak (as I often do for those with whom the Lord puts me in contact everywhere, but especially on airplanes) first of all, proof of God's existence. How better to do this than to take the approach of Zinzendorf with the King of Sweden, as we mentioned in Part I of this article, using biblical prophecies about Israel?

We can talk to others about God and Jesus Christ, but when we say "God," what do we mean? A "higher power" of some kind?  We have to be sure that those whom we want to introduce to the God of Israel understand who He is, why we believe in Him, and why we think the most intelligent decision they could make is to believe in Him as well.  TBC
 

IRANIAN CHRISTIANS IN U.S. PRAYING FOR THEIR HOMELAND

Members of the Iranian Christian Church of San Diego are praying for their homeland amid continuing turmoil over Iran's disputed presidential election.

The Rev. Sohrab Ramtin, whose sermons are broadcast by satellite into Iran, says his congregation believes reformist candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi defeated President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, though the incumbent claims to have won a landslide victory.

Ramtin says Iranian Christians hoped a Mousavi victory would ease persecution in Iran. Iran's supreme ruler, meanwhile, has warned Iranians to unite behind the country's Islamic system.

The pastor of the Iranian Christian Church of Colorado says Iran's hardline Islamic regime has caused many Iranians to turn their backs on Islam and become Christians. The Rev. Ashton Stewart, who grew up in Iran, says God also has been converting Iranians in ways only God can.

"God has been showing himself through visions of Christ, incredible healings, incredible experiences that have just confirmed for thousands of people that Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life," he shares.

While many Iranians hoped for the defeat of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Stewart says his main prayer is that the post-election crisis will help grow the church in Iran. He's also asking American Christians to "pray for the persecuted" in Iran, where he says "there are many Christians in jail today, and some of them are being treated very, very brutally."

PREACH THE WORD AND JOEL OSTEEN

"[Osteen] understands the importance of TV and uses the language of contemporary American society - the language of psychotherapy."

Having preached for less than a decade, Osteen, 46, presides over a Houston church in a former basketball arena that draws 40,000 people on Sundays. His televised sermons are seen by more than 7 million Americans a week and millions more around the world.

He's had two best-selling books and a third, "It's Your Time," will come out in November. He's only been preaching on the road for five years, but is taking the stage at the new Yankee Stadium before A-Rod for what he calls "A Night of Hope.

He appeals to conservatives and liberals, Texas Republicans and Nancy Pelosi, Pentecostal Christians filled with the Holy Spirit and atheists filled with none.

"I wish I could explain it better," he said of his appeal in a recent interview with The Journal News at the swanky Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Columbus Circle. "I don't have an answer. I guess it's that my message is positive and hopeful. People stop me on the street, whether they are bikers or bankers. I've had atheists tell me that they watch me on TV.

"It's got to be God," he said, "because it's not me."

Tulane University's Shayne Lee, an expert on superstar evangelists, said Osteen is young, fresh, likable and doesn't have the baggage of the televangelists of old.

"He understands the importance of TV and uses the language of contemporary American society - the language of psychotherapy, the language of Americans who watch Oprah and Dr. Phil," said Lee, whose new book, "Holy Mavericks," profiles Osteen and four other pastors with national followings. "Osteen understands that his brand is not to condemn, but uplift. If the caricature of the typical evangelist is a fingerpointing loudmouth, Osteen seems so trustworthy that he's the boy next door."

"My message is not about doctrine. I don't have to get 50 references from Scripture in a sermon for it to be a good sermon. Churches that are helping people live out a Christian life are growing and flourishing."

From www.lohud.com


[The Berean Call adds: [But the bible says] "Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned to fables.]

Words of the Wise: Robert C Chapman

The ruin of a kingdom is a little thing in God's sight, in comparison with division among a handful of sinners redeemed by the blood of Christ.

--Robert C. Chapman

EVANGELICAL LEFT DEFENDS OBAMA ON ABORTION

In October 2004, conveniently during the presidential election, Evangelical Left ethicist Glenn Stassen of Fuller Seminary in Pasadena, California, gained widespread attention for arguing that abortion rates had increased under President Bush after declines under President Clinton. A John Kerry supporter, Stassen sought to justify evangelical support for a pro-abortion rights candidate, arguing that wider welfare state programs more effectively reduce abortion than legal restrictions.

As many critics then pointed out,Stassen's sweeping claims were selectively based on abortion data for only 16 states through 2003. Now armed with more comprehensive data, and energized by President Obama's Notre Dame controversy, Stassen, a strong Obama supporter, is claiming vindication.

"Abortions reduced by 300,000 a year during the Clinton years, stayed flat or increased during the Bush years, and if they resume their reductions during the Obama years, then many consistently pro-life people like me will conclude that we should judge administrations not by their words but by their fruits," Stassen triumphantly concluded in a recent piece for Sojourners, Jim Wallis's website for liberal religionists.

As to overall abortion rates, the CDC admits that data for California (with 15 percent of the nation's population) and several other dates is unavailable after 1998. Counting just those 46 states for which data is available from 1995, abortions declined from 894,000 in 1995 to 836,000 in 2000. From 2001 they declined from 833,000 to 810,000 in 2005. The rate per 1,000 births went from 280 in 1995 to 249 in 2000 to 236 in 2005. The rate per 1,000 women went from 18 in 1995 to 16 in 2000 to also 16 in 2005. In other words, abortions did decline numerically and per 1,000 births during Bush's first term.

The highest abortion rates seem to have been in 1984, with over 1.3 million abortions, 364 per 1,000 births and 24 per 1,000 women (these numbers include California and the other later missing states). Abortion rates had climbed continuously from 1970, with 193,000 abortions and 52 per 1,000 live births and 5 per 1,000 women, climbing steeply all the way through the 1970s and early 1980s. In other words, the reverse in abortion rates began midway during the Reagan years, a time of supposed hostility to social programs that Stassen claims deter abortion.

Stassen celebrated that the Obama administration is "expanding health care insurance for children and planning health insurance for all of us, is working to get the economy revived, and is supporting programs to curb unintended pregnancy," while restoring "support for the working poor." All of this additional government will create a wider pro-life ethic, Stassen claimed. But he ultimately provided no evidence for his hope. Instead, like others on the Evangelical Left, he seems to be straining for an excuse to minimize unrestricted abortion's legality as an issue while bolstering arguments for what he already obviously strongly desires: a larger welfare state.

FromThe American Spectator

LEFT-LEANING EVANGELICALS MISLEADING YOUNG PEOPLE

Some prominent evangelicals who are backing the "hate crimes" bill awaiting a vote in the Senate are making a concerted effort to get evangelicals to abandon their traditionally conservative voting habits.

The homosexual activist group, Human Rights Campaign, held a "Clergy Call" rally last week on Capitol Hill to urge passage of legislation that would add "gender identity" and "sexual orientation" to the list of protected categories under federal hate crimes law. HRC distributed statements from some influential evangelicals who support the bill, including Mercer University Christian ethicist David Gushee and Florida mega-church pastor Joel Hunter.

Pastor Hunter says he "strongly endorse[s]" S. 909* because it "protects both the rights of conservative religious people to voice passionately their interpretations of their scriptures and protects their fellow citizens from physical attack."
 
Mark Tooley, president of the Washington-based Institute on Religion & Democracy (IRD), says such statements from figures like Hunter and Gushee are finding fertile ground -- particularly among a new, younger generation of evangelicals.
 
Mark Tooley, "Clearly [these clergy] are a part of an evangelical left crowd who are strategically attempting to shift evangelicals away from conservative social issues to liberal economic and foreign policy [issues] -- and in this case, in the case of hate crimes legislation, social issues as well," he states.
 
In a statement released on Monday, Tooley argues that increasingly, the evangelical left is "indistinguishable from the secular left."
 
