Lion's Roar Report (Amos 3:8)

Imagination..does Imagination rule our lives or does GOD's Imagination.

2009-08-16T23:14:00.000-07:00

Imagination.

1 Corinthians 2:14-16 (Amplified Bible)

14But the natural, nonspiritual man does not accept or welcome or admit into his heart the gifts and teachings and revelations of the Spirit of God, for they are folly (meaningless nonsense) to him; and he is incapable of knowing them [of progressively recognizing, understanding, and becoming better acquainted with them] because they are spiritually discerned and estimated and appreciated.

15But the spiritual man tries all things [he [a]examines, investigates, inquires into, questions, and discerns all things], yet is himself to be put on trial and judged by no one [he can read the meaning of everything, but no one can properly discern or appraise or get an insight into him].

16For who has known or understood the mind (the counsels and purposes) of the Lord so as to guide and instruct Him and give Him knowledge? But we have the mind of Christ (the Messiah) and do hold the thoughts (feelings and purposes) of His heart.

Lion
Something I like to pass along for some to grow who actually want to grow away from themselves and their imaginations so that More of Christ becomes their life keeping in with what Paul says in the same breathe as John The Baptist says
Paul: "I am crucified with Christ..it is no longer I who live But Christ who lives within me.."
John the Baptist: "HE must increase and I must decrease."

As usual I love to study GOD's Word and dive into the very deep of HIS message to US who are HIS just to continue the daily examination and the meditation I seem to always get caught up in which is actually a blessing....... So Here are my passings along to those who love to share in His Wisdom.... Grin

Coming to this text I have been truly meditating on Imagination for quite sometime because it seem that mostly to as why our BODY seems to be losing its flavor because the salt seems to be losing its taste because of all the denominations ever growing worse and the many many divisions on all kinds of non essential and non edifying points of view really based on outrageous opinions and imaginations that may use Scripture but are out of context with it drastically.. Some in the BODY tend to be to unloving as well to which this is not a fruit of Christ one iota...so I want to pass on this study so LOVE will grow in you and through you so you can head away from LOVE ever growing Cold within you.
So keeping it simple as much as I can I want to just focus on imagination from Scripture.

Starting with my first verses in the OT in Exodus Chapter 20:1-7 and really going no further but to understand what IMAGE God really means as well as the obvious. In Order to do this I must deny all my opinions, imaginations and whatever else my brain and heart wants to logically, superfically and with opinion interpret. Stopping myself and really asking to God really is saying to US. So lets us see and soak in what the Spirit will say.

Exodus 20
1THEN GOD spoke all these words:

2I am the Lord your God, Who has brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

3You shall have no other gods before or besides Me.

4You shall not make yourself any graven image [to worship it] or any likeness of anything that is in the heavens above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth;

5You shall not bow down yourself to them or serve them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate Me,

6But showing mercy and steadfast love to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep My commandments.

7You shall not use or repeat the name of the Lord your God in vain [that is, lightly or frivolously, in false affirmations or profanely]; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.

Now do we truly see what this all means? Now ask yourself..did you read it very very slowly not missing a single part? Besides the obvious what Truly speaks out to you? Are you getting it yet? Has Godly sense entered into your hardened mind and heart? No? read it again over and over before you move on and really think about it. Meditate on the LORD.

Okay again
Pause and then pause again. Lips Sealed Truly examine the text and please no rushing it. Lips Sealed Just meditate on it. Grin

Now look Sloooooooowly at these verses very carefully I mean with a fine toothed comb so to speak. See what GOD is truly saying. Come on it is okay to be Puritan about it hehehehe. Wink Grin

# Genesis 6:5
The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination and intention of all human thinking was only evil continually.
Genesis 6:4-6 (in Context) Genesis 6 (Whole Chapter)
# Genesis 8:21
When the Lord smelled the pleasing odor [a scent of satisfaction to His heart], the Lord said to Himself, I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the imagination (the strong desire) of man's heart is evil and wicked from his youth; neither will I ever again smite and destroy every living thing, as I have done.
Genesis 8:20-22 (in Context) Genesis 8 (Whole Chapter)
# Psalm 73:7
Their eyes stand out with fatness, they have more than heart could wish; and the imaginations of their minds overflow [with follies].
Psalm 73:6-8 (in Context) Psalm 73 (Whole Chapter)
# Proverbs 18:11
The rich man's wealth is his strong city, and as a high protecting wall in his own imagination and conceit.
Proverbs 18:10-12 (in Context) Proverbs 18 (Whole Chapter)
# Luke 1:51
He has shown strength and made might with His arm; He has scattered the proud and haughty in and by the imagination and purpose and designs of their hearts.
Luke 1:50-52 (in Context) Luke 1 (Whole Chapter)
# Acts 17:29
Since then we are God's offspring, we ought not to suppose that Deity (the Godhead) is like gold or silver or stone, [of the nature of] a representation by human art and imagination, or anything constructed or invented.

So with help above in the blk letters, do you actually understand Christian what this meditation brings? This is truly serious to you and I. With all the things and winds of doctrines of Prophetic subjects, eschatology, and the like, Have we truly been truly seeking out HIS Will in these matters to where confusion and division continue on in our BODY because of our own or someone else critical imaginations disguised as truth OR do we actually set aside our imaginations and opinions and or others taught imaginations and opinions, to truly seek out what these really mean by actually allowing Scripture to interpret Scripture? And Lastly do all we study truly centers ourselves on the Excellency of Christ JESUS alone.?

Slowly take these questions in so you do not miss it.

Ephesians 4:14
So then, we may no longer be children, tossed [like ships] to and fro between chance gusts of teaching and wavering with every changing wind of doctrine, [the prey of] the cunning and cleverness of unscrupulous men, [gamblers engaged] in every shifting form of trickery in inventing errors to mislead.

Hbr 13:9 Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. For [it is] a good thing that the heart be established with grace; not with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein.

Our own Imaginations and opinions no matter what are graven images we tend to put in front of GOD and HIS WORD. And we must truly watch and examine ourselves to see if this is so. We are not are own any longer if We are in Christ. Even our imagination belongs to HIM.

Mat 18:3 And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

It is also taking HIS name in vain if we live with a particular world view that is outside of HIS WORD or that we apply to HIS WORD. IF we are not alert and watching even ourselves sometime our imagination or ones we tend to stand on infects the BODY with a foul smell and of arguments that never tend to edify. IF we have a world view we must examine ourselves to see if we are truly in HIS faith which is our faith. Does our world view or anothers agree with Scripture truly? Now is our world view GOD's WORLD VIEW ALONE? IF it truly is then we ALL come to agreement in the SPIRIT with no avail just like ;

1 John 5:8 and there are three witnesses on the earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree [are in unison; their testimony coincides].

Which brings us all into unity YES thinking alike..being Like minded even when we IRON out, the and our differences which should be next to nil.

1 John 5:20 And we [ ALL have seen and] know [positively] that the Son of God has [actually] come to this world and has given us understanding and insight [progressively] to perceive (recognize) and come to know better and more clearly Him Who is true; and we are in Him Who is true--in His Son Jesus Christ (the Messiah). This [Man] is the true God and Life eternal.

As Paul Drastically and loving reminds US daily;

1 Corinthians 12:25
So that there should be no division or discord or lack of adaptation [of the parts of the body to each other], but the members all alike (LIKE MINDED) should have a mutual interest in and care for one another.

Eph 4:13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

Do you see to as to how that even our own imaginations and or opinions can cause division none the less taking Scripture out of context in the process? All this to leads to taking Christs name in vain as well. And division leading into denomination has shown this vain side in our BODY. We still stand divided in our BODY which is not what UNITY or like minded means.

We also allow other interpretations vainly convince US away from the true focus of What GOD's Word truly is centered on. Does GOD's Word alone truly speak to you seriously? Are you truly living Christ Centered in all things that means truly denying yourself and your imagination?

These are things we must consider because it is Christ that should be our main focus and Center on all things not letting any prophetic or eschatological or particular points of view be a focus that will tend to take away our focus on GOD who is the Gospel alone. And Tomorrow is NEVER guaranteed while we yet live in our condemned fleshly sinful bodies we are about to shed when HE calls us home to be with HIM forever which is the chief and final end of man. Yes the ones who LOVE HIM ALONE are going for sure.

What is the Chief and highest end of man?
Man's chief and highest end of man is to Glorify GOD and to FULLY ENJOY HIM FOREVER.

Which leads us to the First part of Exodus 20 again basically in the First verse saying to love the LORD your GOD will ALL your HEART, SOUL, MIND, And Strength ALONE so you can LOVE your neighbor as your love yourselves. And you will not create an Image of any kind because GOD is the satisfaction you seek alone. All the rest will be added unto you. Wink

1 John 5:21 Little children, keep yourselves from idols (false gods)--[from anything and everything that would occupy the place in your heart due to God, from any sort of substitute for Him that would take first place in your life]. Amen (so let it be).

Hope you enjoyed this meditation of mine.

Once Saved, Always Saved, But Are You Truly Saved?

2009-08-16T22:52:00.000-07:00

Once Saved, Always Saved, But Are You Truly Saved?

These are the crucial things we must look at to examine ourselves daily but with fervor to want to be like Christ. For it is not I who live but Christ who lives in me. So are you crucified with Christ.

Read on... this a good article that needs no comment truly. It explains it all. Read very carefully Christian and pass this on.

RW

Once Saved, Always Saved, But Are You Truly Saved?
By Ray Gano

I have been feeling the need to write a series of articles in these last days of the last days dealing with salvation, due to all the deception taking place in the world today.

To start things off, let me pose to you the situation that we are currently facing.

According to American Religious Identification Survey, 2001, 76.5% of America identifies with some form of Christianity in America. This study included Mormons and Jehovah’s Witness in among the title “Christian.” (1)

Now here is another study, one which I find very interesting by George Barna.

Barna Survey Examines Changes in Worldview Among Christians over the Past 13 Years

The Definition

“For the purposes of the survey, a “biblical worldview” was defined as believing that absolute moral truth exists; the Bible is totally accurate in all of the principles it teaches; satan is considered to be a real being or force, not merely symbolic; a person cannot earn their way into Heaven by trying to be good or do good works; Jesus Christ lived a sinless life on earth; and God is the all-knowing, all-powerful creator of the world who still rules the universe today. In the research, anyone who held all of those beliefs was said to have a biblical worldview.”

The Conclusion

“The same questions were asked of respondents in national surveys by Barna in 1995, 2000 and 2005. The results indicate that the percentage of adults with a biblical worldview, as defined above, has remained unchanged for more than a decade. The numbers show that 7% had such a worldview in 1995, compared to 10% in 2000, 11% in 2005, and 9% now.” (2)

The numbers are going down with those who maintain a biblical worldview.

So my question is, how can you claim to be a Christian, when only 7% - 9% of America maintains a true biblical world view?

But here is a more interesting question, which percentage factor do you fall into; the 90% who do NOT hold to a biblical worldview or the 7%-9% who do?

Now to narrow this down even further, if you are part of the 7% -9% that maintains a biblical worldview, are you truly saved and how do you know / prove it?

The Strait Gate or The Wide Gate

I want to present to you some if not THE scariest verses to a Christian that there is in the bible. Folks, these verses should terrify you if you claim the title Christian.

Matthew 7:13-23
7:13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
7:14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
7:15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
7:16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
7:17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
7:18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
7:19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
7:20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
7:22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
7:23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

I have been doing a lot of study on Matthew 7. I have been reading commentaries, listening to sermons, ect. My conclusion is that Matthew 7 of God’s Word is one of the most profound chapters for Christians living in these last days of the last days.

The Profound facts are…

1. In Matthew 7 Christ was talking to and addressing professing believers and not the unbelievers as has been taught for the past 50 or so years.

2. That many who are claimed “Christian” and think they are believers, are in fact non-believers sold a lie and are destined to hell.

3. There are many wolves in sheep’s clothing deceiving and selling many the lie thus leading many to hell.

4. Nothing good at all comes from a false teacher… NOTHING.

5. Finally, it is not our acts / works / fruit that save us, it is our acts / works / fruit that prove we have been saved.

Are You Truly Saved And Walking The Way?

I am a person that stands on the fact that once a person is truly saved, they can not loose their salvation. In other words I stand on the doctrine of Eternal Security.

Eternal Security is the idea that once a person is truly saved, he can never lose his salvation.

The primary verses I stand upon are the following…

1 John 5:13
5:13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.

John 6:37
6:37 All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.

John 6:39-40
6:39 And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.
6:40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.

John 10:27-28
10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
10:28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

But here is the point that I am getting to with a question to consider. How does a person know he was ever saved in the first place?

I want to point back to Matthew 7:13-14

Matthew 7:13-14
7:13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
7:14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

If you read these two verses you see that there are actually two gates and two ways. You see, we have been teaching about the gate since the day of Pentecost, but it seems that in the last 50 or so years, we have forgotten to teach about The Way, which is also spoken of by Christ.

If you remember, my first profound point that I made about Matthew 7 is that Christ is addressing the professing believer / Christian and NOT the unbeliever or heathen. We know that this is fact due to the context Christ was speaking. Who else in the world’s religions truly call Jesus Christ “Lord Lord”? No one but a professing Christian. Not even the Mormons, who DO NOT admit to Jesus as THE LORD, but “a lord” and the same goes with many of the other cults out there that claim connections to Christianity.

So it is only the professing believer, as we read in context that Christ was addressing and talking about and who addresses Him as LORD.

So when we read in verse 13 about the Wide Gate and the Broadway, it is professing “Christians” who have entered that Wide Gate and are walking that Broadway.

But there is more. We learn in reading Matthew 7 about false teachers and how we are called to judge them by their fruit, but in reading, we see that we are judged by our fruit also.

Matthew 7:20
7:20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

See, that is the $500,000.00 question that has been forgotten these past 50 or so years.

How do we know people are Christians?

We know by the fact that they are walking upon the narrow way as Christ clearly teaches. It is by our fruit that we are producing. If we are walking upon the narrow way, we will produce fruit according to that path.

Another point, is that if you are truly born again the World will hate your fruit, but if you are a “Christian In Name Only (C.I.N.O) then the world will love the fruit you are producing.

Examples of the Religious World Fruit…

- Fighting against Global Warming
- Fighting for equal rights for homosexuals (Sodomites) and Gay Marriage.
- Fighting for pluralism in the religious world.
- The end justifies the means.

Where we learn in scripture that the world loves it’s own and the love of the father is not in that person.

1 John 2:15-17
2:15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
2:17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

But that is if we are walking The Narrow Way, our fruit is as follows…

- Obeying God’s Word and a thirst to learn the deeper things of God.
- Living a Holy and acceptable Life pleasing unto God
- Our love for the brethren, delight in church and fellowship
- Our desire not to sin and a life of continued repentance
- Judging all through the lens of God’s Word and not of the World.