"Christians of all traditions are called to transform the culture -- not conform to it," he says in reference to Romans 12:2. "But the evangelical left repeats arguments from The New York Times' editorial page and seems to think such cultural conformity will win applause. History shows that accommodationist Christians are ultimately irrelevant Christians."

[The Berean Call: Any reformation of culture can only come through the strategy given to the Church: "Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine."

Young America's Foundation Summit on Radical Islam

Q & A Berean Style May 31, 2009

Question: On the last night of the Tulsa Prophecy Conference, during the Q&A session, a question was directed to Dave Hunt that related to Calvinism. He stated that election and predestination were never unto salvation but unto service. Mike Gendron responded by reading 2 Thessalonians 2:13: "God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth." Doesn't that sound like God has chosen certain ones to be saved, which of course would mean that the rest are chosen to damnation by default?

Response: I had already stated that I did not want to prolong a discussion about Calvinism. Looking back, I do not want to leave the impression that I had no answer to the verse Mike read. One thing you will notice when this subject comes up: there are a few favorite verses that Calvinists quote. This is one of about four or five, and Mike didn't mention any of the others.

Had I wanted to continue the discussion, I could have noted that whereas Calvinists have a handful of favorite verses, there are literally hundreds proving that God has not chosen certain ones for heaven and others for hell. For example, Christ introduces and explains John 3:16 ("For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.") with a reference to the incident in the wilderness involving the brazen serpent: "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." This reference is to Numbers 21. Let's notice the wording there: "Every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live....If a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived" (Nu 21:8,9). This was the way Christ explained John 3:16. The Calvinists say that Christ was not talking about the whole world but only the world of the elect. Christ's example shows that this is not the case.

Christ does not allow this misinterpretation. Here is one of the reasons Calvinists generally avoid references to the Old Testament. Calvinism, far from being supported there, is refuted. It was not the homes of a few elect over which the destroying angel passed but every home where the blood had been applied. Who went through the Red Sea on dry land? An elect few? No, everyone who had been delivered from Egypt by the blood. Who ate of the manna in the wilderness? For whom did the water flow out of the rock? Who was led by the pillar of cloud by day and of fire by night? Was it an elect few among the Israelites? No, it was all of them, even though all did not believe.

Such examples could be multiplied by the dozens. In comparison, the few verses of doubtful interpretation that Calvinists hold out to prove their case are far from conclusive on their side. Even 2 Thessalonians 2:13, which Mike read, includes the proof that there is more involved than God simply choosing some to heaven. Something more is required of man: "through...belief of the truth."

Question: I have been aggravated for some time with the controversy surrounding the security of the believer. In other words, the "Once Saved, Always Saved" issue is very controversial in many Christian circles, and there seem to be few resources on this issue. Could you please address this in a future issue of the Berean Call newsletter?

Response: We first addressed the security of the believer in the June 1989 issue of the newsletter. This article has since been reformatted and is now available as the tract "Once Saved, Always Saved?" (www.thebereancall.org).

Regardless of our own perceptions or convictions, we must begin with the words of the Lord Jesus Christ and compare all other scriptures (such as James 5, Ezekiel 18, or the "difficult" passages in Hebrews) to His words. The clearest statement of the Savior's intent can be found in John 10:26-29. He makes six declarative statements with absolutely no qualifications:

1) My sheep hear My voice. 2) I know them. 3) They follow Me. 4) I give unto them eternal life. 5) They shall never perish. 6) Neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand, nor out of My Father's hand.

The language used in the original is very adamant, as the phrase translated "any man" is all inclusive--which includes "us" in the "any man" category. Hebrews 12:5-12 is an excellent (albeit painful) example of how God works in the lives of His children as He disciplines them. There are no qualifiers re how closely they follow, how far they stray in their waywardness, or how dim the voice of the Shepherd may become to them. Furthermore, "If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire"  (1 Cor 3:14-15).

Why Doesn't God Reveal Himself to Me?

(An excerpt from Dave Hunt's timeless classic, In Defense of the Faith.)

Question: I would like to know God, and I have asked Him to reveal Himself to me, but nothing happens. No lights have gone on, no messages in the sky, no sudden revelation. It seems to me that if God really existed He would want us to believe in Him and He would therefore do something tangible to let us know He exists. Is it wrong to ask for some unmistakable evidence of God's existence?

Response: No, and the evidence is all around you--more than you need. The kind of evidence you seem to be hoping for, however, wouldn't help at all. Suppose some message with your name in it suddenly appeared in the sky. How would you know that God put it there? Suppose right now you heard an audible voice saying loudly, "I am God! Worship me!" What would that tell you about God--and how would you know that He had actually spoken?

In fact, God has spoken to you. The design of the universe is a message from God, telling you of His existence as Creator and of His infinite wisdom and power. Those things that you value most highly and that you know in your heart make life worthwhile--love, joy, peace, moral purity, goodness, truthfulness, justice, kindness-tell you of God's character. Your conscience tells you that you are morally accountable to God, that you have violated His laws and have fallen short of His perfect standard. Your conscience also tells you that there is no way you can make up for having broken God's laws. You can't buy Him off with sacrifice, prayers, good deeds, or ritual.

Suppose you got a speeding ticket. Would you waste your time telling the judge that you've driven that stretch of highway within the speed limit more often than above it? Would he let you off under the theory that your "good deeds outweigh the bad"? You know that won't work with an earthly judge, and it certainly won't work with God.

Would you tell him that if he lets you off this time you will never break the law again? You know what the judge would say: "If you never break the law again, you're only doing what the law requires. You get no extra credit for that. It doesn't make up for having broken the law in the past. The penalty will have to be paid as the law prescribes it." You know it's the same way with God.

Your conscience tells you that the only way you could possibly escape the severe penalty that God's infinite justice must demand for having broken His laws would be if He forgives you. And you know He can't just wipe the slate clean for no reason. For one thing, that would hardly encourage you to improve your behavior. Furthermore, it would violate His own law. He must have some way of paying the penalty Himself--a penalty you can't pay--so that you can be forgiven by His grace.

You don't know what that method may be, but you know that a God of perfect love and perfect justice would somehow provide it. If there is an explanation of this good news, it would surely be in the Bible. In fact, God has explained it all in those pages. Have you seriously studied the Bible and checked out the evidence that shows it is God's infallible Word?

There is more than sufficient historic, archaeological, and scientific evidence to prove that the Bible is God's infallible Word. In fact, in this volume alone we provide overwhelming evidence of that fact. But you don't really need it. That kind of proof is like icing on the cake. If you just read the Bible with an open heart and mind, you will know that God is speaking to your heart as only He can speak.

I recommend that you begin with the Gospel of John and continue through Acts and Romans, then read those three books again. God has promised in His Word: "Ye shall seek me and find me when ye shall search for me with all your heart" (Jeremiah 29:13). That is a promise you can count on! Seek God with all your heart and put Him to the test by looking in the Bible for the revelation of Himself!

Israel and Prophetic Proof Part I

Dave Hunt

"And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them....And they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the LORD thy God." Amos 9:14-15

         

About 150 years ago, the King of Sweden had troubling doubts about whether the Bible was really true in every word. He asked Count von Zinzendorf, bishop of the MoravianChurch, to give him proof that the Bible was truly inspired of God. The King had set aside 10 hours to hear what might be said. To his majesty's surprise, Zinzendorf informed him that the time allotted was far too much. He only needed to say one word. Astonished, the King asked what that could be. The Count replied, "Jews."

Today we would add one more word, "Israel." In Zinzendorf's day, that tiny and beleaguered nation, born on May 14, 1948, did not exist except in the hearts of Zionists who had never given up awaiting the fulfillment of the "God of Israel's" solemn promises. The continued existence of Israel today, surrounded by more than a billion Muslims who have sworn to exterminate her and who continually plot and repeatedly attack her in the attempt to do so, is one of the most astonishing miracles of modern times.

The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob has blessed the Jewish people with a brilliance that generally far exceeds their cousins the Arabs and the rest of the Gentile world.

The Arabs have the oil, but the Jews have the brains. Lest I be accused of racism, one need only compare the numbers of Nobel prize winners among them. In the Arab/Muslim world of 1.4 billion there are 6 Nobelists: 3 for Peace, and 1 each for Chemistry, Physics, and Literature.

In the Jewish population of 14 million (one hundredth of the Arab world) there are 165 Nobelists: 51 for Medicine, 45 for Physics, 27 for chemistry, 22 for Economics, 11 for Literature, and 9 for Peace. This is astonishing!

TERROR CREEP

From a base in the Swat Valley, Taliban influence and infiltration are spreading through a nuclear-armed nation.

The Pakistani government may have sincerely believed it could contain the Taliban by giving the extremist group a district to rule, but Pakistani Christians understand the Taliban's ultimate agenda. Taliban militants in Karachi's Taiser Town-hundreds of miles from the Taliban's newly obtained Swat Valley-chalked the homes and churches of local Christians with threats and slogans demanding that they pay the jizra, an Islamic tax for the protection of non-converts. When the Christian community washed the slogans from the buildings, dozens of armed militants arrived and shot three people execution style on April 22, including 11-year-old Irfan Masih, who died a few hours later.

Nestled in the North West Frontier Province, the Swat Valley is known as the "Switzerland of Pakistan" for its snow-capped mountains, lush meadow, and crystal-clear lakes. But few tourists have visited this region since the Taliban burned down its ski resort, banned education for girls, and destroyed more than 200 schools.

(Nelson, "Terror Creep," World magazine, May 23, 2009, p. 36).

Battle for religious freedom more urgent than ever

The battle for religious freedom grows more and more urgent with every passing day as greater numbers of Christians find themselves discriminated against–silenced–even fired because of their religious beliefs.

For example, a teacher in a Pennsylvania public school was told that she could not post a picture of the Statue of Liberty in her classroom because it has the words "God Bless America" at the bottom. A janitor at another school was warned that he would be fired if he continued to wear a t-shirt that proclaimed, "Real men love Jesus."

A third grader was prevented from silently reading his Bible during free reading time at a California public school. His teacher informed him that doing so would be disrespectful to other students!

Then there is the case of Brittany McComb, the high school valedictorian from Nevada whose microphone was turned off when she started speaking about the part her Christian faith had played in her success in school. Institute attorneys are currently in the process of appealing Brittany's case to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Make no mistake: these individuals were not discriminated against simply because they were religious. They were discriminated against because they were Christians. At the same time, individuals of other faiths often have a much easier time exercising their rights in the schools.

Click here to make a tax-deductible online donation to help The Rutherford Institute in its fight to protect religious freedom.

Heal or Heel?

Christopher Fogle, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, loved to fish. It was a break from his fast-paced, 25-year career with the Perkins Restaurant chain.

But when Fogle got severe cancer, his relaxing fishing trips, which he sometimes took with his children, ended. It was a devastating blow for the active 45-year-old. But for Todd Bentley, television preacher and self-proclaimed healer, the cancer represented an opportunity to "proclaim the glory of God."

Indeed, last year Bentley began his "Lakeland Outpouring," a months-long series of "healing services" that Bentley and his Fresh Fire ministry started April 2 and ended under a cloud of controversy Aug. 11.... In between, the meetings attracted hundreds of thousands of people to a huge tent in Lakeland, Fla.

At the height of what many called a revival, Bentley [was asked to tell] about the healings, like Fogle's, and asked for a list of people who had been healed at the services. [Six] weeks and more than a dozen requests later, the ministry eventually sent a list of 13 names. Fogle was No. 12 on the list, along with this note: "Healed through the Outpouring and is back to fishing."

That was on Aug. 8, 2008. There was just one problem. Two weeks earlier, on July 22, Christopher A. Fogle-according to his obituary in the Keokuk (Iowa) Daily Gate City, "left this life . . . after a courageous battle with cancer."

A review of the list nearly one year later reveals that Fogle is not the only person "healed" who is now dead. When I called Phyllis Mills, of Trinity, N.C., on April 22, to hear the testimony of her healing, a polite family member said, "Phyllis passed away a few days ago. In fact, we're on our way to her funeral now."

Mills, 66 at the time of her death, had lung cancer and was undergoing aggressive treatments when she was, according to the list, "healed at the revival." Mills "was taking radiation, but was sent home," according to notes on Bentley's list, with "no trace of cancer in her body."

(Smith, "Heal or Heel," World magazine, May 23, 2009, p. 61).

And you really thought it couldn't happen in the USA

A  San Diego

pastor and his wife claim they were interrogated by a county official and warned they will face escalating fines if they continue to hold Bible studies in their home.

THE PONZI PROSPERITY GOSPEL

Today we shriek as we hear of financial scams, corporate greed, and virtually anything money-related that isn't entirely on the up-and-up. While religion has generally been a help in these economically difficult times, there is one segment of Christianity that is scamming as many as they can. Those who have ears (and debt) let them hear.

The Prosperity Gospel, also known as a facet of the Word of Faith movement (a louder voice in Pentecostalism), has been writing checks with its lips that its theology can't cash. Last year's Pew Foundation mega-poll, which surveyed nearly 35,000 people (one of the largest religion polls ever accomplished), revealed a few interesting facts about Christians in the Pentecostal tradition....But the most interesting thing is that they earn the least annual income of any other Christian tradition polled. This is shocking, considering that a main feature in popular Pentecostalism is the Prosperity Gospel, where church members are promised that God will make them rich beyond their wildest dreams if they tithe generously and believe that they will receive the money.

Not only do Pentecostals fail to out-earn the regular "non-spirit filled" Christian, they make less. For me, to read such information is heartbreaking, as I am a teacher in a private school that's part of a Word of Faith church. The church is doing very well for itself, as most Pentecostal churches are, but the people are suffering.

Say what you want about the corruption of the pulpit, or the decadence of the minister-that's not my issue. My point is that while the world howls at the scam artists who fail to deliver on big promises, Christianity has its very own Ponzi scheme that's alive and well. At least when Bernie Madoff promised big returns he actually delivered (if only for a moment); the prosperity gospel doesn't even do that much. When Joel Osteen, Ken Copeland, Paula White, or Benny Hinn take your money, you'll never see it again (unless you happen to glimpse one of their private jets leaving a runway for Bermuda).

Piano Tuning

Has it ever occurred to you that one hundred pianos all tuned to the same fork are automatically tuned to each other? They are of one accord by being tuned, not to each other, but to another standard to which each one must individually bow.

So one hundred worshippers meeting together, each one looking away to Christ, are in heart nearer to each other than they could possibly be were they to become "unity" conscious and turn their eyes away from God to strive for closer fellowship. Social religion is perfected when private religion is purified.

--A.W. Tozer

THE CHILDREN OF FATHER GOD

[THE BEREAN CALL: The Mormon teaching of a "Father God" who with his celestial wives populates a planet through conceiving billions of "spirit children" very naturally prompts a further question: Is there a mother-god and if there is, why can we not worship her?]

The Mormon Mother God theory is a logical extension of the Church's teaching that Joseph Smith introduced in 1844 - namely by teaching that God was once a man like us, who had a father and who had a father and so on... (See Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pp.345-347).

Since Joseph Smith taught that God was once a man who "became a god", it is assumed that he also had a wife - or actually wives, since polygamy was also part of Joseph Smith's teachings.