To the world, those things above seem foolish and to the person walking the Broadway, these things seem impossible. You see we can not achieve those things listed unless we have the Holy Sprit working in our lives and the power of the Lord giving us His strength to do so on a daily basis.

The sad thing is that many believe we are on the Narrow Way, but we often forget the most terrifying part that Christ speaks of about this… FEW THERE BE THAT FIND IT.

How do we know that we are walking upon the narrow way?

James 2:14-19
2:14 What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?
2:15 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,
2:16 And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?
2:17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
2:18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works.
2:19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.

Now note here that I am not talking about Salvation, also known as The Gate. I am addressing The Way. See there is a true salvation and a false salvation. Christ calls it the Wide Gate and the Strait Gate.

“For wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction and many there be which go in thereat.”

If you have chosen the false Christ – the wide gate – and you are walking upon the broad ways, you are leading a life destined to destruction believing you are one of God’s children, when in fact you have been lied to and believing a deception.

How do we know we are on The Narrow Way? We know because our life reflects a life growing more and more in Christ. We live a life where we have presented our bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, not only in our public life, but our private life as well. We have not conformed to this world: but we were transformed by the renewing of our mind, that we may prove what is good, and acceptable, and the perfect will of God.

Let’s read what Romans 12:1-2 states…

Romans 12:1-2
12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

If you are walking on the narrow path you will naturally show an outward practical holiness as a mark of one saved by grace.

Let me be very clear here; I am also not talking being saved by works here either. One can not be saved by works, and in fact if someone tells you can get to heaven from works, run away from them as fast as you can. It is only through the shed blood of our Lord Jesus Christ which we are saved.

For Christ said…

John 14:6
14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Ephesians 2:8-9
2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
2:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

It is Jesus and Jesus alone who is the Strait Gate. The problem is that many have chosen the Wide Gate thinking it is The Narrow Gate. That is because we preach about “The Gate”, but no longer “The Way.”

Living as a Changed Man or Living as a Filthy Pig?

Charles Spurgeon stated the following…

“The man who is born for heaven "hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity." All men have their joys, by which their souls are lifted up; the worldling lifts up his soul in carnal delights, which are mere empty vanities; but the saint loves more substantial things; like Jehoshaphat, he is lifted up in the ways of the Lord. He who is content with husks, will be reckoned with the swine. Does the world satisfy thee? Then thou hast thy reward and portion in this life; make much of it, for thou shalt know no other joy.”

Imagine that there is a pig and I am standing about 100 ft away. To one side is a beautiful 7 course dinner and to the other side is a large bucket of slop.

We release the pig and where is he going to run to? To the slop of course! Why? Because he is a pig and that is all that pigs know.

Now imagine if you will that we were able to change that pig into a man, all the while he is eating the slop. What will happen? Well the odds are that he will lift up his head and look around at his environment and then spit out the slop he was feeding upon when he was a pig. Why? Because he is no longer a pig that is able to feed upon slop, but a man needing a form of food to give him nutrition that he might live.

This man is now a new creature and is no longer a pig.

Now from time to time he may even have pig thoughts about the wonderful slop he once ate when he was a pig. He may even go to the slop bucket from time to time, smell it, look at it. But the moment he feeds upon it what will happen? He will spit it out because he is no longer a pig but a man. Even if he as a man he forces himself to eat the slop, which men are able to do, it will eventually cause him to vomit it all up and make him sick possibly unto death because his body no longer accepts slop because he is a new creature.

Now if one thinks he is a man and can still stomach the slop day in and day out, what makes him think he was changed into a new creature in the first place? If he is feeding upon the slop of the world and does not get sick to his stomach, maybe he was never changed into new creature in the first place and to this day remains a pig.

Scripture says…

2 Corinthians 5:17
5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

Ephesians 5:5
5:5 For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.

Hebrews 12:6
12:6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.

When we are truly converted, we can no longer stomach the slop of the world, the fleshly sin that we once indulged in. When we entertain the sin, and all of us do from time to time, it makes us sick with guilt and shame because it is the Holy Spirit working in our lives chastening us from the inside out because God loves us as His children. Scripture says that God chastens His own.

…That my friend is part of walking The Narrow Way.

What you need to fear, is if you are living a double life and living in sin; AND… God does not chasten you. You may ask, how do you know God is chastening you? Oh believe me you will know. Your life will be absolutely miserable, that is until you repent and get back on the narrow path. But more importantly, you as one of His children KNOWS that you are called to repent and a refusal to do so is rebellion unto the Lord. Your own heart, soul and mind call you to repent, but you may choose to still run. Friend; God will let you run, but for only a short distance, then he will chastise you, bringing you to your knees and bringing you back as His own.

My friend, if you do not have God working and changing and chastening you in your life and you are claiming to be a Christian, you need to rethink your salvation and ask if you are truly saved in the first place.

There is no such thing as a Carnal Christian living long periods in the world. If you are, you are not saved. God does not let you run very long if you are one of His and if you are one of His, you know this for a fact because you yourself have experienced exactly what I am stating and you know it is true.

If your ways are not His ways and you do not feel God’s Hand chastening your life, odds are that you are not born again and are just one of those who checked of a box, raised a hand and that is about all. You are one who has walked through the Wide Gate and is upon the Broadway bound for hell.

You have no fruit showing that your life has been changed by Christ. Instead your life reflects that of the world and a love for the world. It is the worldly music you listen to, the sex driven TV shows you watch the things of the world you indulge in. They are not the ways of the Lord, but the ways of the world. In fact you are like the many, indulging in the world, your sin, the flesh and walking upon the broad way which leads to hell and your fruit show it.

How Do I Know That I Am Truly Saved And Walking Upon The Narrow Way?

First John lists ways we can know that we are one of God’s elect…

1 If we keep His commandments

1 John 2:3
2:3 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.

2 If we keep His Word

1 John 2:4
2:4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

3 if we walk in love

1 John 2:5
2:5 But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.

4 If we love the brethren

1 John 3:14
3:14 We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.

5 If we love in deed, not only in word

1 John 3:19
3:19 And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him.

6 If we have the Holy Spirit within us

1 John 3:24
3:24 And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.

7 If we love one another

1 John 4:13
4:13 Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.

8 If we don’t continue in sin

1 John 5:18
5:18 We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not.

Walking through the gate, is the first part, but we must make sure WHICH gate it is that we have truly walked through and this is why Matthew 7 is one of the most terrifying chapters in all of scripture.

Christ said the following…

Matthew 13:3-9
13:3 And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow;
13:4 And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:
13:5 Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth:
13:6 And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.
13:7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them:
13:8 But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.
13:9 Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

If you are truly saved, you are as the good ground that brought forth good fruit, but if you are not, the seed that was sown was cast upon stony place, where the sun scorched or among the thorns. All of that seed did not produce good fruit and in all cases withered away and died.

What did Christ tell us?

Matthew 7:20
7:20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

If you have gotten this far with me and are asking yourself " Are You Saved?” You need to examine yourself.

Do you love the Lord with all your heart, soul and mind? Do you obey His commandments? When someone looks at you, do they see the world or do they see someone who reflects a life of Christ?

OR… do you make excuses and tell half truths about yourself.

Folks, a half truth is a full lie and you are not fooling anyone, but more than that, God knows and you are not fooling Him either.

Folks, if you are not saved, it is true that you can fake a lot of this. But as we have seen by many of the false teachers out there, it is only for a season and sooner or later they fall and their true secret lives are reveled. What do you do when you are alone and no one is watching? What are your private pet sins that you indulge in and truly enjoy? What “Christian” masks do you wear, fooling those around you and even yourself?

Romans 8:5-8
8:5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.
8:6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
8:7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
8:8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

1 Corinthians 6:9-10
6:9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,
6:10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.

1 Peter 1:15-16
1:15 But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;
1:16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

1 John 2:3-6
2:3 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.
2:4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
2:5 But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.
2:6 He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.

I pray to continue this series as the Lord leads me. I am deeply concerned about the church today. Many have chosen the Broadway because that is what they have been taught. The sad thing is that it is a lie that leads to hell.

But more importantly, you need to sit yourself down right here and right now and really examine yourself.

Scripture says…

2 Corinthians 13:5
13:5 Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?

After that, ask yourself…

Who Do You Serve?

Jesus stated the following…

John 14:6
14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

If you do not have Christ in your life, you will spend eternity in hell. This is a fact. It does not matter if you believe this or not, it is the truth spoken by Jesus himself. If your name is not written in the Lambs Book of Life you will go to hell for what you have not done and that is accepting Christ as your personal savior. To be placed in the Lamb Book of Life, you need to turn your life completely over to Him. Having “head” knowledge or “just believing in Christ” is not the same as having “heart” knowledge with Christ living in your heart. Even the “devils” believe in God.

James 2:19
2:19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.

We work hard at Prophezine to show that Bible Prophecy is coming to pass. Because of this fact, we know that the Bible is true. Since the Bible is the true and is the inerrant word of God, there is a heaven and there is a hell.

If you claim the title of “Christian” then take account of yourself this day. Many claim the title, but we read in God’s Word that the title does not get you into heaven.

Matthew 7:21-23
7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
7:22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
7:23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Who you serve will determine where you will spend eternity. If you are not serving Christ and a true child of God, then you are serving satan and a child of the enemy.

If you are not 110% sure, then take account of yourself, your very life depends upon it.

1 John 1:9
1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

http://www.prophezine.com...ed/tabid/918/Default.aspx

Good article.

RW

Natural law and conservatism.

2009-08-11T00:05:00.000-07:00

HERE have a History Lesson........RW

Issues analysis
Natural law and conservatism
August 10, 2009
Fred Hutchison, RA analyst

Natural law is a vital part of the conservative intellectual heritage. Among the five ancient kinds of conservatism, natural law is the second oldest. Natural law ideas were vital to the American founding fathers.

In this essay, we shall enter the modern era through the natural law of G. K. Chesterton and C. S. Lewis, and through these outstanding Christians, demonstrate the compatibility of Christianity and natural law.

Natural Law and the 5 kinds of conservatism

The five kinds of conservatism are listed below in order of their first known historical appearance:

1) Traditionalist conservatism as inspired by Hesiod's mythical golden age (8th century B.C.).

2) Natural law philosophy as expounded in elemental form by Aristotle (4th century B. C). Roman stoics such as Cicero and Marcus Aurelius, developed natural law principles and a universal moral law based on nature (1st century B.C. — 2nd century A.D.). Natural law theory was perfected by St. Thomas Aquinas in the 13th century.

3) Neo-conservatism for the world of imperial Rome by Virgil (1st century B.C.).

4) Christian conservatism (1st century A.D.). The perfect agreement of Apostles' Creed (2nd century), the Nicene Creed (4th century), and the Augsburg Confession (16th century) illustrates the astonishing continuity and stability of the doctrinal orthodoxy of Christianity — which is the very essence of Christian conservatism.

5) Libertarianism as per Thomas Hobbes (17th century). Hobbes had an extremely individualistic view of natural law and came up with a formula for proto-libertarianism. Some of the proto-libertarians morphed into "classical liberals" in the 18th century. They adopted the natural law ideas of Grotius, Locke, and Montesquieu, and the classical economics of Adam Smith and perhaps also the individualistic pragmatism of Benjamin Franklin.

Several of the founding fathers were classical liberals. Their views of natural law were metaphysically deeper and more harmonious and balanced than that of proto-libertarians like Thomas Paine and Patrick Henry. Revolutionary fervor was stoked by proto-libertarians like Paine and Henry. However, the U.S. Constitution, written mainly by James Madison, a classical liberal, was a masterpiece of mature and harmonious natural law principles.

Now let us skip forward to the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Natural law vs. positive law

Natural law was generally assumed to be the proper basis of legislative law in the 19th century. It was "the law above the law." It has been seriously challenged and almost eclipsed by a rival theory of law in the 20th century — namely, "positive law" or "legal realism," which simply means that man makes up his own law. Instead of consulting universal principles, man consults his own needs, wants, and agendas, or the changing norms of the society in which he lives.

Positive law advocates fancy that they are realistic about the contemporary world, but they are not. They are blown about by popular fads — and therefore are uniquely out of touch with the world.

One might suppose that ideological, agenda-driven politics — like that of President Obama's administration — would have a certain stability and continuity in policy matters. Yet no administration has ever been blown about by changing winds like this one. In contrast, natural law is immune to fads and changing winds, yet provides a stable vantage point from which to view the contemporary scene.

Positive law and judicial activism

The legal revolution in which positive law replaced natural law preceded and facilitated judicial activism and progressive agendas to remake society through law.

I must disagree with the venerable and learned Judge Bork on this point of legal history. In The Tempting of America (1990), the venerable judge pointed to spectacular early cases in American legal history in which judges overstepped their bounds. He gloomily concluded that the subversion of the legal system started early and corrupted the whole system. Not so. As a whole, 19th century judges followed judicial precedent and stayed within constitutional bounds. This contrasts favorably with the judicial activism of the 20th century. The judge is correct that the examples of early judicial activism that he cited are outrageous, but these are the exceptions, not the general practice of the judges of the day.

The telling difference is that 19th century jurists as a whole were grounded in natural law and 20th century jurists were increasingly attracted to positive law. A judge is first corrupted by positive law and then lawlessly defies precedent and steps beyond constitutional boundaries.

Every legal positivist has a built-in hostility to the Constitution — because the Constitution is redolent with natural law — and natural law is a rebuke to positive law. The secret motive of activist judges is not to produce a "living Constitution" as they claim, but to destroy the Constitution. If this had been understood by our GOP senators, they would not have put up such a weak resistance to the confirmation of Judge Sonia Sotomayor for Supreme Court.

We shall not decisively win the war against judicial activism or progressive social engineering until we defeat positive law and restore natural law. The "original intent" school of constitutional law is a step in the right direction, because it exposes the jurist to natural law ideas built into the Constitution. Original intent judges have to study the Federalist Papers and Blackwell's Commentaries to understand what Madison meant by certain words and phrases in the Constitution. Such studies are an education in both traditionalist and natural law thinking. Now we need to bring natural law into legislation in Congress and in state legislatures.

Chesterton: no stealing allowed in any universe

In the early 20th century, the jurist Oliver Wendell Holmes was the most famous proponent of positive law. G. K. Chesterton and C. S. Lewis were very popular proponents of natural law.

Chesterton's fictional detective, Father Brown, was a like a Christian Sherlock Homes. He was on the trail of Flambeau, a criminal mastermind. Before Father Brown solved a case against Flambeau, he debated Flambeau about natural law versus positive law. Flambeau speculated that there are many worlds in the starry heavens and that each one has a different moral law. Father Brown replied that every one of those worlds has a mortar board, "Thou shalt not steal." In this way, Father Brown emphasized the universality of natural law and rejected cultural relativism. His terse comments rebuked Flambeau for being a thief. His comments also rebuked him for temporizing the immorality of his thefts by using the relativistic philosophy of positive law.