The Mormon Church teaches that all humans and angelic beings were begotten sons and daughters of Elohim before they were begotten on earth as mankind. God the Father and His wife (or wives) are considered by the Mormon Church to be our heavenly parents, and that we all were born to them as their spirit children, and that we grew in that heavenly abode to spirit adulthood (Gospel Principles, 1997 ed., p. 290). Our earthly parents procreated our physical bodies to which these spirits then would come. There are many references throughout official Mormon teaching materials to "our heavenly parents" meaning that there is a mother (or mothers) also. (Gospel Principles, p. 11, 13-15, 19).

However, the Mormon Church does not sanction worship of Mother in Heaven, or even prayer to her, but it does clearly teach her existence and her necessary role in procreation of human spirits, including Jesus as well as Lucifer. (Gospel Principles, pp. 17-18). This led to the teaching that men can become Gods and then create their own worlds and procreate their own spirit children who will have the same relationship to them (prayer, worship and adoration) as they now have with God the Father (Gospel Principles, p. 302).

Such teaching is completely unbiblical and foreign to Christianity - from the time of Christ to this time. This teaching resembles Egyptian, Greek, Assyrian and Roman pagan concepts of their gods being just a little above humans, and who relate to humans on their level and who procreate as they do.

This (men becoming gods) doctrine can be traced back to Satan's own ambition of godhood (Isa. 14:12-14), and his promise to Adam and Eve in the Garden. (Gen. 3:5).
This is an abomination to the God of the Bible, who is the only God there is and ever will be. He is not a man - He is wholly apart from His creation. (Deut. 6:4; Isa. 43:10-11; 44:6, 8; 45:21-22; 46:9; Mark 12:29-34; James 2:19. See also Numbers 23:19; Hosea 11:9; Romans 1:22-23; Psalm 90:2; Isa. 40:28).

(H.I.S. Ministries International, April 2009 Newsletter, Sandy, Utah, www.hismin.com

Evil, Wicked Woman

The new Dean of the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Massacusetts, has given a sermon describing abortions as a "blessing" for the women who undergo them. The Rev Katherine Hancock Ragsdale also thinks that the people who run abortion clinics are "heroes" and even "saints".

Ms Ragsdale, speaking in Birmingham, Alabama, said that "when a woman becomes pregnant within a loving, supportive, respectful relationship; has every option open to her; decides she does not wish to bear a child; and has access to a safe, affordable abortion - there is not a tragedy in sight - only blessing."

Do not, please, make the mistake of assuming that she is an unrepresentative extremist: liberal Anglicans in America are among the most fervent supporters of abortion in the world, outstripping even atheists in their enthusiasm for this gruesome procedure.

[Dean Ragsdale finished her sermon with the following exhortation]: These are the two things I want you, please, to remember - abortion is a blessing and our work is not done. Let me hear you say it: abortion is a blessing and our work is not done. Abortion is a blessing and our work is not done. Abortion is a blessing and our work is not done.

I want to thank all of you who protect this blessing - who do this work every day: the health care providers, doctors, nurses, technicians, receptionists, who put your lives on the line to care for others (you are heroes -- in my eyes, you are saints); the escorts and the activists; the lobbyists and the clinic defenders; all of you. You're engaged in holy work.

[The Berean Call: "Cursed be he that taketh reward to slay an innocent person. And all the people shall say, Amen." (Deuteronomy 27:25).]

"Islam Day?" What's next, "Move In, Take Over, and Kill Everyone Who Will Not Bow to Allah Day?"

Hawaii's state Senate has overwhelmingly approved a bill to celebrate "Islam Day," despite the objections of a few lawmakers who said they didn't think the state should honor a religion connected to Sept. 11, 2001.

The resolution to proclaim Sept. 24, 2009, as Islam Day passed the Senate on a 22-3 vote Wednesday. The bill was previously passed by Hawaii's House of Representatives.

The bill recognizes what it calls "the rich religious, scientific, cultural and artistic contributions" that Islam and the Islamic world have made.

But the Senate's two Republicans argued that radical Islamists cheered the 2001 attacks. They also noted that other religions didn't have a special day honored.

The lone Democrat voting in dissent opposed it on church-state separation grounds.

True Love Part II: Morals and Meaning

Dave Hunt

The atheistic understanding of love, the highest human virtue, is badly skewed. Sam Harris, in his book Letter to a Christian Nation, says that the fact that "love is more conducive to happiness than hate" is the key to "the moral order of our world."1 So morality depends upon what makes one happy? Any child whose parents have disciplined him at all knows that isn't true. The saddest thing is that not only Harris but the multitudes who have read and turned this book into a bestseller really imagine they have escaped from God with nonsense that would be laughed out of any elementary ethics class.

In another burst of absolutely dazzling profundity, Harris adds, "While feeling love for others is surely one of the greatest sources of our own happiness, it entails a very deep concern for the happiness and suffering of those we love."2 "Feeling love"? What does that mean? With deep feelings of love, a young man says to the young woman beside him in his car, "I love you with all my heart!" What he really means, although neither of them understands it, is "I love me, and I want you!"

If this is what his "selfish genes"3 (as Richard Dawkins would say) and the molecules in his brain are causing him to think, who can blame him? Clearly, the logic of atheism, evolution, and natural selection will inevitably bring us to the day when no one can be blamed for anything. Blame will have lost all meaning. The physical construction of our bodies will have to bear the responsibility. The universal excuse (and it will have to be accepted by every court of law) will no longer be "The devil made me do it" but "My selfish genes made me do it!" Who believes in the devil anyway? But surely we all believe that genes are selfish, don't we? No, we do not. We still have enough common sense to reject this amorality that now governs our ethics and morals.

Healthy marriages = healthy social system

"The marriage relation lies at the very root of the social system of nations. The public morality of a people, and the private happiness of the families which compose a people, are deeply involved in the whole question of the law of marriage. . . . "Happy are they, who in the matter of marriage observe three rules. The first is to marry only in the Lord, and after prayer for God's approval and blessing. The second is not to expect too much from their partners, and to remember that marriage is, after all, the union of two sinners, and not of two angels. The third rule is to strive first and foremost for one another's sanctification. The more holy married people are, the happier they are." J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospel of Mark (Carlisle: Banner of Truth, 1857, rep. 2000), 199-200).

Sexual politics in Episcopal Church affect African churches

A Sudanese priest recently had an eye-opening introduction to the U.S. Episcopal Church. John, a clergyman from the Episcopal Church of Sudan, sent an inquiry to the "justice missioner" on the website of the Diocese of Newark. The justice missioner responded to John's email and informed him that her focus was advocacy for people with disabilities, people of color, and the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex community.

Although fluent in English, John found this language incomprehensible. He knew Americans talked openly about homosexuality, but he was bewildered by the terms "transgender" and "intersex." John asked the justice missioner if she prayed for healing of individuals with these disorders. She informed him that they didn't need healing, only "full inclusion" in the church. John told her he was sorry that the diocese was leaving people in sexual brokenness. He urged her to bring them to transformation in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. With that, he never heard from the justice missioner again.

John is a former "Lost Boy," one of some 33,000 southern Sudanese children who fled attacks by government-sponsored militias during Sudan's more than two decades of civil war. He survived a three-year trek from Sudan to Ethiopia to Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya. Now he is the pastor of over 1,000 refugees at Kakuma.

John assumed that a church justice office would focus on human-rights issues like genocide in Sudan, religious persecution, poverty, hunger, and human trafficking. What he did not know was that in the U.S. Episcopal Church, affirming one's sexual orientation is as much a justice and human-rights issue as genocide.

Pilgrims tracing the last steps of Jesus have been going the wrong way for 2,000 years, says historian

For the best part of 2,000 years, pilgrims have flocked to Jerusalem to retrace Jesus's final steps.