Flambeau is representative of a long line of rascals who have argued for positive law to provide a place to hide from their guilty conscience. Natural law is written in the human heart, and human laws based on natural law sting the conscience. In contrast, positive law is neutral to the human conscience. Calls for "the separation of church and state" are really calls to separate the human conscience from the law.

Alan Keyes once said that capital punishment vindicates the law against murder. When the murderer is executed, the law against murder that is written in the heart of every man is awakened and vivified in the conscience of the citizens. When one is tempted to murder, his conscience rebels, he fears, and refrains. This is the real reason why capital punishment is a deterrent to murder. It is not the fear of execution that deters him, but the protests of his conscience that deter him. That inner protest of conscience is more powerful if murderers are being executed.

Finally, the awakening of the consciences of the citizens is not just for deterrence. It teaches the citizen to cherish life. A society that executes murderers is also a society that has laws against abortion. It is no accident that the same Alan Keyes who said that capital punishment vindicates the law is also a crusader against abortion.

C. S. Lewis: Mere natural law

Just as C. S. Lewis reduced Christianity to essentials in Mere Christianity, he did the same thing with natural law. He was mainly concerned with the basic elements of the universal moral law that all men everywhere can agree upon. He emphasized that natural law crosses religious and cultural lines.

Lewis wrote: "If a man will go into a library and spend a few days with the Encyclopedia of Religion or Ethics he will soon discover the massive unanimity of the practical reason in man. From the Babylonian Hymn to Sams, from the Laws of Manu, the Australian aborigines and redskins, he will collect the same triumphantly monotonous denunciations of oppressions, murders, treachery, and falsehood, the same injunctions of kindness to the aged, the young, and the weak, of almsgiving and impartiality and honesty." (From The Poison of Subjectivism, an essay by C.S. Lewis. Thanks to Timothy L. Hall, A Law for all Seasons. Touchstone, June 2009)

Lewis insisted that natural law was not just for Christians, but for all mankind. He was a fierce opponent of Christian theocracies. He thought theocracies generated mischievous agendas that are prone to the abuse of power. Mixing the issues of God, the divine kingdom, natural law, politics, and human ambition can confuse and corrupt the mind and obscure the issues of natural law.

Interestingly, the Christian Republics of Geneva, Massachusetts Bay, Cromwell's England, and Holland were authoritarian, legalistic, and inadequate defenders of human rights. All of these Republics failed after two or three generations. Natural law does not flourish in tight, legalistic theocracies — but it prospers in constitutional republics like America.

By opposing theocracy, Lewis emphasized the universality of natural law. Kublai Khan, sitting in his pleasure dome in Xanadu, could make decrees based upon natural law if he wanted to.

In Kipling's The Man Who Would be King, a British sergeant found himself to be the king of a pagan tribe through freak circumstances. He was the sole judge of disputes among the people. Some of his ad hoc judgments included simple elements of natural law. Although the sergeant was starting from scratch with natural law ideas that he had picked up by osmosis, there is no question that these shaky attempts at natural law swept away a lot of the injustice from the life in that savage tribe. To the extent that the people learned these principles, their way of life was improved long after the departure of the lawgiver.

The Christian compatibility with natural law

Lewis notwithstanding, the Christian has a head start in discovering natural laws. All of the laws of Moses that were carried over into the New Testament were, without exception, universal moral laws — do not steal, do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not practice homosexual perversions, etc. All the laws of Moses that were not carried forward were, without exception, explicitly for ancient Israel, and not for other nations or for modern times. In short, they were not universal moral laws. For example, the tithe, the Sabbath, Jewish dietary laws, laws of the temple, laws of clean and unclean, laws of animal sacrifices, and laws of stoning for adultery and witchcraft were not carried forward and were thereby abolished in the New Testament.

Enumeration of the abolition of particular laws is not necessary because of the several New Testament verses that abolish the law of Moses. Laws of Moses that are not brought forward into the New Testament are abolished.

Natural law is in perfect agreement with the laws of Moses that the Apostles brought forward into the New Testament! Hence, we notice the wonderful compatibility of Christianity with natural law. Judaism and Islam fall far short of this level of compatibility with natural law. Christianity is unique in its compatibility with natural law! It is no accident that the greatest flourishing of natural law ideas has come in Christian nations! And it is no accident that Christendom, being in command of natural law tools, has outdistanced all of the non-Christian nations of the world in almost every category of practical achievement.

The Bible promises the faithful believers that God will write his law in their hearts. Surely a Christian with God's law written in his heart has an advantage over an aborigine when it comes to seeking natural law. I feel that C.S. Lewis underestimates this Christian advantage. Yes, the aborigine has natural law written in his heart. At the same time, he lacks the Christian advantage of the testimony of the scriptures and the indwelling Spirit of Truth.

Posting the Ten Commandments in court

In spite of its comparability with Christianity, natural law is discerned by reason and not faith, and therefore is not a religion.

The posting of the Ten Commandments should not be barred from a courtroom on the grounds of the separation of church and state, because the Ten Commandments are universal moral laws. These laws predate the religions that embraced them. Recall that natural law is the second oldest kind of conservatism, while Christianity is the fourth oldest. Most religions accept the natural moral laws because they are written in the hearts of all people.

Lutheranism and a two-tiered natural law

Lutheran theologians recognize two kinds of natural law: 1) "orders of creation," and 2) general natural law. Lewis recognized only the second kind of natural law. "Orders of creation" apply to Christian families, churches, and communities. Some things that natural law allows, the orders of creation do not allow. For example, Sarah Palin was allowed to be governor of Alaska and govern according to natural law, but she was not allowed to be the head over her husband or the head of her house or the pastor of her church according the orders of creation.

A state or a corporation must be run according to the general second tier natural laws. They must not be run according to orders of creation, because that would reduce these entities to theocracies. In contrast, a church must be run according to the orders of creation. Woe to the church that is run like a corporation. Woe to the corporation that is run like a church.

The Protestant mistake

The magisterial Protestant denominations accepted natural law during the Reformation era. However, some of these denominations have rejected natural law in the modern era. The rejection of natural law by certain denominations of conservative Protestants and by some Evangelicals has crippled them in three ways: 1) Their understanding of the universal moral law is metaphysically weak; 2) Their leaders do not have the same restraint against the abuse of power as they would have had if they were seasoned with natural law; and 3) The full development of their reasoning powers has been hindered in a way that often makes them inarticulate and unpersuasive in the public, political, and moral discussions of their culture. They were not just thrown out of the public square by a hostile culture. They disqualified themselves by throwing away the tools of the debate.

In order to cure this defect, some churches have foolishly tried to become more "relevant" to their culture. In doing so, they have spiritually compromised themselves by becoming worldly and failed to become one whit more persuasive. A study in natural law would have made them a) more persuasive in the public square and b) less prone to compromise with the culture.

Natural law bombshells in committee

A few years ago, I was testifying in favor of a proposed defense of marriage law (DOMA) before an Ohio state legislative committee. The committee chairman, Bill Harris, was a Republican, an evangelical, and a tough ex-marine, and he favored the DOMA law. He passively accepted the outrageous ad hominem cavils of certain left-wing citizens and committee members, but strangely, he silenced the conservative voice. When I exposed the gay agenda, questioned the validity of gay marriage, spoke of the potential harms that come to children through gay adoption, and mentioned the vile exhibitionism of the gay pride parades, the chairman was scandalized and shut me up. Why would an evangelical legislator give total freedom to the pro-gay agenda — which he opposed — and silence the conservative opposition — which he agreed with in principle? What was it that crippled this powerful man?

Harris (who is now Ohio Senate president) belongs to a conservative Evangelical denomination that rejects natural law. When he heard the words of natural law in a public forum, his conscience was shocked, and he had to struggle to keep from weeping. The man was a novice and an emotional child before the sheer power of a natural law. His denomination managed to keep him ignorant as a babe and unexposed to natural law ideas.

Harris hinted to me that since I was going to get what I wanted (i.e., passage of DOMA), there was no reason for me to throw these bombshells into the committee. The hint was that I should go along with his wimpy ways, be content, shut up, and be happy with good outcomes. Something about this offer to become a spineless jellyfish like him offended me, so I threw one more natural law bombshell into the committee. He treated me as though I was a lawless rascal and a disrupter of his committee. Actually, he was the one who was lawless, because he abused his power and denied freedom of speech to a citizen at a lawful public forum set aside for the testimony of citizens — in order to suppress the voice of natural law.

His evangelical denomination rejects natural law and is infamous for authoritarian abuses of power. A church leadership that is ignorant of natural law can more easily drift towards a legalistic and authoritarian church theocracy. The last time I entered a church of his denomination, I smelled the spirit of death. The spirit of bondage of that church fell off me like Lazarus' grave clothes, as I walked out the front door and breathed the sweet breezes of American freedom.

If an evangelical Republican leader will lawlessly suppress the voice of natural law in the legislature, how much more will Democratic liberals want to lawlessly silence the conservative voice on talk radio and television? Whenever political conservatives speak freely, a lot of natural law ideas comes out, even though the conservatives often do not realize it.

Karl Barth's bad faith

Natural law is not the same thing as religion. We do not know natural law through faith, revelation, authority, or dogma. We know it through reason and conscience. Therefore, some modern theologians have seen natural law as a threat to Christianity where no threat exists.

During the twentieth century, the neo-orthodox theologian Karl Barth (1886–1968) was responsible for driving natural law out of favor in many Protestant circles. He thought natural law compromises the transcendence of God.

My answer to Dr. Barth is yes, we need to put more emphasis on transcendence. However, God is both transcendent and immanent. If He is immanent, some of His works have an immanent quality that may well be within the reach of human reason. Human reason itself is one of the immanent creations of God. He created natural law and created the rational powers of men so they can find out about natural law.

But yes, Dr. Barth, God's transcendence means that some aspects of his works are "past finding out." (Romans 11:33). This means that we must be modest and put limits on what we claim to know about natural law through reason. It is a challenge for proud philosophers to respect the limits of reason.

However, it is a case of bad faith to pout because some things are out of our reach — and then to refuse to learn those things that are within our reach. Barth's bad faith involves throwing the metaphysical baby out with the bath water. Barth is like Aesop's embittered fox who declares the grapes to be sour because he can't reach them.

Let us think of the high grapes that are out of reach as things "past finding out." Let us think of God 's immanent works as the low-hanging grapes. We ought to leave the high grapes alone, while we satisfy ourselves with the sweet low-hanging grapes, unlike the foolish fox. The low-hanging grapes are the elements of natural law within reach of human reason.

Is reason ruined by the fall?

Some of the theologians of the Reformed Tradition believe that the rational powers of man were too marred by the fall of man to be competent to discover natural laws. Yes, to some extent man's rational powers have been marred, damaged, and distorted. But man has not been maimed so badly that he cannot build civilizations.

It is well to keep in mind that we can be deceived because of the fall and corruption of our reasoning powers, but this is all the more reason why we should be continually learning. Let us therefore use what tools of reason we have — including the tools of natural law.

I argue that without some degree of implicit or explicit knowledge of natural law, it is impossible to build civilizations — or to renew civilizations that are faltering. Our frail, marred, myopic powers of reason need the lamp of natural law to help us grope our way forward, so as to heal society — and to settle difficult controversies like evolution and "gay marriage." Natural law might even help us find our way to work through the thicket of legislative committees with weak, deeply confused committee chairmen.

In contrast, the American founding fathers were richly endowed with the knowledge of natural law, and they founded the most long-lasting and resilient republic known to history.

Now let us raise the question of how much we can know through natural law. Saint Thomas Aquinas thought we can know a lot.

Aquinas and epistemological optimism

St. Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274 A. D.), lived at the confident summit of the civilization of the High Middle Ages and had three centuries of brilliant scholastic philosophers behind him. He came up with a definitive solution to the age-old puzzle of universals and particulars, a mystery that had eluded all the great philosophers who had gone before him. His solution upheld philosophical realism, defeated nominalism, and defended the integrity of both universals and particulars without compromising either and without falling into dualism. This premier achievement of Western philosophy gave the West a rational and aesthetic advantage over all other civilizations.

Obviously, Aquinas was an extraordinarily brilliant and knowledgeable man. He was also very confident and optimistic. He was as devout a Christian as a proud man can be.

Aquinas was a vigorous and systematic proponent of natural law. He wrote that natural law is the rational dictate through which God governs his creation ... that natural law is imprinted on human nature or essence. We must use reason and this special imprint to ascertain the best course of action. Natural law is the human participation in the Eternal will through reason and will. Through this process, one discerns good and evil, virtue and vice.

This formula might be true, and then again it might not be. God is a spirit being, and the incorporeal spirit of man is the part of us that has self-awareness and the part that "knows" God and has faith in God. In contrast, it is through reason we know natural law. The reasoning mind is always corporeal — that is to say, it always works within the body. Reason is a hybrid entity composed partly of brain activity and partly of spiritual activity. Ontologically, spirit is higher than mind. Therefore, there are natural limits for the mind.

Aquinas' formulation posits a proud exaltation of the rational mind that transgresses these limits — or so it seems to me. Beware any philosopher who presumes to makes the mind equal to or superior to the incorporeal human spirit. If it were not for the conscious spirit within him, man would not even be aware of his thoughts — Aquinas and Descartes notwithstanding.

The Great Dane of metaphysics

Aquinas had an extremely optimistic view about what man can know (epistemology), and he boldly stomped through the front door of the temple of truth. His overconfidence, which occasionally bordered on certitude, sometimes makes me uneasy and a little dizzy. At such moments, my instincts tell me that Aquinas was too clever by half and tends to overrun the boundaries God set for reason — like a dog breaking free of his leash. If only we could do without him — but we can't.

Martin Luther expunged the works of Aquinas from the university curriculum in Germany. I rarely disagree with the great Dr. Luther, but Aquinas is, for all his faults, indispensable and irreplaceable. However, we have to keep him on a leash, lest he run rampant in the neighborhood into those properties where he is forbidden to go. Aquinas is like a magnificent Great Dane that is well-muscled and full of energy because it has eaten its fill of rare red meat. Aquinas had eaten his fill of the rare red meat of metaphysics.

As a child of the Reformation, I am more cautious and equivocal than was Aquinas about what we can know through reason and how far we can safely go. My caution about reason makes me conservative in my claims about natural law — and perhaps it makes me conservative in other ways as well.

I have a horror of being like a Great Dane running wild in the neighborhood and digging up the neighbor's flowers. When reason makes us more civilized, we are on the right track. When we become proud of our intellectual prowess in unseemly ways, it makes us less civilized — and we tend to overrun the natural boundaries of civilized life.

There is a second reason why we put sane limits on the reach of the intellect. When we are arrogant and presumptuous, it is because of intellectual pride. Such things displease God who knows how to humble the proud. God humbled Aquinas at the end of his life by showing him the vanity of his proud achievements.

Instead of stomping through the front door of the temple of truth like Aquinas did, I shall tiptoe through the back door and start with what we can know for sure and work cautiously from there. I can make a robust argument on the steps of the temple, but I become hushed and reverent when I enter the temple. Deep waters and sacred mysteries lie within.

Reasoning from nature or from God

Some natural law philosophers reason from nature. "By real ideas I mean such as have a foundation in nature in conformity with their archetypes" (John Locke 1690).

Some natural law philosophers start with God. "Let us seek the dignity of knowledge in the archetype or first platform, which is the attributes and acts of God" (Francis Bacon 1605).

Like Locke and Bacon, I shall use "archetypes" as stepping stones in my search for knowledge about natural law. I get better results when I start with God, the designer, as did Bacon did, than I do when I start with nature, as Locke did.

However, I cannot ignore Locke's foundational archetypes in nature — for these were the first archetypes I found out about as a child and have been precious to me all my life.

The Great Designer

"[W]hat may be known of God is manifest in them for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world his invisible attributes are clearly seen being understood by things that are made, even his eternal power and godhead so they are without excuse" (Romans 1:19).

Certain things about God can be clearly seen being understood by things that are made. The Apostle is talking about human reason! To clearly see with the understanding is to understand with the reasoning powers. What is it we clearly see with the understanding? We see "things that are made," that is to say, we see the creation — i.e., we see nature.

But what is it in nature that is peculiarly accessible to reason? We must have a precise answer to this question that is trustworthy. The answer must open the door to a kind of knowledge that is universal to all men — because natural law is universal.

Recognizable design

All people who've reached the age of reason have the capability to differentiate between something that was designed and objects with accidental qualities. An arrowhead is designed, but a rock is accidental. A piece of pottery is designed, but a lump of clay is accidental. An oak tree is designed, but a babbling brook is accidental.

Marriage follows a design. A gay union is a human arrangement that follows the ad hoc arrangements of individuals. All humanity has the rational powers to recognize pottery and marriage as designs and perceive that a lump of clay as an accidental entity that lacks design. Gay marriage not only lacks design, but it is contrary to a design — that is to say, it is against nature. All mankind can use their powers of reason to discern that homosexuality is unnatural.

Notice that I said that we can all readily recognize design. I have not yet made a claim about understanding the designs we recognize. Remember, I am tiptoeing through the back door of the temple of truth.

All the works of nature, including man himself, are assembled according to a design. If there is a design, there must be a designer. Hence, "his attributes are clearly seen being understood by things that are made" (Romans 1:19). The Bible is particularly clear that we can know some things about Christ and the church from marriage, and know some things about marriage from Christ and the church (Ephesians 5:23).

In contrast, we can know nothing about God from a gay union, because it is not an entity formulated in according with the creator's design. Marriage has mystical overtones of divinity, and therefore it is blessed and sanctified by God. Gay unions only manifest the confusion and perversion of individual human beings who have lost their way. Marriage is universal. Gay unions are unique to the individuals involved.

The opening lines of Anna Karenina, by Leo Tolstoy, say: "Happy families are all alike. Every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." Allow me to rephrase it thus: "Happy marriages are all happy in the same way because marriage has a universal design. Every unhappy gay union is unhappy in its own way because gay unions are unique ad hoc arrangements."

The futile denial of design

An evolutionist who denies design cannot force himself not to see design. The harder he tries not to see design, the more he sees design everywhere. In the lectures of evolutionists, they continually stumble into the language of design. "This species has an interesting design. Oops, I mean that it has an evolved form that is like a design." The point of this caricature is to show that the evolutionist is trying to tell a lie and can't quite pull it off. As with all mankind, the evolutionist recognizes the difference between an accidental form and a design — but denies that he recognizes it. A species is an integrated, coherent design, not the accidental accumulation of random events.

A gay union might attempt to mimic marriage, but a relentless inner voice will whisper to them, "You are living a lie — this is not a marriage." Here again, the denial of design is futile. The condemning voice cannot be silenced. It is no accident that some gays are paranoid about those who oppose their agendas and fly into a rage if anyone doubts the legitimacy of their unions. Rubbed raw by the constant contradiction of an inner voice, they cannot endure hearing further contradiction from outer voices.

The inner voice that cannot be suppressed comes early. When did I first understand that there is a design behind things that are made? I knew it at age seven, the age of reason, without anyone telling me.

The perfect pumpkin

Two months after my seventh birthday, my mother gave a pumpkin to my sister and a pumpkin to me so we could each carve a Halloween jack-o-lantern. My sister recognized it as a test of creativity, originality, and personality.

I was more serious in my intentions, and I aimed high. I asked myself, "What is the ultimate Jack-o-lantern?" I asked, "What is the archetypal form for a pumpkin face?" "Is there an iconic form I ought to follow?" (I did not yet know the words "archetype" or "icon," of course. My budding reasoning powers outran my vocabulary.) I pondered the ideal pumpkin and the perfect pumpkin. I thought there were perfect designs in a higher realm. When I got older, I learned that Karl Jung called them "archetypes" and that Plato called them "forms."

The jack-o-lantern face I carved was commonplace and mediocre. It was clearly inferior to my sister's spectacular jack-o-lantern. This humiliating experience taught me that archetypes are not suited to certain tasks. The mediocrity has no discernment in when or how to use archetypes. I learned this from a mediocre boss at work. Many of his mediocre writings, decisions, and decrees made me cringe in the same way I cringed at the mediocre pumpkin.

In spite of the pumpkin humiliation, I never for a moment doubted the existence of archetypes. I did not desist seeking archetypes in the years to come. This had good and bad outcomes. By my college years, I had developed and internalized a systematic code of ethics. This happened prior to the awakening of my faith in Christ.

Unfortunately, I also played with the idea of an ideal woman. I did not yet know that it is wrong to use a person in order to realize an archetype. To the extent I did this, I had unmitigated disaster in my social life. I was developing powerful tools of reason that I did not yet know how to use in practice. Archetypes are fatal when it comes to pumpkins and women. But they are useful in developing a code of ethics.

The pursuit of excellence

The mediocre pumpkin changed me, and made me eager not to be a mediocrity. Civilizations that acknowledge the archetypes of natural law and have discernment in their use will hate mediocrity and love excellence.

I suppose that the love of excellence reached its all-time summit during the Baroque civilization (1600–1750). The best braumeisters (beer makers) and violin makers of today aspire to attain in quality what the best braumeisters and violin makers of the baroque era achieved — but cannot quite do it. No one even tries to duplicate the excellence in sculpture of Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini (1598–1680).

Without archetypes, we would have no concept for perfection or excellence. When men say "God is perfect," we know what they mean by "perfect" because we all intuitively understand archetypes.

Aquinas tried to prove the existence of God — i.e., a being who is perfect — based on the fact that we all understand the concept of perfection, an understanding that would be impossible if there were no God.

I propose an alternate proof: God is the designer of archetypes. Archetypes reveal to us the conception of perfection, symmetry, harmony, and beauty. God reveals these qualities about himself as we discover the idea of perfection, symmetry, harmony, and beauty from his archetypes. Therefore, a being of perfection, symmetry, harmony, and beauty must exist — i.e., God must of necessity exist.

The first platform of knowledge

Based upon the root words in Greek, the word "archetype" seems to refer to the stamp that was used to impress an image on a coin or to impress a seal of authority on paper. An Archbishop had a ring with which he could press a mark on a document to show his imprimatur of approval and authorization. It is his signification that the document is official and authentic. Thus, the word in Greek can mean a design prototype, a means of creation, as in pressing an image on a coin, or an imprimatur of authority.

As soon as the word passed from Greek and Latin into English, it quickly took on natural law connotations. The idea of a design prototype is what interested Bacon and Locke. Bacon in 1605 saw the archetypes as the "first platform of knowledge." Locke in 1695 claimed "real knowledge" is based upon a "foundation" that in turn is based upon archetypes.

Natural law was one of many topics Locke wrote about. His seminal political philosophy of human rights was grounded in natural law. That philosophy was the rationale for the "glorious revolution" in England (1688) and for the English and American Bill of Rights. The American founders were steeped in Locke's political philosophy.

Like the Romans, Englishmen began to have a facility for archetypes. Fifty years after Locke wrote about real knowledge through archetypes, England had become the richest, most powerful, and most technically advanced nation in the world. By 1900, Great Britain under Queen Victoria ruled a third of the world's people and a third of the world's land. Is there a connection between the rise of empires and the knowledge of natural law archetypes? I hope to consider this question in another essay.

Archetypes are snippets from God's design schematic. How did Bacon and Locke know about archetypes? It must have been a combination of innate knowledge and following the clues God left in the Creation. Does God tease and tantalize us with these clues? Yes indeed!

How is design connected with natural law?

We are still skimming the surface, because there is a difference between design and natural law. We can recognize design at a glance, but must dig for natural law. However, we know with confidence and cannot doubt that there is a natural law because there is design.

Look at a skyscraper. Instantly you recognize and cannot doubt that it was designed by an architect. This immediate understanding leads you to infer that the design was developed from orderly and rational principles. If you looked at the architect's design schematic (which used to take the form of blueprints) you would recognize a complicated and orderly design, but you might not grasp the principles behind the design. You might study the schematic for a long time and only figure out only a few of the principles. You might miss most of the important principles. Yet it would be impossible for you to doubt that the schematic was orderly and based upon rational principles.

Suppose you could stand with the architect with the schematic laid out before you both. He could easily point to principles that you had missed in your own examination. He could correct principles you had misunderstood. Some of these principles he could help you to understand. Some of the principles would remain beyond your grasp in spite of the architect's best efforts to explain — until you read special books or went to special classes.

The principles behind the schematic are like the natural laws that lie behind God's designs for nature. Some we can infer from the design. Some can be explained to us — and we can sometimes understand the explanation and sometimes not. Some of our false presumptions can be corrected. And some principles will remain beyond our grasp until we stand side by side with the Great Architect in glory, and he rolls out the grand schematic before us and explains the natural laws running like threads throughout his design for the world.

Designs have rules

All designs come with rules. If you buy an appliance from store, it always comes with instructions for correct and incorrect use of the product. There must be rules for correct and incorrect use of a designed product. In the case of a designed being like man, there must be rules for right and wrong living. The rules can take the form of a code of ethics or a universal moral law.

It is no accident that I was able to build a code of ethics from archetypes. Aristotle did the same thing in his Nicomachean Ethics, a work full of natural law principles. Aristotle's ethics probably has had a more powerful effect on Western culture than any other classical work. Everyone who has studied law or professional ethics had learned some of Aristotle's ethical principles.

The low-hanging grapes

What then are the low-hanging grapes of natural law we can reach through reason?

We can discern when something has been designed, when something has not been designed, and whether something is contrary to a design. Little by little, we can discover archetypes. We can discern if an archetype is applied in accord with excellence or if it is used in an inappropriate or mediocre way. We can be inspired to seek excellence from archetypes.

We can sense some qualities of God's excellence and perfection from archetypes. We can learn ethical and moral rules from archetypes.

Sometimes amid the low-hanging grapes, we can discern a natural law principle or two. But very often, such principles will be beyond our grasp. These are the higher grapes pertaining to things among God's works that are "past finding out." Humbly leave these things to God. As lowly finite beings, there is far more that is beyond our grasp than there is within our grasp. This is the realization that shocked and humbled Aquinas at the end of his life.

© Fred Hutchison

RenewAmerica analyst Fred Hutchison also writes a column for RenewAmerica.

Why it is good to refrain from watching to much TV and Movies making sure you feeding yourself with the real food of the Gospel

2009-06-26T00:20:00.000-07:00

1 Corinthians 6:12
Everything is permissible (allowable and lawful) for me; but not all things are helpful (good for me to do, expedient and profitable when considered with other things). Everything is lawful for me, but I will not become the slave of anything or be brought under its power.

Sometimes we get way too caught up in the worlds business with work, play, and or come home and watch the toob as basically normal families of today do. It is usually a routine for some of us. We all been doing it since TV and movies were invented in our aeon but of course now TV doesn't leave much to the naked eye so to speak. Immorality has infiltrated and is trying to make perverts of us all. But that is a different subject.

Just thought I would post this article by John Piper for OUR edification. It is not that I do not watch TV in which I do, But a question was asked in response of this to John Piper and I liked Pipers answer so I thought I would share it for those who like to still read and maybe some will go to Desiring GOD to learn more from this wonderful man who loves GOD and it truly shows. HE is one of my favorites and heroes.

RW

Why I Don’t Have a Television and Rarely Go to Movies

June 25, 2009
By John Piper

Read

this article on our website.

Now that the video of the Q&A

at Advance 09 is available, I can look at it and feel bad all over again. Here’s what I regret, indeed what I have apologized for to the person who asked the question.

The first question to me and Mark Driscoll was, “Piper says get rid of my TV, and Driscoll says buy extra DVRs. How do you reconcile this difference?”

I responded, “Get your sources right. . . . I never said that in my life.”

Almost as soon as it was out of my mouth, I felt: “What a jerk, Piper!” A jerk is a person who nitpicks about the way a question is worded rather than taking the opportunity to address the issue in a serious way. I blew it at multiple levels.

So I was very glad when the person who asked the question wrote to me. I wrote back,

Be totally relieved that YOU did not ask a bad question. I gave a useless and unhelpful, and I think snide, answer and missed a GOLDEN opportunity to make plain the dangers of the triviality you referred to. . . . I don’t know why I snapped about the wording of the question instead of using it for what it was intended for. It was foolish and I think sinful.

So let me see if I can do better now. I can’t give an answer for what Mark means by “buy extra DVRs,” but I can tell you why my advice sounds different. I suspect that Mark and I would not agree on the degree to which the average pastor needs to be movie-savvy in order to be relevant, and the degree to which we should expose ourselves to the world’s entertainment.

I think relevance in preaching hangs very little on watching movies, and I think that much exposure to sensuality, banality, and God-absent entertainment does more to deaden our capacities for joy in Jesus than it does to make us spiritually powerful in the lives of the living dead. Sources of spiritual power—which are what we desperately need—are not in the cinema. You will not want your biographer to write: Prick him and he bleeds movies.

If you want to be relevant, say, for prostitutes, don’t watch a movie with a lot of tumbles in a brothel. Immerse yourself in the gospel, which is tailor-made for prostitutes; then watch Jesus deal with them in the Bible; then go find a prostitute and talk to her. Listen to her, not the movie. Being entertained by sin does not increase compassion for sinners.

There are, perhaps, a few extraordinary men who can watch action-packed, suspenseful, sexually explicit films and come away more godly. But there are not many. And I am certainly not one of them.