The Via Dolorosa, or 'Way of Suffering', took them from the Praetorium, where He was condemned to death by Pontius Pilate, to the site of the Crucifixion  -  or so they thought

Now, it seems they may have been walking in the wrong direction.

A respected archaeologist claims that pilgrims have been starting from the wrong end of Jerusalem and that the locations of two of the holiest sites on the route are 'completely wrong'.

Shimon Gibson, a Holy Land specialist, said the traditional start of the Via Dolorosa, north of the Old City, should be at the other end of the city.

Since medieval times, Christians have assumed that the Praetorium, the starting point of the route and the Roman headquarters mentioned in the Gospels as the scene of Jesus's trial, was the Antonia Fortress which stood in the north of Jerusalem.

But Professor Gibson said there was 'no historical basis whatsoever' for this being the site where Jesus was tried and condemned to death by the Roman governor Pontius Pilate.

(Alberge, [London Daily] Mail Online, 4/10/09.]

[The Berean Call: Traditions often prove to be contrary to Scripture. It may be exciting to see where Jesus walked, but that should never detract from the fact that believers ARE walking daily with Jesus.]

The Freedom Center--fighting for real choice

Dear Freedom Center Supporter,

The radical, hate-America Left never quits. Nearly every good, decent American tradition or organization is under ferocious attack. These radicals want blood. They want to shred and destroy every vestige of our conservative society.

Today these ultra-leftists are focused on the men and women who have proudly served in our armed forces.

The Freedom Center is joining in another legal battle against the ACLU. This time it's the ACLU's attack on the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

Here's the background: In 1934, a California VFW chapter created a tribute honoring Americans who gave the ultimate sacrifice for their country. On that memorial, the VFW raised a cross - not as a religious symbol, but as a secular monument for people to see and recognize the bravery and love of country their colleagues had for America. The cross was placed on Sunrise Rock in a remote area in California's Mojave Desert, in what is now a federal preserve.

Frank Buono first saw the cross in 1995 when he was working in the area. He later moved to Oregon and planned to move back to the Mojave Desert (in 2001) - where he could see the memorial from a nearby road. Buono decided the cross had to go. He contacted the ACLU, which readily took his case.

For nearly 70 years, the cross on the VFW's powerful, compassionate memorial to fallen American soldiers stood in silent tribute. In an instant, one man and a radical leftist organization decided to wipe it out.

The VFW lost in the lower courts, and the case is now before the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Freedom Center is going to jump into this legal battle to support the VFW's efforts to continue to display the cross. Will you help us today? Will you make a contribution of $25, $50, $100 or even $250 to our Individual Rights Foundation Legal Fund?

You have long supported the Freedom Center and our legal arm, the Individual Rights Foundation (IRF). You know well the tactics of the rabid leftists who want to erase any evidence of America's proudest traditions or organizations. Witness the endless attacks on the Boy Scouts of America, for example.

Now the ACLU and people like Frank Buono are displaying their open contempt for our men and women in uniform.

So, I readily agreed to have the IRF prepare yet another powerful argument against yet another ACLU attack. But I need your support.

We have a chance to make a difference here. In fact, the Freedom Center's legal team is fighting the radical left on a number of fronts:

• The Freedom Center is fighting to protect the First Amendment rights of Joe Kaufman, who has been critical of Muslim terrorists and has a web site dedicated to exposing radical Islamic terrorists. He is being sued by Islamic groups who want to shut him up. The IRF is working diligently to defend Joe Kaufman.
• Boy Scouts of America troops across the nation are routinely sued by the ACLU and other groups that want to tear this great organization apart. The IRF has provided a number of "friends of the court" briefs in these cases. With your help we will continue to do so.

Bottom line: Your support makes all the difference. We simply would not be able to challenge these radicals - and protect America's fundamental rights - without the dedicated financial support of Americans like you.

So, please, follow this link to make am immediate contribution to our Individual Rights Legal Defense Fund!

Thank you again for all of your help - your courageous support! Because of your unselfishness, I'm able to take the fight straight into the trenches against the radical Left. It's because of you the Freedom Center is making a difference in the war for our culture, for our American way of life.

Sincerely,

David Horowitz
President & Founder

Describing Heaven

"To pretend to describe the excellence, the greatness or duration of the happiness of heaven by the most artful composition of words would be but to darken and cloud it; to talk of raptures and ecstasies, joy and singing, is but to set it forth very low."

--Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758), American preacher, theologian, and president of Princeton University. He is perhaps best known for his sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God."

Words of the Wise: Tozer April 20, 2009

"Some of my friends good-humoredly - and some a little bit severely- have called me a 'mystic.' Well I'd like to say this about any mysticism I may suppose to have. If an archangel from heaven were to come, and were to start giving me, telling me, teaching me, and giving me instruction, I'd ask him for the text. I'd say, 'Where's it say that in the Bible? I want to know.' And I would insist that it was according to the scriptures, because I do not believe in any extra-scriptural teachings, nor any anti-scriptural teachings, or any sub-scriptural teachings. I think we ought to put the emphasis where God puts it, and continue to put it there, and to expound the scriptures, and stay by the scriptures. I wouldn't - no matter if I saw a light above the light of the sun, I'd keep my mouth shut about it 'til I'd checked with Daniel and Revelation and the rest of the scriptures to see if it had any basis in truth. And if it didn't, I'd think I'd just eaten something I shouldn't, and I wouldn't say anything about it. Because I don't believe in anything that is unscriptural or that is anti-scripture." - What Difference Does the Holy Spirit Make?, A. W. Tozer

Robert Spencer Remarks on Lenient Jihadist Spy Sentence and Obama's Submissive Bow

WATCH HERE

RESTORATION WITHOUT REPENTANCE

From The Berean Call: Todd Bentley, the evangelist at the "Lakeland [Florida] Outpouring" stepped down after sin in his life was revealed. On August 15, 2008, the Board of Directors of Fresh Fire Ministries issued the following press release: "Todd Bentley has agreed to step down from his position on the Board of Directors and to refrain from all public ministry for a season to receive counsel in his personal life."

Lack of accountability has been a common feature of of these purported revivals. The situation has not improved. The following comments from Elijah List prophet Steve Shultz appeared in their March 10, 2009 email newsletter: "God chooses to use imperfect people...even while He fully knows the mistakes we might soon choose to make. This does not make our mistakes okay, and it does not mean God planned our mistakes either....Let us learn. A good place to start is taking a good, hard look in the mirror. In 1990, during a time I was extremely judgmental of all who didn't see every doctrine exactly as I saw it, I was given a profound dream. In it, an old-fashioned revivalist, Charles Finney walked up to me and said, 'Don't even judge Jim Jones,' and he held a mirror to my face...."

TBC: One of Todd Bentley's "mistakes," was being unfaithful to his wife. During his "restoration," Bentley divorced his wife and married the woman with whom he had an affair. How do we love "a fallen soldier-in-arms?" According to Proverbs 27:9, "Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful." Contrary to Scripture, the Elijah List writer tells us revivalist Charles Finney instructs, "don't even judge Jim Jones."

Not judge Jim Jones? As has been documented, "Jim Jones started out claiming that he was 'The Great Prophet Of God.' After time, even that exalted title was not lofty enough, so he told his congregation one day that God had revealed to him that he was the reincarnation of Jesus Christ, Buddha, and Lenin." Not judge? For the sake of the sheep we must report that some follow "another Jesus" (2 Corinthians 11:4), of whom Paul faithfully warned the Church."

A Careful Handling of the Evidence . . . and Text

"Problematic apologetics?" What does that term mean? The word apologetics comes from the Greek word apologia. It is usually translated "answer" or "defense" in 1 Peter 3:15: "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear."

If Christianity is true, and the Bible is the infallible, inspired Word of God, Christians should be able to defend their faith when asked skeptical questions. This doesn't mean that Christians must have all the answers-but from a big picture perspective, they should be able to give a reasoned argument to counter attacks on the Christian faith.