I have a high tolerance for violence, high tolerance for bad language, and zero tolerance for nudity. There is a reason for these differences. The violence is make-believe. They don’t really mean those bad words. But that lady is really naked, and I am really watching. And somewhere she has a brokenhearted father.

I’ll put it bluntly. The only nude female body a guy should ever lay his eyes on is his wife’s. The few exceptions include doctors, morticians, and fathers changing diapers. “I have made a covenant with my eyes; how then could I gaze at a virgin?” (Job 31:1). What the eyes see really matters. “Everyone who looks at a woman to desire her has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:28). Better to gouge your eye than go to hell (verse 29).

Brothers, that is serious. Really serious. Jesus is violent about this. What we do with our eyes can damn us. One reason is that it is virtually impossible to transition from being entertained by nudity to an act of “beholding the glory of the Lord.” But this means the entire Christian life is threatened by the deadening effects of sexual titillation.

All Christ-exalting transformation comes from “beholding the glory of Christ.” “Beholding the glory of the Lord, [we] are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another” (2 Corinthians 3:18). Whatever dulls the eyes of our mind from seeing Christ powerfully and purely is destroying us. There is not one man in a thousand whose spiritual eyes are more readily moved by the beauty of Christ because he has just seen a bare breast with his buddies.

But leave sex aside (as if that were possible for fifteen minutes on TV). It’s the unremitting triviality that makes television so deadly. What we desperately need is help to enlarge our capacities to be moved by the immeasurable glories of Christ. Television takes us almost constantly in the opposite direction, lowering, shrinking, and deadening our capacities for worshiping Christ.

One more smaller concern with TV (besides its addictive tendencies, trivialization of life, and deadening effects): It takes time. I have so many things I want to accomplish in this one short life. Don’t waste your life is not a catchphrase for me; it’s a cliff I walk beside every day with trembling.

TV consumes more and more time for those who get used to watching it. You start to feel like it belongs. You wonder how you could get along without it. I am jealous for my evenings. There are so many things in life I want to accomplish. I simply could not do what I do if I watched television. So we have never had a TV in 40 years of marriage (except in Germany, to help learn the language). I don’t regret it.

Sorry again, for the bad answer. I hope this helps.

Pastor John

The Lion Roars.

2009-06-11T00:07:00.000-07:00

A little Bit of TRUTH in a song sent by my friend and sister SUZ.

I thought of you when I read this! ;D

The Lion Roars :lionking)

Spoken; The earth shakes
As the Lion roars
Out of Zion
We hear the sound
Of Jesus roaring
Calling to the nations
Come unto me
I will lead you through the jungle
You do not have to fear
For I am King of the jungle
I am King of the nations
I am King over all the earth
Chorus:
Listen to the sounds
Listen to the sounds
Listen to the sounds of the jungle x2
As the King declares his dominion
Listen as he cries out for his people
Listen as he roars a song of love
To the nations

Do you hear him roar
Do you feel the earth shake
Do you see him standing on the mountain
Do you feel his heart
As it breaks
For the nations
With one breath he shakes the heavens
With one touch he causes healing
With one word he brings deliverance
Listen to the sounds He's revealing
Verse 2:
Yes I hear him roar
I feel the earth shake
I see him standing on the mountain
I can feel his heart as it breaks
For the nations
We proclaim that you are King
We guard Your territory
We overcome as we sing
See him standing in His glory
Repeat chorus
Copyright 2006 Kelly Nutt

The (VIDEO) Criminalization of Christianity? Governments really do hate the Truth.

2009-05-21T22:51:00.000-07:00

Funny thing is the immoral will never ever be able to stop GOD's Word or those speaking against them ever. GOD always has the Final say doesn't HE. And still they so desperately try so they can continue to justify their guilt. It is like the story of Moses and the bronze snake. Many people were being bitten by snakes because of curse of sin and some were dying, so GOD told Moses to make a golden snake, put it on a staff and GOD said that anyone truly wanted to be healed and saved all they had to do was LOOK AT THE SNAKE and they would be healed and saved.BUT immoralist's will not look to the TRUTH and the TRUTH will save them if all they had to do is believe. They can be changed. All their sinful desires will be removed. GOD will make them knew.
Anyway still they try to end free speech because they do not want to be reminded of the TRUTH and Here below is the video that shows this. They may be able to try to stop the TRUTH but they can never ever change it.

RW

Thousands of years of pessimism, same old scenario.

2009-05-02T18:00:00.000-07:00

Thousands of years of pessimism, same old scenario.

Ecclesiastes 1:9
The thing that has been--it is what will be again, and that which has been done is that which will be done again; and there is nothing new under the sun.

Common sense I believe is totally GOD given when we become newly born from above (born again) and HIS entering our hearts and setting up HIS throne HE begins to mortify all the wretchedness of the old man in our mind and with old ways of thinking we so ever held or hold on to this day to the present and on to our future. When we start abiding in Christ all what we ever believed before becomes next to nil and HE prunes into us HIS world view (John 15).
It still comes to mind the varied generations of the Church's rise to pessimism throughout the last two thousand years concerning the end times and each generation had similar pessimistic fears that ruled the Church's mindset over the Glory of GOD and the supremacy of Christ which should be our full attention now never worrying about what is to come. And still we have this to this very day in ever confusing circumstances that continue to divide the church. IS GOD the author of eschatological confusion? Common sense and HIS Word say a big NO!
Look at all the 15 end times views that have continued to divide. IS this division supposed to be what the BODY is called to be?? Does Christ our KING tell us to be Pessimist's?Huh Are we to look ahead to prophecy or does prophecy reveal HIS edification for our own good to help us through each day?

Isa 46:9-10
9[Earnestly] remember the former things, [which I did] of old; for I am God, and there is no one else; I am God, and there is none like Me,
10Declaring the end and the result from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure and purpose...

With all this Worry about the future, why is it that we worry about what is to possess our Societies? Do we not know that GOD is in control of it ALL??? Will HE not prepare HIS own Flock personally and individually?? Are we supposed to fear what is to come???
These questions are easily answer by HIS Word with much OPTIMISM. And here we sit by daily ever watching but really what are we watching for??? IS HE not in us and doesn't HE call us to Himself NOW? Are we not to walk in HIM daily enjoying the Joy of the LORD now, teaching one another, edifying one another, talking about the Glories of GOD over all that stands in the way?? Since when were Christian ever told to be pessimists. Since when are we to worry about what is to come?
Will not GOD make US ready since We are HIS and no one can snatch US out of HIS hand?TODAY is the day of salvation, tomorrow is NEVER guaranteed remember. Life is but a vapor. James says. Grin

Matthew 6:34
So do not worry or be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will have worries and anxieties of its own. Sufficient for each day is its own trouble.

So with all this BAD news like especially this Pork flu scare, the economy, liberal mental government disorder trying to ruin the world and America, this whole harlot and beast system, and whatever comes our way like the fairness doctrine to silence Forums, talk radio, internet blogs etc. with the same sex marriage and abortion attacks of those still condemned in their sins, DO not allow yourself to fall into the pessimism traps being set by the enemy to distract you even if it is an antichrist which are all over the place working 24 hours a day to oppose its rebellion.These things have been happening for many millennia in similar situations each having its own tribulation in our flock in each nation, each city state, each town or village. These are the reminders that there is nothing new ever under the sun. There is no scenario that is different. When Solomon says there is nothing new under the sun, that is what it means plain and simple, nothing new under the sun. None of these things should be that distracting anymore because we have the Spirit of Christ in us daily mortifying our flesh and making us new (Romans 8:13).

What is so compelling about the end of the world when being in Christ now is the end of our flesh and that HIS light is ever so shining in us and making us new daily. Are not these things more important and a much better testimony? I pray we have lost our way from this ever so being pessimistic about the perilous times that we think are coming when they have been already here are surrounding us daily since we entered into this sinful world. And now that we have been called, elected, born again and saved having mortification of our flesh being subdued to which is the greatest gift of prophecy ever to be fulfilled. ;D Pessismism should never be in our way for we are the SALT OF THE EARTH. Will you let it lose it's savor?

Hebrews 12:2
Looking away [from all that will distract] to Jesus, Who is the Leader and the Source of our faith [giving the first incentive for our belief] and is also its Finisher [bringing it to maturity and perfection]. He, for the joy [of obtaining the prize] that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising and ignoring the shame, and is now seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

We are the salt of the earth and we are called just to stand firm, warn, and proclaim Christ when the time is called to stand against the World and its Harlot-ed beast system when it tries to gain its hold to no ever avail and that is now in the present. We should always be confident that the LORD SITS on HIS throne now and rules. What is happening daily is supposed to happen and is of HIS wonderful Divine will. HE is Sovereign. Just keep your full eyes on HIM and all the other worries of prophecy will tend to be silenced because you are already seated with HIM now and from now on will be when HE calls you and I home from our cursed bodies into our new ones. ;D

This is what the martyrs were exited about. Oh to have faith like them.

Just something to pass on for edification so Christ JESUS can be all your satisfaction alone now till our end of time.

Colossians 3:2
And set your minds and keep them set on what is above (the higher things), not on the things that are on the earth.

Letting Christ be my all in all above all things and passing on HIS love through me to you all.

RW

Lions roar changing format a little.

2009-04-18T17:08:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone and always thank you ALL for your encouragement, discussions, prayers, and most importantly especially reading my opinions as well as my warnings these last few years at Lions roar. I know I have been maybe a little to political as well and I know my harshness in Truth seems maybe way out but all in all truth always must be told as truth exists in reality. Truth must cut to the joints and marrow and we must face what is always uncomfortable because as you know the closer you get to Christ JESUS and the Supremacy of GOD the harder our walk truly gets.

At Lions Roar I set out to be an alarm to actually alarm the world and Roar to the Christian to wake up out of their slumber because the time is always at hand meaning that Today is the day of salvation and it is time to stop living for yourself and start living in and for Christ. Our life should be surrounded by HIM alone because in HIM alone is OUR redemption, salvation, and how are we to neglect such a satisfying GOD who will and does satisfy us in everything. HE is the center of our life and we will fully enjoy HIM forever. This is mankinds whole duty and chief end, to be satisfied in GOD and to FULLY enjoy HIM forever.

But as the Lions roar is changing it s format a little, I want to mostly let my new BLOG website http://americanmoralliberty.blogspot.com/ deal with all the political issues and for Lions roar to deal with the apostasy, apologetic's, and soundness and what is happening in the church to be the focus because it is very important to sharpen IRON with each other to iron our the differences and confusions. We must HAVE UNITY in the bODY of Christ in all things. There is no room for AGREEING TO DISAGREE.
And if that statement is BIBLICAL to "agree to disagree" Then please show the Scripture that backs that terminology up, anyone????

We must be one in mind, body, and Spirit allowing the teachings of CHRIST JESUS who is the WORD alone be our focus in unity. Even though we are unique in creation as GOD made us we should never be divided on any Biblical issue.

1 Corinthians 12:25
So that there should be no division or discord or lack of adaptation [of the parts of the body to each other], but the members all alike should have a mutual interest in and care for one another.

This is my goal here to end denomination and individual church charter in our BODY.
WE HAVE BEEN DIVIDED FOR TWO LONG and that is how OUR enemy infiltrates. It is depressing to witness denominations NEVER coming together as ONE BODY in Christ that Scriptural differences has divided and added confusion to our BODY to keep US divided. DID JESUS PROCLAIM TO BE IN DENOMINATION DIVISIONS? (Read Rev 1-3) The Early Church fathers never left us with this idea. The Reformers new this was a plague in the body so they always set up round table talks in their beginnings and ministry to IRON out the differences of doctrine to bring US all back to the APOSTLES CREED which was our beginning and statement of faith. DIVE into the deep of Church history from the beginning to see what the Martyr's stood and lost their lives for with JOY.

The Apostles' Creed
(as usually recited today)

The basic creed of Reformed churches, as most familiarly known, is called the Apostles' Creed. It has received this title because of its great antiquity; it dates from very early times in the Church, a half century or so from the last writings of the New Testament.

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
the Maker of heaven and earth,
and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord:

Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost,
born of the virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, dead, and buried;

He descended into hell. [See Calvin, Luther, the Puritans, John Piper, Dan Weidenhof etc.]

The third day He arose again from the dead;

He ascended into heaven,
and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty;
from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Ghost;
the holy (universal) catholic church; (not RCC)
the communion of saints;
the forgiveness of sins;
the resurrection of the body;
and the life everlasting.

Amen.

So here is the CREED of our BODY in CHRIST.

Anything teaching that steps outside of Sola Gratis, Sola Fide, Sola Christos, Sola Scriptura and Sola Deos Gloria is for the most part another gospel according to the Reformers and the Early church and all who are serious about TRUTH. ( See Against Heresies by Irenaus, and Augustine on Christian Doctrine for further study).

Yes the have the Nicene creed and the Chalcedon additions but all in all the Apostles Creed is the universal one we recognize together without argument.(see on my menus on the side of the blog on the Larger Catechism)

So reader if you want the warnings of the political nature compared to the Gospel go to my American Moral Liberties site for those warnings and disputes which is where that belongs for political discussions challenged by Scripture. For LIONS ROAR the edification and table talk to come together in all sound doctrine letting Scripture be Scripture alone.

Thank you all for your support prayers and encouragements.

RW

Does the Media and Hollywood want Americans to be perverts?

2009-04-01T16:03:00.000-07:00

Proverbs 3:32
For the perverse are an abomination [extremely disgusting and detestable] to the Lord; but His confidential communion and secret counsel are with the [uncompromisingly] righteous (those who are upright and in right standing with Him).

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Does mankind actually remember history and the historic accounts of fallen societies or has immorality once again blinded their eyes to this fact that immoral societies always wind up in swift destruction? It is in fact ONCE AGAIN we are repeating history over and over every generation and soon these seasons will come to its judgment.Once again like Babylon, Medo-Persia Greece, Rome, and every other immoral societies, immorality will bring every immoral acceptable nation to their knees and ALL will come to terms with AGAIN a HOLY GOD.

Philippians 2:10-11
That in (at) the name of Jesus every knee [g]should (must) bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
And every tongue [[h]frankly and openly] confess and acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Television, movies, plays, magazines, newspapers, and a more atrocious fact that is beyond all reasoning, even education are all subjected to all forms of immorality whatever way they can produce it and they continue their arsenal force feeding their nefarious appetites on all the public 24 hours a day. Of course most Americans are subjected to these antics every day being desensitized to all the immorality that surrounds our societies. The sick fact is that the entertainment industry enjoys force feeding their immorality to the masses while they rake in the dough of mammon ever laughing all the way to the bank. Every time you turn on the Television to whatever 1000 or so channels they have there is either an advertisement about "male enhancement, a Alcohol commercial with scantily cladding women in Temple prostitute array to sell liver damage, A Birth control drug that causes much complications for women medically, And Television sitcoms and action drama of all kinds of covetousness, lust, greed, thrill killing etc etc. Movie as well are a mass contribution to vulgarity in speech, and of the same natures of the above of all forms of immorality. Pornography is becoming more and more subtle in regular viewing that if that SICK and sewer filled industry is not held accountable to the point of destruction then the massive perversion will continue to grow ever slithering its sewer filled ways ever increasing the impact of all rape, molestations, domestic violence, and whatever more sick and disgusting things immoral serial perverts continue to do in our society.