Problematic apologetics comes in different forms, such as promoting urban legends or taking quotations out of context. We hope to deal with some of these in coming issues. This article deals with one problem, which we call "eisegesis problematic apologetics."

Here is an illustration. Recently, a person made claims about how to interpret some scientific evidence and then quoted a Bible verse to justify his argument. But when the verse was checked in context, it did not support the claim. This is called eisegesis (a big word for "reading into the text").

Instead of letting God's Word speak to us through the style and context of the passage, people try to force their own ideas into the Bible to justify their beliefs.

Cults are masters at eisegesis, but it's also a danger for Christians. In fact, every time a Christian defends compromise ideas about earth history and evolution, such as the gap theory, theistic evolution, and progressive creation, they are imposing their own ideas on Scripture. Then they claim that Scripture teaches their position. Such "eisegesis problematic apologetics" ultimately undermines the authority of Scripture and causes unbelievers to stumble.

Geert Wilders Comes to America

Good minds are studied; great minds are prosecuted. If this historical dictum holds true, then Geert Wilders is a modern great mind.

The Dutch parliamentarian and leader of the Party for Freedom (PVV) currently faces trial in his native Amsterdam for “hate crimes” and incitement, for the sin of quoting the Koran’s less flattering passages in his groundbreaking film, Fitna. (Click here to view it online.) His film explores the religious roots of Islamic terrorism on the national and individual level. He considers the Koran the blueprint for a totalitarian theocracy, telling the Hudson Institute last year, “Sure, there are a lot of moderate Muslims. But a moderate Islam is non-existent.” 

Although he lives under constant threat of death – a threat made all-too-real to his fellow Dutchmen Pim Fortuyn and Theo van Gogh, both liberal-minded critics of Mohammedanism – he faces persecution for inciting his own peril. In addition to the Dutch trial, French “human rights activists” – in particular one Yassine Bouzrou – are suing Wilders for stating that many Parisian neighborhoods are “no-go areas for women without head scarves” and calling the 2005 riots a “Muslim intifada.” (FrontPage Magazine has noted the disturbing worldwide incidence of Muslim gang-rape, as well as Muslim riots in Paris.) The umpteenth French collaboration followed on the heels of the Kingdom of Jordan charging Wilders with blasphemy last summer. Another kingdom, Great Britain, denied Wilders entry in February. After he had been invited to screen Fitna before the House of Lords, his invitation was withdrawn under Muslim protest. When he arrived in the UK, he was detained for hours, then ejected from the country. 

Wilders, already of consequence for his defense of freedom, may attain another historical distinction: he may become the first man convicted for expressing the dominant view of his own country. FrontPage Magazine’s Jacob Laksin has noted Wilders’ policies include support for “restricting immigration from Muslim countries; for more aggressively monitoring domestic extremism, including radical mosques; and for reducing an indulgent welfare state that allows immigrants to live comfortably without assimilating” – all positions gaining ground as the traditionally tolerant land witnesses increasing physical assaults upon its homosexual population. It is precisely his homeland’s tradition of secularism and tolerance he wishes to uphold, as he takes up his newest battle: repealing EU hate speech laws. 

Despite his being on trial for allegedly offending his nation’s conscience, polls show if elections were held today, the PVV would win between one-fifth and one-quarter of the Netherlands’ 150 seats.

His stance – speaking out although it means traveling with a hefty contingent of security – has won him acclaim on both sides of the Atlantic. FrontPage Magazine selected Wilders as its 2008 Man of the Year. He eschews personal glory, telling FrontPage in an interview, “Speaking out boldly cost me my personal liberty, with 24-hour security and police protection for more than four years now…I am no hero but I would rather be killed for what I say and believe than submit in silence to Islamic totalitarianism.” 

It is not everyday Americans have the opportunity to meet someone charged with thoughtcrime, but they will have just that opportunity this weekend, as the David Horowitz Freedom Center and the International Free Press Society (IFPS) welcome the man London turned away. DHFC and IFPS will bring Wilders, one of the most outspoken defenders of free speech, for his first visit to the West Coast this weekend, April 4-5. On Saturday, April 4, he will speak at ChapmanUniversity. Then, from 6:30-10 p.m., the FreedomCente will bring in the fearless MP for a dinner, the Californiapremier of Fitna, and a keynote speech in Beverly Hills. His tour will commence from 10 a.m.-noon on Sunday, April 5, in Los Angeles. 

Tickets are available from Stephanie Knudson: Stephanie@horowitzfreedomcenter.org, or by calling (818) 849-3470, extension 209. Due to security, advanced registration and pre-payment are required.

Those on the frontlines of the battle against totalitarianism are rare; opportunities to hear from and assist those directly under fire for their stance is rarer yet. This weekend affords the keepers of freedom’s flame an historic opportunity.

OREGON ASSISTED SUICIDES HIT RECORD IN 2008

Oregon established a record in 2008 for most deaths by physician-assisted suicide since legalizing the practice, according to its annual report.

The Oregon Department of Human Services reported 60 people committed suicide last year using lethal doses of drugs prescribed by doctors. The total far surpassed the previous yearly high, which was 49 in 2007. Oregon has recorded 401 such deaths since its Death With Dignity Act took effect in late 1997.

Oregon released the report only two days before legalized assisted suicide took effect in the state of Washington on March 5, where voters approved an Oregon model in the November election.

The state of Montana also has assisted suicide currently as a result of a district court judge's ruling in December.

Bioethicist C. Ben Mitchell criticized the idea of assisted suicide being considered "death with dignity."

"Where's the dignity in killing oneself with the assistance of a person in a white lab coat?" said Mitchell, a consultant on biomedical and life issues for the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission. "Turning the healing profession into a suicide profession is a monstrous indignity."

The Oregon report showed 95 percent of those who used assisted suicide expressed concerns about losing autonomy.

"Something is tragically wrong with the idea that a patient can use her right to make her own decisions by giving up her right to make any future decisions through killing herself," said Mitchell, professor of bioethics and contemporary culture at the Chicago-area Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. "Legalized assisted suicide represents the dehumanization of medicine. Effective pain management, palliative care and loving hospice should mark our health-care system, not medicalized killing."

AMID HARD TIMES, HOMESCHOOLING FAMILIES PERSIST

Associated Press:  A lawyer for the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) says the recession may prompt more Christian parents to educate their children at home.

The HSLDA's Chris Klicka says hard times boost home schooling's appeal as private Christian school tuition becomes unaffordable for parents who've lost jobs.
 
Klicka, who with his wife home schools their seven children, says it also can strengthen family bonds.
 
While some families are giving up home schooling because a stay-at-home parent needs to get a job, others are finding ways to sacrifice and do both.

This is a sad, sad moment in our history, indeed. I daresay Lincoln is turning over in his grave.

U.S. SUPREME COURT REFUSES TO HEAR CASE OF FOOTBALL COACH PROHIBITED FROM BOWING HEAD DURING TEAM'S PRE-GAME PRAYER, LETS STAND PRAYER BAN

"It's a sad statement on our rights as Americans that schools are no longer bastions of freedom. We've become so politically correct and secularized that religious individuals who seek the same First Amendment rights as others are censored."

--John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute

Sweden Rocked by Radical Muslims

A few years ago, the left-wing London Guardian newspaper called Sweden the most successful society the world has ever known. But Sweden today is being rocked by a large influx of Muslim immigrants and the growth of radical Islam.

Malmo is Sweden 's 3rd largest city and a major epicenter of the Islamization of Europe. Wide-open immigration policies have changed Sweden and have made Malmo, which is now one-quarter Muslim, one of the most racially divided cities in Europe.