It amazes myself as to how so many persons simply allow these perversion to continue in their hearts never realizing just how abominable perversion really is. It is no wonder SAME SEX relationships and acceptance of this perversion continues to force its way declaring normalcy and equality when it is factually perversion of nature. And if you expose the sinful lifestyle to what it really is you are called a "hate monger" or the ludicrous ever definition a "homophobe". That really is not truly a word or a definition that means anything. It is just a label for those that try to justify themselves and their sinful antics by striking out against those that oppose their sinful ways.

Psalm 11:2
For see, the wicked are bending the bow; they make ready their arrow upon the string, that they [furtively] in darkness may shoot at the upright in heart.

But the perversion still continues on and in our media it continues to be supported. It is amazing as to how much our media continues to be controlled by the very perversions of society that are outright in destroying America's foundations our Fore Fathers tried so hard to keep alive and grant it to generations. We can't even trust our MEDIA anymore. WHAT HAPPENED TO THAT FOURTH BRANCH OF GOVERNMENT FOR A MORAL PRESS TO KEEP OUR GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABLE TO OUR CREATOR AND FELLOW MAN?

We have a Nations Capital full of many supporters of perversion in Congress. We have elected officials of this very nature opposed to GOD's laws and in support of immorality of all forms. SEE WHY WE ARE HAVING AN ECONOMIC CRISES AS WELL AS A SOCIETY HEADED FOR SOCIAL PACIFIST LIKE FASCISM? We must not ignore this very fact that this is Immorality run amuck and WE THE PEOPLE forgot about GOD and Country. HAVE YOU READ THE CONSTITUTION, THE BILL OF RIGHTS AND THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE LATELY?

"Liberty has never lasted long in a democracy, nor has it ever ended in anything better than despotism." Fisher Ames, Representative United States Congress (1758-1808)

THIS QUOTE IS BASICALLY BECAUSE OF ALLOWING IMMORALITY TO BE ACCEPTABLE GET IT AND WHEN IMMORALITY BECOMES THE NORM SOCIETY FALLS INTO DESPOTISM WHETHER RELIGIOUS OR SECULAR?

Now writing an article or blog as this will make many in their sinful lifestyles terribly angry because it exposes their sin and it is a hard fact to see what we really are when we a lost in sin. We are too gruesome to the world and to ourselves in that moment of clarity. We are in a condemned state already and to witness this terribly ruins our fantasies and imaginations. We do not want to truly see our sinfulness for what it really is.

America is falling by the wayside because our Government is so out of Immoral control that it is no wonder all this is happening. And we continue to be bombarded by television, certain radio, movies even some things on the internet of perversions of all kinds. AMERICAN do you see all the perversion happening around you? Do you see the antics by the entertainment industries that continue to force feed Americans with the filthy perversions that leads to destruction?

Psalm 12:8
The wicked walk or prowl about on every side, as vileness is exalted [and baseness is rated high] among the sons of men.

The time is now to sensitize ourselves to this fact of this perverted industry that continues to force feed immorality to the public. We need to make a stand against this industry as well and holding them accountable for the perversions they allow and continue force feed all against our wills. I am not describing society to become a censorship dictating watch group but to keep immorality in its place and that is the sewers. If we actually start turning from immorality and come back to GOD maybe just maybe GOD will again Bless America again with it's national sovereignty once again that is if we all repent of our immorality and be;

ONE NATION UNDER GOD.

Psalm 32:10
Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but he who trusts in, relies on, and confidently leans on the Lord shall be compassed about with mercy and with loving-kindness.

Turn from your immorality and SEEK the LORD JESUS so you may be SAVED forever.

RW. Editor.

One hundred and Fifty TEA PARTIES and NO MEDIA COVERAGE?

2009-03-26T17:09:00.000-07:00

Are you all getting sick and tired of our two party systemized Governmental control, our immoral propagandized biased MEDIA, and the continuous silence from Washington DC on moral issues and protecting the US Constitution?

One hundred and fifty TEA parties are going on across the Nation and not really any true MEDIA coverage of public outrage nor is there ANY Government response except more TELEPROMPT LIES? Why oh why do we have to continue to witness these immoral atrocities blatantly ever forcing themselves in our country? GOD PLEASE HAVE MERCY ON US AND EXPOSE THE WICKED.

RW

SURFIN' SAFARI
Where's media for tea party event?
Exclusive: Andrea Shea King says reporters missing assembly of 5,000
Posted: March 23, 2009
7:14 pm Eastern

By Andrea Shea King
© 2009 WorldNetDaily

Saturday's Tea Party in Orlando, Fla., was by all measures a huge success, attracting an estimated 5,000 to 6,000 Central Floridians, according to event organizer Lisa Feroli.

I was a featured speaker – if you'd like to read my remarks, they are available here.

And for a comprehensive look at the crowd, the signs – and they were creative! – head here.

Entertainer Lloyd Marcus debuted his "American Tea Party Anthem" which rocked the Orlando crowd. Ever since WorldNetDaily reported on this anthem, Marcus has been invited to perform it at Tea Parties from coast to coast.

The media's abysmal interest was matched only by Florida's politicians, none of whom showed up despite receiving personal invitations from Tea Party organizers.

Tea Parties also were brewing this past weekend in Raleigh, N.C., Lexington, Ky., and Ridgefield, Ct.

Hundreds more Tea Parties are planned for April 15.

This is your online HQ for the Nationwide Tax Day Tea Party Rallies. The Tax Day Tea Party is a national collaborative grassroots effort organized by Smart Girl Politics, Top Conservatives on Twitter, and the DontGo Movement as well as others.

We the People

We the People Stimulus Package, a video posted on You Tube March 13, has gone viral, appearing on websites all over the Internet. In one week, it had been viewed more than 222,000 times. Produced by "funbobbasso," the vid portrays an actor dressed in the colonial garb of Thomas Paine, admonishing Americans to deal with a Congress that is ignoring our Constitution. As one video commenter noted: "This is fantastic... I only hope enough people take the time to listen, and then become as mad as me. I am mad as hell, and I won't take it anymore."

An earlier video produced by "funbobbasso" and posted last July, titled "The Second American Revolution," received more than two and a half million views.

Mr. Prompter?

It mysteriously appeared after radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh began referring to Obama's teleprompter in the third person. A blogsite purporting to be Obama's teleprompter immediately went viral among conservative bloggers who began commenting on it and posting links to it at their sites. Barack Obama's Teleprompter Blog touts itself as "Reflections from the hard drive of the machine that enables the voice of the Leader of the Free World."

Teleprompter has also joined the league of Twitterers. Follow "Prompter" here. Be prepared to laugh because this is some of the funniest political satire on the Internet. By the way, you'll be able to see Obama's teleprompter Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET when Obama gives a televised press conference from the White House.

5000 Year Leap

"The 5000 Year Leap, a Miracle that Changed the World" is a book that comes highly recommended by Glenn Beck. This book will enhance your understanding of the unique experiment that America was in comparison to all that had preceded it. You will read the words of the founders and understand a divine providence leading to the establishment of an American nation. Take advantage of a free download of the book written by author: W. Cleon Skousen, and read by: Earl Taylor Jr.

Smart money?

StimulusWatch.org was built to help the new administration keep its pledge to invest stimulus money smartly, and to hold public officials to account for the taxpayer money they spend. This website gives citizens with local knowledge about the proposed "shovel-ready" projects in their city, the ability to find, discuss, and rate those projects. These projects are not part of the stimulus bill. They are candidates for funding by federal grant programs once the bill passes. Learn more by reading the FAQs.

Find a project that interests you, or about which you have special knowledge, and tell them what you think. You can find projects by searching or by browsing by locality or program type. Once you find a program, there are three things you can do: 1) vote on whether you believe the project is critical or not; 2) edit the project's description and points in favor or against, and 3) post a comment about the project.

All about the Fed

Here's everything you ever wanted to know about the Federal Reserve.

Congress is action

This is a list of the most-viewed bills on OpenCongress from the current 111th session. Use the "sort by" option to view the list by different timeframes and more. On each bill's page, you can view its official Congressional actions, read news and blog coverage, subscribe to RSS feeds for updates and more. "My OpenCongress" users can easily track bills, vote on bills, participate on comment boards, and more. To find bills from previous sessions, visit Search, or to see recently popular bills, visit Battle Royale.

Film we should be watching

"Blogger ThirdWave Dave came across this jewel of a video and called it "The film we should be watching." It's a black and white film that runs about 10 minutes and asks the question: Despotism or Democracy, which society do you live in? The film was originally created by Encyclopedia Britannica shortly after World War II (1945).

Check it out – it’s loaded with irony and points to the fact that some things just never change. I think you'll benefit from watching it.

Jidah camps

Pamela Geller at Atlas Shrugs blogsite does her homework and reports on matters of national and geo-political importance that the mainstream media ignore.

She has an alarming post about Jihad training camps operating right here on our soil.There are a reported 35 compounds, villages and communities inside the United States. Many are wondering why our government allows these facilities to stay open. And why the media isn't covering it. Watch and learn with this video clip from a segment of Sean Hannity's TV program.

Washington scoundrels

Here's how you can keep track of what those scoundrels in Washington are doing. GovTrack helps you keep tabs on the U.S. Congress. This site is not affiliated with the U.S. government, it is non-commercial, non-partisan, and an open source project. Follow the status of federal legislation and subscribe to RSS feeds and email updates to keep up with the latest activity in Congress. Stay on top of them with this handy little tool. It's all about making the Internet work for you.

Books, books books

We mentioned Shelfari in a previous column, but it bears repeating because there have been some new changes popping up on the bookshelf. Now there's an easier, more enjoyable way to add books to your shelf, write reviews, add ratings, find similar books and more. Build a virtual bookshelf. See what your friends are reading. Discover new books. See what the critics say. You get to be the critic by reading and reviewing your books so friends can see what you think.

Reform the American Government and get rid of ALL IMMORLIST"S and those who are purposely destroying our US CONSTITUTION. (SEE VIDEO)

2009-03-26T16:26:00.000-07:00

Psalm 82:5
[The magistrates and judges] know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in the darkness [of complacent satisfaction]; all the foundations of the earth [the fundamental principles upon which rests the administration of justice] are shaking.

'If ye love weath better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen.' Samuel Adams

(MORAL)Judge Andrew Napolitano on Natural Law and Contract Freedom

The Judge delivered a wonderful monologue near the beginning of today’s show (03/18/2009). He talks about the natural law and freedom of contract within the Constitution. He hammers the uneligble Obama administration on violating the Constitution.

It is about 4 minutes long and is embedded below for your pleasure.

IF you AGREE wit Judge Napolitano and his facts you are considered a "Domestic Terrorist" because you do not support the immoral agenda of the two party system that is factually ruining America. If you voted for Ron Paul, Bob Barr, Alan Keyes, or support and attended the TEA parties all across America that still remains unreported by our IMMORAL MEDIA, you are a enemy of the state. IF you stand for the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, THE SECOND AMENDMENT, and celebrate literally JULY 4TH and its true meaning, you are psychologically unstable in Washington DC eyes.

So WHO MUST GO? Either AMERICA you will let the IMMORALIST AND ANTI CONSTITUTIONALIST'S continue to use you as a toilet or you will stand and FIRE Washington and pray for those PUBLIC ELECTED SERVANTS that are trying to do a real CONSTITUTIONAL DIFFERENCE.

SO AMERICAN , STOP PAYING YOUR TAXES UNTIL WE HAVE A NEWLY REFORMED MORAL SYSTEM AGAIN.
That means we go back to the original plans of of our foundation and exterminate all who continue to IMMORALLY ruin our system.

But it starts with you AMERICAN. First come back to Christ Jesus to his narrow and low road, go to HIS throne and ask forgiveness for your sins, that means turn from all SELF and follow the TRUE KING who gave America to US all.

2 Chron 7:14 If My people, who are called by My name, shall humble themselves, pray, seek, crave, and require of necessity My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land.

Second, pray and MEEKLY stand and fight like peacemakers with the TRUTH keeping in consideration that those we are fighting against may turn from their sins once and for all and realize the HARM they are actually doing because of the slavery in sin.

SIN is the cause of all this immorality, this is why this is ALL happening. We forgot GOD in the USA, this is why all this is happening. You see how the two relate?

AMERICA please listen and hear what the Spirit says to you and DO not harden you hearts.

Mark the perfect [man], and behold the upright: for the end of that [man] is peace. But the transgressors shall be destroyed together: the end of the wicked shall be cut off. But the salvation of the righteous [is] of the Lord: [He is] their strength in the time of trouble. And the Lord shall help them: He shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in Him.
Psalm 37:37-40 KJV

RW

Dear Lost MANKIND.

2009-03-21T18:50:00.000-07:00

Dear lost Mankind,

How many times do THE FACTS have to prove it to you, you who continue to defile society and blatantly ignore the FACTS?

Proverbs 15:32
He who refuses and ignores instruction and correction despises himself, but he who heeds reproof gets understanding.

Why cannot you lost ones understand that you are SINNING against your very Creator and you will face HIM and give account for what you have done your whole short life whether good or whether evil when you face HIM? HE gave you a built in conscience knowing right from wrong and you are without excuse. HE says in HIS WORD your sinful perspectives are DEBASED. In fact you cannot see at all Truth or reality unless HE grants it to you.

Genesis 6:12
And God looked upon the world and saw how degenerate, debased, and vicious it was, for all humanity had corrupted their way upon the earth and lost their true direction.

AS harsh and extreme as the LIONS ROAR REPORT is keeping the blatant truth on the front lines, I plead in this letter as to you by a commissioned Call to PREACH GOD'S WORD IN SEASON AND OUT OF SEASON". I plead with you to come lost sinner and Wake up to the reality of the TRUTH. It is not relative at all or has anything to do with relativism. The Truth is not how you and I personally define it or how we interpret TRUTH but the TRUTH speaks for HIMSELF. GOD's very 100% factual Word in 66 book called the Holy Bible and this is the ONLY written account of GOD's Love letter to you and I.

John 14:6 (Amplified Bible)
Jesus said to him, I am the (only) Way and the (only) Truth and the (only) Life; no one comes to the Father except by (through) Me.