Most Muslim immigrants are concentrated in one district, where the male unemployment rate is 82 percent. Crime affects one of three families in the city and rape has tripled in 20 years, according to the Christian Broadcasting Network.

In one housing project in the district, fire and emergency workers will no longer enter without police protection.

Malmo has been so accommodating toward immigrant Muslims that a local Muslim politician and imam has even declared, "The best Islamic state is Sweden !"

But Malmo's Jews won’t give the city the same glowing assessment. Jews who dare to walk the streets wearing yarmulkes on their heads risk being beaten up.

When Israel recently played Sweden in a Davis Cup tennis match in Malmo, protesters demonstrated against the Israeli presence in the city, and hundreds attacked police.

Journalist Lars Hedegaard, who is based across a bridge-tunnel from Malmo in Copenhagen, Denmark , told CBN News that pro-Israeli demonstrators in Malmo were met with rocks, bottles and pipe bombs from Palestinians and other Arabs.

Right-wing Swedish Democrats, who support limits on immigration, have been stigmatized by the left-wing Swedish media as fascist and bigoted.

But there is a growing acceptance that "the Swedish model" - generous welfare benefits combined with liberal immigration policies — is now unsustainable, according to CBN News.

Hedegaard said: “I think the best prediction is that Sweden will have a Muslim majority by 2049, so we know where that country’s going.”

Newsmax Magazine    www.newsmax.com

Teacher's Code Threatens Freedom of Religion

The General Teaching Council for England published their new draft Code of Conduct and Practice for teachers in England in November 2008. Teachers are required to sign a clause saying that they will adhere to the Code before they can be registered and the Code is used as a standard by which teachers are judged by the GTC or by Employment Tribunals, as well as by schools and Local Education Authorities. It is of concern that the Code requires teachers to "promote equality and diversity in all their professional relationships" in Principle 4. This implies that teachers will be required to promote other religions and/or sexual practices outside marriage and it could lead to censorship. We believe that teachers should be required to respect pupils, parents and colleagues from other backgrounds, but should not be required to promote other religions and sexual orientations such as homosexuality that are contrary to their beliefs. The ordinary meanings of the words "equality" and "diversity" should not cause a problem, but recent cases have shown how these terms have been interpreted to require promotion of values contrary to Christian beliefs. For example, a nurse, Caroline Petrie, was suspended for offering to pray for a patient and a registrar, Lillian Ladele, was dismissed for refusing to carry out civil partnership ceremonies. It is important to respond to this survey because as a result of this draft Code, Christian teachers could face disciplinary action or even dismissal for practising their faith. (CCOFN [Christian Concern for Our Nation] Newsletter, England, 2/24/09).

Since when do cults qualify for special rights?

This is not a church. It is blasphemy.

The Faith of Our Fathers--Gregory Koukl

The phrase "Founding Fathers" is a proper noun. It refers to a specific group of men, the 55 delegates to the Constitutional Convention. There were other important players not in attendance, like Jefferson, whose thinking deeply influenced the shaping of our nation. These 55 Founding Fathers, though, made up the core.

The denominational affiliations of these men were a matter of public record. Among the delegates were 28 Episcopalians, 8 Presbyterians, 7 Congregationalists, 2 Lutherans, 2 Dutch Reformed, 2 Methodists, 2 Roman Catholics, 1 unknown, and only 3 deists--Williamson, Wilson, and Franklin--this at a time when church membership entailed a sworn public confession of biblical faith.[1]

This is a revealing tally. It shows that the members of the Constitutional Convention, the most influential group of men shaping the political foundations of our nation, were almost all Christians, 51 of 55--a full 93%. Indeed, 70% were Calvinists (the Episcopalians, Presbyterians, and the Dutch Reformed), considered by some to be the most extreme and dogmatic form of Christianity.

Benjamin Franklin

Even Franklin the deist is equivocal. He was raised in a Puritan family and later adopted then abandoned deism. Though not an orthodox Christian, it was 81-year-old Franklin's emotional call to humble prayer on June 28, 1787, that was the turning point for a hopelessly stalled Convention. James Madison recorded the event in his collection of notes and debates from the Federal Convention. Franklin's appeal contained no less than four direct references to Scripture.

And have we forgotten that powerful Friend? Or do we imagine that we no longer need His assistance? I have lived, sir, a long time and the longer I live the more convincing proofs I see of this truth: that God governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid? We have been assured, sir, in the sacred writings that 'except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it.' I firmly believe this and I also believe that without His concurring aid, we shall succeed in this political building no better than the builders of Babel.[2]

Three of the four cornerstones of the Constitution--Franklin, Washington, and Madison--were firmly rooted in Christianity. But what about Thomas Jefferson? His signature cannot be found at the end of the Constitution, but his voice permeates the entire document.

Thomas Jefferson

Though deeply committed to a belief in natural rights, including the self-evident truth that all men are created equal, Jefferson was individualistic when it came to religion; he sifted through the New Testament to find the facts that pleased him.

Sometimes he sounded like a staunch churchman. The Declaration of Independence contains at least four references to God. In his Second Inaugural Address he asked for prayers to Israel's God on his behalf. Other times Jefferson seemed to go out of his way to be irreverent and disrespectful of organized Christianity, especially Calvinism.

It's clear that Thomas Jefferson was no evangelical, but neither was he an Enlightenment deist. He was more Unitarian than either deist or Christian.[3]

This analysis, though, misses the point. The most important factor regarding the faith of Thomas Jefferson--or any of our Founding Fathers--isn't whether or not he had a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. The debate over the religious heritage of this country is not about who is ultimately going to heaven, but rather about what the dominant convictions were that dictated the structure of this nation.

Even today there are legions of born-again Christians who have absolutely no skill at integrating their beliefs about Christ with the details of their daily life, especially their views of government. They may be "saved," but they are completely ineffectual as salt and light.

By contrast, some of the Fathers may not have been believers in the narrowest sense of the term, yet in the broader sense--the sense that influences culture--their thinking was thoroughly Christian. Unlike many evangelicals who live lives of practical atheism, these men had political ideals that were deeply informed by a robust Christian world view. They didn't always believe biblically, having a faith leading to salvation, but almost all thought biblically, resulting in a particular type of government.

Thomas Jefferson was this kind of man. In Defending the Declaration, legal historian Gary Amos observes, "Jefferson is a notable example of how a man can be influenced by biblical ideas and Christian principles even though he never confessed Jesus Christ as Lord in the evangelical sense."[4]

What Did the Founding Fathers Believe and Value?

When you study the documents of the Revolutionary period, a precise picture comes into focus. Here it is:

• Virtually all those involved in the founding enterprise were God-fearing men in the Christian sense; most were Calvinistic Protestants.
• The Founders were deeply influenced by a biblical view of man and government. With a sober understanding of the fallenness of man, they devised a system of limited authority and checks and balances.
• The Founders understood that fear of God, moral leadership, and a righteous citizenry were necessary for their great experiment to succeed.
• Therefore, they structured a political climate that was encouraging to Christianity and accommodating to religion, rather than hostile to it.
• Protestant Christianity was the prevailing religious view for the first 150 years of our history.

However...

• The Fathers sought to set up a just society, not a Christian theocracy.
• They specifically prohibited the establishment of Christianity--or any other faith--as the religion of our nation.

A Two-Sided Coin

We can safely draw two conclusions from these facts, which serve to inform our understanding of the relationship between religion and government in the United States.

First, Christianity was the prevailing moral and intellectual influence shaping the nation from its outset. The Christian influence pervaded all aspects of life, from education to politics. Therefore, the present concept of a rigid wall of separation hardly seems historically justified.