Jesus' who is the WORD alone disqualify's every other religion and philosophy that exist on the earth. There is no other way but JESUS alone. This is reality for all mankind. Everything else is selfish and superstitious and leads to eternal separation from GOD which will be a HELL and outer darkness for those who made their final decision to be their own GOD and do their own works thinking this will save them.

Your alternative lifestyle (any SELFISH lifestyle without Christ JESUS) is as well keeping you from truly seeing the TRUTH. GOD again says HE has hardened your hearts since you have chose pleasures of SIN and ignore the sounding Trumpets that Continue to blare "REPENT FOR THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS NEAR" to you consistently through your whole daily life.
Very soon the last Trumpet will sound and I also say your last Trumpet will Sound any time now that means life is but a vapor. Tomorrow is never guaranteed for you or I. Yes death comes but the second death will be forever. You can have everything living it up one minute and the next your time of departure from the earth or back into the earth comes like a thief in the night. That means the Lord comes back either way because every soul belongs to HIM and HE retrieves it.

SO,

Will you be for HIM or against HIM still? Is your lifestyle more important than our loving Creator who alone can satisfy your every need? IS yourself defying nature in your sin nature worth it? IS it more satisfying than HIS love for you? We HE came down to earth and became man did you know that HE took sin away from the world for those who trust HIM and when you seek HIM your sin becomes bare and naked exposing how wretched it really is and how much it is like fecal matter of the worst kind as are pigs in the mud? The World is passing away quickly and everything in it. The World, the flesh, and the devil are the sewer pipes that lead to the final outer darkness destinations of forever being in that state of suffering forever which is well deserved for all because there is no way that MANKIND can ever pay back what HE owes GOD. We are forever and always have been in debt to GOD. And God demands payment for our Sin against HIM. HE demands Righteous justice.
BUT Jesus made it possible for all to come to HIM if they just trust HIM alone.
He fulfilled every jot and tittle of the law for all mankind by paying the price for us, being nailed to the worst punishment and execution ever to be done to mankind.
Then HE went to death for US and died for US so we can have eternal life. HE rose again and justified us. And now as HE ascended HE sits in all power on the right hand of GOD ready for Judgment.
And yet do you still want to die in your sin? IS your sin more important than HE?

I continue to plead with you oh lost SINNER to wake up to the TRUTH. HE sits on HIS throne with all power and authority and we all must face HIM and HIS just judgement whether we follow HIM whether we do not. ALL will stand before HIM and EVERY that means EVERY KNEE WILL BOW OR BE ON THEIR FACES before HIM. WE all will know HE IS LORD of ALL and created ALL. All creation now bows before HIM and soon HE will bring swift and terrible justice. This is 100& Truth. Their is NO argument that can stand against HIM.

Do not reject the plead to you my lost friend. Come. Come. Come and be saved.

Understand just like myself you are undeserving of any grace GOD still so mercifully gives and HE continues NOW to restrain HIMSELF to what We so deserve justifiably.

Will you turn to HIM and plead for mercy? Will you leave your wicked ways to be cleansed freely because JESUS alone justifies the ungodly?

Psalm 1

1[a]BLESSED (HAPPY, fortunate, prosperous, and enviable) is the man who walks and lives not in the counsel of the ungodly [following their advice, their plans and purposes], nor stands [submissive and inactive] in the path where sinners walk, nor sits down [to relax and rest] where the scornful [and the mockers] gather.

2But his delight and desire are in the law of the Lord, and on His law (the precepts, the instructions, the teachings of God) he habitually meditates (ponders and studies) by day and by night.(A)

3And he shall be like a tree firmly planted [and tended] by the streams of water, ready to bring forth its fruit in its season; its leaf also shall not fade or wither; and everything he does shall prosper [and come to maturity].(B)

4Not so the wicked [those disobedient and living without God are not so]. But they are like the chaff [worthless, dead, without substance] which the wind drives away.

5Therefore the wicked [those disobedient and living without God] shall not stand [justified] in the judgment, nor [b]sinners in the congregation of the righteous [those who are upright and in right standing with God].

6For the Lord knows and is fully acquainted with the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly [those living outside God's will] shall perish (end in ruin and come to nought).

Choose Life eternal with the all satisfying GOD who alone can satisfy mankind. HE IS SO WORTH IT.

RW Editor.

Webster's dictionary NOW redefines 'marriage'? Now includes references to same-sex relationships? SEE VIDEO.

2009-03-21T02:08:00.000-07:00

Jer 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and it is exceedingly perverse and corrupt and severely, mortally sick! Who can know it [perceive, understand, be acquainted with his own heart and mind]?

Fraud: Any act, expression, omission, or concealment calculated to deceive another to his or her disadvantage. (Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of Law, 1996).

JER 17:13 O Lord, the Hope of Israel ( and ALL WHO BELIEVE), all who forsake You shall be put to shame. They who depart from You and me [Your prophet] shall [disappear like] writing upon the ground, because they have forsaken the Lord, the Fountain of living waters.

RW

MARRIAGE WILL AND CAN NEVER BE REDEFINED. THE SANCTITY OF MARRIAGE BELONGS "ALONE" TO MAN AND A WOMAN NO MATTER WHO TRIES TO REDEFINE IT.

2009-03-21T01:41:00.000-07:00

A CALL TO REPENTANCE TO ALL OF THOSE WITH HARDENED HEARTS CAUSED BY TOTAL DEPRAVITY TO COME AND BE SAVED FROM WHAT WILL DESTROY THEM FOREVER.

1 Corinthians 6:9-10
Do you not know that the unrighteous and the wrongdoers will not inherit or have any share in the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived (misled): neither the impure and immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor those who participate in homosexuality,

Nor cheats (swindlers and thieves), nor greedy graspers, nor drunkards, nor foulmouthed revilers and slanderers, nor extortioners and robbers will inherit or have any share in the kingdom of God.

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THIS ROARING REPORT AGAIN IS SHOWING THE TRUTH AND FACTS FROM MANKIND'S HISTORY THAT CAN NEVER BE LIED ABOUT, FALSIFIED, OE REDEFINED EVER. TO THOSE WHO CONTINUE TO FORCE SOCIETY TO ACCEPT UN-NATURAL AND IMMORAL ACTS SUCH AS SAME SEX RELATIONSHIPS OR ANY OTHER SEXUALLY IMMORAL ACTS THAT DEFY NATURE THIS LIE WILL ALWAYS REMAIN A LIE AND THEREFORE WITH GOOD CONSCIENCE CANNOT BE EVER RULED SACRED OR BE ACCEPTABLE LIBERTY.

STOP FORCING EVERYONE TO ACCEPT YOUR SIN! IT IS IMMORAL PLAIN AND SIMPLE. STOP BEING SOMETHING YOU WERE NEVER MADE TO BE AND FORCING EVERYONE TO ACCEPT WHAT IS UNNATURAL. MARRIAGE TRULY BELONGS TO MALE AND FEMALE ONLY. THIS IS TRULY NORMAL THAT MALE AND FEMALE ALONE CAN ONLY BE ONE FLESH IN SACRED MATRIMONY. THAT IS 100% SCIENTIFIC FACT AND 100% NATURAL LAW. GOD MADE ALL THESE LAWS OF NATURE SCIENTIFICALLY CORRECT.
WHAT PART OF THESE FACTS DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND?

Psalm 4:2
O you sons of men, how long will you turn my honor and glory into shame? How long will you love vanity and futility and seek after lies? Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!
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HERE IS TRUTH THAT CANNOT BE REDEFINED!

Excerpts from WND By Bob Unruh
© 2009 WorldNetDaily

A dictionary version from 1913 that has been posted online not only didn't mention same-sex "marriage," it supplemented its definition of traditional marriage with references from the Bible.

"Marriage," it said, is "the act of marrying, or the state of being married; legal union of a man and a woman for life, as husband and wife … Marriage is honorable in all. Heb. xiii.4."

It also references a quote from "Matt. xxii. 2," "The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king which made a marriage for his son."

To 1992 updated version.

THIS IS NOT OPINION, THIS IS MERE FACT. GET IT?

Recently for 2008-09 revised edition, These willfully ignorant frauds are trying to redefine GOD FEARING founder Noah Webster's historical dictionary fraudulently ascribing to what is false so they can redefine natural and scientific law by adding a deception to justify their sin.
ISN'T THAT LITERALLY CALLED FRAUD?

Fraud: Any act, expression, omission, or concealment calculated to deceive another to his or her disadvantage. (Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of Law, 1996).

OOPS. I GUESS THEY HAVE BEEN CAUGHT just by the above factual definition of "fraud" because this is another blatant action against TRUTH.
Here let me refresh your GOD GIVEN Conscience so you can actually understand and read the facts. May they actually help you out of that bondage that you have been influenced by so you can allow the LORD to break up that fallow ground in your heart and actually give you a glimspe eternal life to hopefully save you from self destruction. HE does love you and HE will love you out of this depravity if you are willing to be saved.

1. ALL SEXUAL IMMORALITY IS SIN AND IT ONLY LEADS TO DESTRUCTION FIRST AND THEN DEATH.
2. ALL SIN WILL BE PUNISHED BY OUR RIGHTEOUS AND JUST CREATOR.

Romans 12:19
Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave the way open for [God's] wrath; for it is written, Vengeance is Mine, I will repay (requite), says the Lord.

HE WILL REPAY.

Revelation 21:8 (Amplified Bible)

8But as for the cowards and the ignoble and the contemptible and the cravenly lacking in courage and the cowardly submissive, and as for the unbelieving and faithless, and as for the depraved and defiled with abominations, and as for murderers and the lewd and adulterous and the practicers of magic arts and the idolaters (those who give supreme devotion to anyone or anything other than God) and all liars (those who knowingly convey untruth by word or deed)--[all of these shall have] their part in the lake that blazes with fire and brimstone. This is the second death.

Zephaniah 2:2
[The time for repentance is speeding by like chaff whirled before the wind!] Therefore consider, before God's decree brings forth [the curse upon you], before the time [to repent] is gone like the drifting chaff, before the fierce anger of the Lord comes upon you--yes, before the day of the wrath of the Lord comes upon you!

Matthew 9:13
Go and learn what this means: I desire mercy [that is, readiness to help those in trouble] and not sacrifice and sacrificial victims. For I came not to call and invite [to repentance] the righteous (those who are upright and in right standing with God), but sinners (the erring ones and all those not free from sin).

I pray this ALARM wakes you up lost reader like it did my depraved self and come to the fulfillment and satisfaction of your souls. JESUS. Christ Jesus alone.
ONLY GOD can satisfy your every need.

Matthew 5:6
Blessed and fortunate and happy and spiritually prosperous (in that state in which the born-again child of God enjoys His favor and salvation) are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness (uprightness and right standing with God), for they shall be completely satisfied!

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ARE you an enemy of the State if you support the US Constitution and your Rights created by GOD through our Founding Fathers?

2009-03-19T15:37:00.000-07:00

“A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government.” -Edward Abbey

Of all the ungodly, ludicrous, and mere madness statements I have ever heard in my life as a GOD fearing American who loves his country is the recent reported hit list our SAD Nanny Federal Government has brought to our attention just recently against all those who are for our Constitution, our Bill of Rights, preserving our freedom, and all who stand with this very statement;

"We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America".(Preamble to the US Constitution)

Yes American, if you believe this preamble, you are a domestic terrorist now and I am not kidding. Oh our Washington DC officials may say that as to what I am claiming I am out of my mind and they will deny or lie about this truth, use media to create more jabber wacky but this is part of the list in other words on their newest hit list. (You can see the hit list on Glennbeck.com)

Even I, a GOD FEARING Spoiled American, who loves GOD and country (let myself repeat it again), its founders and most of all, all the hero's who preserved liberty from tyrannical and monarchical fascist regimes who lost their lives so I can have a MORALLY GODLY Republic Constitutional system depending on GOD and the Government to ONLY defend that right. THAT MEANS LAND OF THE FREE HOME OF THE BRAVE. ALL MORAL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL WITH EQUAL UNALIENABLE RIGHTS NOT TO BE INFRINGED.
GOVERNMENT IS TO SERVE THE PEOPLE not to CONTROL THEM GET IT! That is the FOUNDATION of our AMERICAN HISTORY.

SO as I am writing this I now possibly belong in the category on their hit list of a "radical conspirator", "Domestic terrorist", or "enemy of the state" and so are you if you believe in the US Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the Declaration of Independence, Second amendment rights and speaking our TRUTH to our Nation to keep it free from Tyrannicide by persons who are perversely in bondage to Power, keeping their wealth, and other more perverted selfish motives they try to keep hidden as these enemies with smiling faces continue to do. Does anybody Teach American History correctly anymore? That means you are a nut job that the NANNY STATE cannot control and you are not going with their immoral flow so you are labeled a DOMESTIC TERRORIST because you believe in your American heritage save a few blunders in history?

Of all the absurd accusations I have ever heard in this country, this is right up there with the greatest blunders of political history ever recorded and WE must have a HALL OF SHAME for all those NANNY STATE politicians from our past to today who needs to be always remembered for their outlandish and amazing illogical head scratching immoral positions ever to enter into a BILL for Congress to observe and vote on in history. Here is a suggestion, look for all the immoral tolerated Bills that went into Congress in the past 100 years that have brought us here to this point in time. YES they all are really that whacked. You see what SIN does to mankind?

Truly Washington DC needs to be FIRED. That is defined by "get everyone and I mean EVERYONE out of office that WILL NOT ADHERE TO THE MORAL FOUNDATIONS OUR FORE FATHERS CREATED TO KEEP THIS COUNTRY FREE FROM PERVERSE PERSONS WHO WILL DO ANYTHING TO KEEP THEIR PLEASURE OF SIN SUCH AS THEM WHO CONTINUE TO HACK AWAY AT OUR MORAL FOUNDATION. And it is very SAD since Obama's election as to how many persons IN OFFICE and GOVERNMENT including our President and all those in the two party SYSTEM have been suspected of corruption in one way or another. And doesn't it seem they are paying so much tax payer money to have the media and the judicial system bury these accusations because they may be true? Wow and they passed both stimulus packages within 6 months or so I wonder where the money truly went save the right offs?

Job 9:24
When a land falls into the hands of the wicked, he blindfolds its judges. If it is not he, then who is it?

SO standing up and speaking out against unrighteousness does not make any GOD fearing American who "holds these moral truths to be self evident" a domestic terrorist. In fact the true domestic terrorist's are obviously those in Washington DC who are trying to ruin, spit, burn, ignore, destroy, cover up and whatever other deception they can come up with so they can have OUR country under their control at all cost. "WE THE PEOPLE" are their enemies. Do you now see this is why Obama and other Two party immoralist's are doing other out of character town hall meetings, propagandized NEWS spots and entertainment talk shows, and wherever else they can scheme the public opinion to continue to try to fool America from the TRUTH and to increase poll ratings and popularity while our country seem to be sliding down the Socialistic agendas and they know all about it? It is amazing they do not see their own demise or do they? How long will it take for them to realize they are wearing no clothes so to speak? And still we are their enemies because we want to preserve our Constitutional Rights?