Virtually every one of the Founders saw a vital link between civil religion and civil government. George Washington's admonitions in his Farewell Speech, September 19, 1796, were characteristic of the general sentiment:

Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports....And let us indulge with caution the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principles.[5]

Second, the Founders stopped short of giving their Christian religion a position of legal privilege. In the tradition of the early church, believers were to be salt and light. The First Amendment insured the liberty needed for Christianity to be a preserving influence and a moral beacon, but it also insured Christianity would never be the law of the land.

This ought to call into serious question a common tactic of the so-called Religious Right. "We were here first," their apologists proclaim. "Our country was stolen from us, and we demand it back." Author John Seel calls this "priority as entitlement."

The sad fact of the matter is that cultural authority was not stolen from us; we surrendered it through neglect. Os Guinness pointed out that Christians have not been out-thought. Rather, they have not been around when the thinking was being done.

Choosing cultural monasticism rather than hard-thinking advocacy, Christians abandoned the public square to the secularists. When the disciples of Jesus Christ retreated, the disciples of Dewey, Marx, Darwin, Freud, Nietzsche, Skinner, and a host of others replaced them.

Seel warns of the liability of an "appeal to history as a basis of Christian grounds to authority."[6] Playing the victim will not restore our influence, nor will political strong-arm tactics. Shouldn't our appeal rather be on the basis of truth rather than on the patterns of the past?

The faith of our Founding Fathers was Christianity, not deism. In this regard, many secularists--and even some Christians--have been wrong in their assessment of our history. On the other hand, many Christians have also been mistaken in their application of the past to the present.

Christians have no special privileges simply because Christianity was America's first faith. "If America ever was or ever will be a 'Christian nation,'" Seel observes, "it is not by conscious design or written law, but by free conviction."[7]

Success for the Christian cannot be measured in numbers or political muscle, but only in faithfulness. Our most important weapon is not our voting power, but the power of the truth freely spoken and freely heard.

Recommended Reading:

Let Freedom Ring--A Basic Outline of American History, available through the Family Research Council, 700 Thirteenth St., N.W., Suite 500, Washington D.C. 20005, 1-800-225-4008

The Light and the Glory, Peter Marshall and David Manuel (Grand Rapids: Revell, 1977)

Christianity and the Constitution--The Faith of Our Founding Fathers, John Eidsmoe (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1987)

Defending the Declaration--How the Bible and Christianity Influenced the Writing of the Declaration of Independence, Gary T. Amos (Brentwood, TN: Wogelmuth & Hyatt, 1989)

Positive Neutrality: Letting Religious Freedom Ring, Stephen T. Monsma, (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1993)

---

[1] John Eidsmoe, Christianity and the Constitution, (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1987), p. 43.

[2] Benjamin Franklin, quoted by James Madison in Notes on Debates in the Federal Convention of 1787 (Athens: Ohio University Press, 1966, 1985), p. 209.

[3] Eidsmoe has a very thorough and even-handed section on Jefferson.

[4] Gary T. Amos, Defending the Declaration, (Brentwood, TN: Wogelmuth & Hyatt, 1989), p. 9.

[5] The Annals of America, (Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica, 1976), vol. 3, p. 612.

[6] John Seel, No God But God--Breaking with the Idols of Our Age, Os Guinness and John Seel, eds., (Chicago: Moody Press, 1992), p. 64.

[7] John Seel, No God But God--Breaking with the Idols of Our Age, Os Guinness and John Seel, eds., (Chicago: Moody Press, 1992), p. 69.

Stand To Reason

Islam--submission to which God?

San Franciscans have recently been finding themselves in the uncomfortable position of riding around on public buses plastered with the words “ISLAM - Submission to God.” I say “uncomfortable” because San Francisco is famously amongst the most secular and non-religious cities in the nation. But there has been nary a peep of comment or protest about these ubiquitous in-your-face ads, which are shown here in photos taken on March 2 in San Francisco.

ACLJ Update: Defamation of Religion resolution, Crosses on Mt. Soledad

As you read these words, the ACLJ is facing two extremely urgent situations:

1. We are dispatching a team to Geneva to make an oral presentation before the United Nations (U.N.) Human Rights Committee, opposing the deadly ''Defamation of Religions'' resolution - which could put you at risk of death for sharing your faith even on vacation in a foreign country!
   
   
2. At the same time, our amicus brief is due in the case where the ACLU is once again challenging the cross over the graves of World War II veterans at Mt. Soledad in San Diego - which would set a precedent threatening any public expression of your Christian faith!

Right now, by God's grace, you can make twice the difference in the pressing battle for life and liberty!  Give now to see the impact of your immediate online contribution doubled through our $450,000 LIFE AND FREEDOM Matching Challenge.

The timing is impeccable.  We've literally never seen life and liberty, faith and freedom, under attack here in the U.S. and around the world more intensively than we're seeing it today.  The threats around us are astonishing in scope.

Your support of the ACLJ has never been more critically important. 

Please give, and allow your online donation to be matched through this $450,000 LIFE AND FREEDOM Matching Challenge.

The questions before us are grave:  Whether you will be safe, as a Christian, anywhere in the world.  Whether you'll be free to express your faith verbally, even here in the USA....

Whether America will legalize the torture-killing of her babies.  Whether Muslims coming to Christ in the Middle East will be wantonly slaughtered.  And on and on.

Please give generously right now and see your gift DOUBLED to keep the ACLJ at the very front of this multi-faceted battle ... representing your values, fighting to preserve your own constitutional freedoms here at home - and the very lives of Christian believers under incredible persecution in other countries.

Your generosity will make a remarkable impact on the course of our nation and our world, through the work of the ACLJ in the days ahead.  Thank you!

Jay Sekulow, Chief Counsel

 

Pat Condell on Geer Wilders: Freedom, go to hell

Victory for Free Speech!

In a unanimous decision,the Supreme Court of the United States today issued a landmark First Amendment ruling clearing the way for governments to accept permanent monuments of their choosing in public parks.
 
The decision comes in the case of Pleasant Grove City v. Summum, a critical First Amendment case in which the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) represented the Utah city in a challenge to a display of the Ten Commandments in a city park.
 
This decision represents a resounding victory for government speech.  The decision gives government the right to speak for itself and the ability to communicate on behalf of its citizens.  It's a significant decision that clears the way for government to express its views and its history through the selection of monuments - including religious monuments and displays.  This decision also puts a bookend on the litigation surrounding the display of the Ten Commandments that's been taking place for years across the country.
 
The critical question before the Court was, ''Can a city decide which permanent, unattended monuments, if any, to install on city property?''  Without dissent, the Court said ''Yes.''  We're delighted that the Court upheld the important distinction between government speech and private speech.
 
The ACLJ asked the high court to overturn a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit that ordered Pleasant Grove City, UT, to accept and display a monument from a self-described church called Summum because the city displays a Ten Commandments monument donated by the Fraternal Order of Eagles.
 
In a 9-0 decision announced by Justice Samuel Alito, the Supreme Court concluded:  ''In sum, we hold that the City's decision to accept certain privately donated monuments while rejecting respondent's is best viewed as a form of government speech.  As a result, the City's decision is not subject to the Free Speech Clause, and the Court of Appeals erred in holding otherwise.  We therefore reverse.''
 
The high court concluded that the government has the right to speak for itself without violating the Constitution.  ''The Free Speech Clause restricts government regulation of private speech; it does not regulate government speech ... A government entity has the right to 'speak for itself'.... it is not easy to imagine how government could function if it lacked this freedom ... A government entity may exercise this same freedom to express its views when it receives assistance from private sources for the purpose of delivering a government-controlled message.''
 
The Court's opinion is located here. 
 
The ACLJ contended that the Tenth Circuit made a serious error confusing government speech with private speech.  In its briefs, the ACLJ argues that ''a city's selection of which items to display in a park - like its selection of decorations for government buildings - is government speech, and no private entity can claim a 'Me too!' right of access for its own preferred displays.''