Job 31:3
Is it not ruin for the wicked, disaster for those who do wrong?

So if I and all those who oppose and expose their immorality for what it is are considered enemies or the now new extreme label "Domestic terrorist", it is because they are a threat to our Life, Freedom, Liberty, and pursuit of blessedness then yes call me an enemy too of the disguised tyrannic nanny state that has seemed to invade US with the stench of all things immoral that opposes my countries GODLY foundations of freedom UNDER GOD. IT is "they" not "WE" who has brought US into this political madness with all the stench of immoral practices And "WE THE PEOPLE" will take our Country back if the LORD JESUS is willing to let it be so.

YES American HISTORY IS REPEATING ITSELF AGAIN.

SO American if you side with the Fore Fathers and GOD's Righteousness, you are now labeled their enemy. NO stimulus money for you.

"Liberty cannot be preserved without a general knowledge among the people, who have a right ... and a desire to know; but besides this, they have a right, an indisputable, unalienable, indefeasible, divine right to that most dreaded and envied kind of knowledge, I mean the characters and conduct of their rulers."
John Adams, second President of the United States

Psalm 1:6
For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

RW

But where says some is the King of America? I'll tell you Friend, he reigns above, and doth not make havoc of mankind like the Royal Brute of Britain. Yet that we may not appear to be defective even in earthly honors, let a day be solemnly set apart for proclaiming the charter; let it be brought forth placed on the divine law, the word of God; let a crown be placed thereon, by which the world may know, that so far as we approve as monarchy, that in America THE LAW IS KING. For as in absolute governments the King is law, so in free countries the law ought to be King; and there ought to be no other. But lest any ill use should afterwards arise, let the crown at the conclusion of the ceremony be demolished, and scattered among the people whose right it is. (From Common Sense by Thomas Paine).
SEE HERE AND READ. THIS IS IMPORTANT. http://www.ushistory.org/paine/commonsense/singlehtml.htm

2 Chron 7:14 If My people, who are called by My name, shall humble themselves, pray, seek, crave, and require of necessity My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land.

AMERICAN, STOP PAYING YOUR TAXES UNTIL.............

2009-03-06T16:05:00.000-08:00

America stop paying your taxes until.......

Ezra 4:13
13 Furthermore, the king should know that if this city is built and its walls are restored, no more taxes, tribute or duty will be paid, and the royal revenues will suffer.

Dear Moral American,

As I know God's Word says in the NT of Romans 13 to obey your government because it is controlled by God no matter what the hesitant case, but I do urge every American to just stop paying all forms of taxes until we can get OUR States and Country back in ECONOMIC and MORAL order again THAT IS TO LOVE MORAL LAW ONCE AGAIN and to hate all forms of IMMORALITY. STOP PAYING FOR IMMORAL PRACTICES. WHEN THEY START DOING THIS THEN WE CAN VOLUNTEER AGAIN TO PAY TAXES. Hence volunteer GET IT? If you TRUST GOD you have no worry if WE do this. Instead you can use your tax money and give to the needy instead of greedy Government officials and all those special interest who oppose our GOD given rights and what America used to stand for. GET IT! USED TO STAND FOR?
What better to give then to the needy and to take care of what you need to.

First we must stop paying taxes for other peoples crimes and misuse of Government of the People's funds get it? BY doing this we can pay of the national debt and send the greedy politicians running for another job. They so desperately need to be FIRED and ousted very seriously. This will be our peaceful Coup de ta. Our Judicial system as well needs to be reformed back to its MORAL roots ending the CASE LAW errors that have threatened this country to SOCIALISM. Tyrannical immoralist's continue to push their agendas at public tax payers expenses and it truly is getting out of hand. There is so much going on behind the scenes that troubles our DEAD Fathers get it? In FACT many Americans have been dumbed down in their thinking and they actually voted in a President that still will not show his proof of citizenship to show America he is eligible to be President. WHY ARE SO MANY AMERICANS SELFISHLY ASLEEP?

We as well need to get rid of all the MEDIA immoral propagandist's as well who continue to report immoral idealism. These are the immoral politicians tools to continue to keep their immoral powers from being rid from Government.

As it continues they pushed their stimulus package without allowing anyone to read the thousand pages of their false stimulus package and plus they gave them 48 hours to try to read the documents? They immediately SPIT in the faces"WE THE PEOPLE" by passing this Stimulus package and there is still more immoral packages to come. OUR ineligible PRESIDENT hasn't been in office What 2 months yet? DO YOU SEE THE TURMOIL IMMORALIST'S DO RIGHT AWAY WHEN THEY ARE GIVEN POWER?

Even if many do not receive or actually read my plea, immorality is still subtly continuing to get worse and the danger to independence is rising if the PEOPLE do not wake up and smell the tyranny. THEY WANT AMERICA to LOSE ITS MORAL SOVEREIGNTY. THAT IS THE CHANGE PEOPLE. SAY GOODBYE TO YOUR LIVELY HOOD AMERICAN BECAUSE YOU DESERVE IT IF YOU DO NOT STAND AGAINST WHAT OUR FORE FATHERS WARNED US ALL ABOUT.

Isaiah 6:10
Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed."

Please consider this brave suggestion of protest. It is another peaceful protest that may work. I am never saying to never pay taxes again but just to STOP until our Nations Capital will finally understand that it is WE THE PEOPLE who run the show of AMERICA and not they who we elect.

RW

SEE STORY BELOW.

America’s Wealth Producers Vs. Wealth Redistributors
Wednesday, March 04, 2009
By Michelle Malkin

Enough. In a word, that is the message of disgusted taxpayers fed up with the confiscatory policies of both parties in Washington. George Bush pre-socialized the economy with billion-dollar bailouts of the financial and auto industries. Barack Obama is pouring billions more down those sinkholes. It isn’t just the camel’s back that’s broken. His neck and four legs have all snapped, too.

Enough. Last Friday, thousands of Americans turned out to protest reckless government spending in the pork-laden stimulus package, the earmark-clogged budget bill, the massive mortgage-entitlement program and taxpayer-funded corporate rescues. Contrary to false left-wing blog smears that the hastily planned impromptu events were “Astro-turfed,” the crowds were packed with first-time grassroots activists. They were people with families and day jobs whose usual definition of “community organizing” involves neighborhood yard sales or their kids’ soccer matches. They were members of the silent majority who decided to be silent no more.

Enough. These “Tea Party” protests spanned the sunny Santa Monica pier to the icy streets of Chicago and Cleveland to rain-drenched Atlanta, overflowing the grounds of the St. Louis Gateway Arch, with massive turnouts in Greenville, S.C., and crowds of several hundred each in New York City and Washington, D.C., and all points in between. Like those who demonstrated before them in Seattle, Denver, Mesa, Ariz., and Overland Park, Kan., two weeks ago, the Tea Party participants held homemade signs that said it all: “Your mortgage is not my problem”; “Liberty: All the stimulus we need”; “No taxation without deliberation.”

The speed and scope with which they mobilized were due not to nefarious outside conspiracists, but to social networking websites Facebook and Twitter, where a burgeoning network on Twitter called Top Conservatives became the central clearinghouse for information. Planning for a new wave of demonstrations on April 15 has begun at taxdayteaparty.com.

Enough. While they take to the streets politically, untold numbers of America’s wealth producers are going on strike financially. Dr. Helen Smith, a Tennessee forensic psychologist and political blogger, dubbed the phenomenon “Going Galt” last fall. It’s a reference to the famed Ayn Rand novel “Atlas Shrugged,” in which protagonist John Galt leads the entrepreneurial class to cease productive activities in order to starve the government of revenue. (Not coincidentally, Rand’s novel sales are up and John Galt references punctuated many of the Tea Party demonstrations.) Dr. Smith was inundated with stories like these:

“I have frozen hiring in my firm. … No investments will be made in taxable accounts—only 401k/IRAs. I am buying silver and gold instead of CDs or stocks with non-qualified money and savings. I have stopped taking new clients, thus freezing my income. I barter more and more. Spend less. I stopped leveraging assets (don’t borrow).”

“I have cut WAY back—I’m no longer buying retail, driving out of a 10-mile radius, spending money on eating out or putting my money in a savings account. I am using the money to pay off all of our debt. It has made our family closer, more appreciative.”

Another blogger wrote: “Last year my family paid nearly $1,000 a month in federal taxes, and we are not by any stretch of the imagination rich. I’m going to make it my business to cut that amount in half, using every legal means possible and reducing my income so there is less to tax.”

Enough. Those business owners are not alone. This week, ABC News spotlighted upper-income earners going Galt in response to Obama’s proposed tax hikes on families with incomes of $250,000 or more. A Lafayette, La., attorney told the reporter she was cutting back on her business to avoid the tax threshold: “Why kill yourself working if you’re going to give it all away to people who aren’t working as hard?” Tax hikes have consequences. Incentives matter. Only self-deluded wealth redistributors living in la-la land believe otherwise.

Another business owner, Dr. Sharon Poczatek, explained: “The motivation for a lot of people like me—dentists, entrepreneurs, lawyers—is that the more you work the more money you make,” said Poczatek. “But if I’m going to be working just to give it back to the government—it’s de-motivating and demoralizing.”

The perpetual Borrow-Spend-Panic-Repeat machine in Washington depends on the capitulation of the wealth producers. There’s only one monkey wrench that can stop the redistributionist thieves’ engine. It’s engraved with the word: Enough.

Left Destroys More than It Builds take California for instance.

2009-02-27T00:02:00.000-08:00

So sad that this is complete truth and not an outrageous opinion. Immorality is a plague and a very dangerously harmful for society as GOD keeps warning all with so much warning that they are without excuse. For it leads to eternal damnation which is well deserved for us all. And GOD's Common grace is known loud and clear. These are the people in leadership who bow the knee to satan whether they know it or not. IS their agendas more important than losing their souls?
RW

From California to the Boy Scouts: Left Destroys More than It Builds
by Dennis Prager
02/24/2009
LINK http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=30829

Virtually throughout its history, and certainly in the 20th century, California has been known as the place to go for dynamism and growth. It did not become the richest, most populous, and most productive state solely because of its weather and natural resources.

So it takes a lot to turn California around from growth to contraction, from people moving into the state to a net exodus from the state, from business moving into California to businesses leaving California.

It takes some doing.

And the left has done it.

California’s Democratic legislature has been more or less able to do whatever it wants with California. The Wall Street Journal has described the result:

“The Golden State -- which a decade ago was the booming technology capital of the world -- has been done in by two decades of chronic overspending, overregulating and a hyperprogressive tax code …”

One might argue that’s this is a politically biased assessment. So here are some facts, not assessments:

-- California’s state expenditures grew from $104 billion in 2003 to $145 billion in 2008.

-- California has the worst credit rating in the nation.

-- California has the fourth highest unemployment rate in the nation, 9.3 percent -- higher even than the car manufacturing state of Michigan.

-- California has the second highest home foreclosure rate.

-- California’s tax-paying middle class is leaving the state. California’s net loss last year in state-to-state migration exceeded every other state's. New York, another left-run state, was second.

-- Since 2000, California’s job growth rate -- which in the late 1970s was many times higher than the national average -- has lagged behind the national average by almost 20 percent.

-- California has lost 25 percent of its industrial work force since 2001.

Joel Kotkin, one of the leading observers of urban America, the presidential fellow in urban futures at Chapman University, recently wrote an essay on California, “Sundown for California.” He begins with these words:

“Twenty-five years ago, along with another young journalist, I co-authored a book called “California, Inc.” about our adopted home state. The book described ‘California’s rise to economic, political, and cultural ascendancy.’ … But today our Golden State appears headed, if not for imminent disaster, then toward an unanticipated, maddening, and largely unnecessary mediocrity.”

That is what left-wing policies have done to California. In Kotkin’s words, “the state legislature decided to spend its money on public employees and impose ever more regulatory burdens on business.”

Last week, Intel, the world’s largest maker of computer chips, announced that it would invest $7 billion to expand its facilities. Where? In Arizona, Oregon, and New Mexico. But not in California, the state in which Intel is headquartered.

The left is bringing the greatest state to its knees.

What generations created, the left destroys. There are few productive and noble institutions in America that the left has not hurt or attempted to hurt. But while the left destroys a great deal, it constructs almost nothing (outside of government agencies, laws, and lawsuits).

Take the Boy Scouts. For generations, the Boy Scouts, founded and preserved by Americans of all political as well as ethnic backgrounds, has helped millions of American boys become good, productive men. The left throughout America -- its politicians, its media, its stars, its academics -- have ganged up to deprive the Boy Scouts of oxygen. Everywhere possible, the Boy Scouts are vilified and deprived of places to meet.

But while the left works to destroy the Boy Scouts -- unless the Boy Scouts adopt the left’s views on openly gay scouts and scout leaders -- the left has created nothing comparable to the Boy Scouts. The left tries to destroy one of the greatest institutions ever made for boys, but it has built nothing for boys. There is no ACLU version of the Boy Scouts; there is only the ACLU versus the Boy Scouts.

The same holds true for the greatest character-building institution in American life: Judeo-Christian religions. Once again, the left knows how to destroy. Everywhere possible the left works to inhibit religious institutions and values -- from substituting “Happy Holidays” for “Merry Christmas” to removing the tiny cross from the Los Angeles County Seal to arguing that religious people must not bring their values into the political arena.

And, then there is education. Until the left took over American public education in the second half of the 20th century, it was generally excellent -- look at the high level of eighth-grade exams from early in the 20th century and you will weep. The more money the left has gotten for education -- America now spends more per student than any country in the world -- the worse the academic results. And the left has removed God and dress codes from schools -- with socially disastrous results.

Of course, it is not entirely accurate to say that the left builds nothing. It has built vast government bureaucracies, MTV, and post-1960s Hollywood, for example. But these are, to say the least, not positive achievements.

In his column this week, Thomas Friedman describes General Motors Corp., as “a giant wealth-destruction machine.” That perfectly describes the left many times over. It is both a wealth-destruction machine and an ennobling-institution destruction machine.

Christian doctrinal orthodoxy and conservative political philosophy

2009-02-26T23:55:00.000-08:00

I had to post this. It is a good lesson.

Issues analysis
Christianity and conservatism: Christian doctrinal orthodoxy and conservative political philosophy
A brief history of conservatism: Part 16
February 26, 2009
Fred Hutchison, RA analyst
LINK http://www.renewamerica.us/analysis/hutchison/090226

In the last essay in this series, part 15, we discovered in history a strong correlation between Christian spirituality and the vitality of Western culture. However, spirituality by itself is not enough. Issues of truth and doctrinal orthodoxy are equally important. A spiritually charged people who faithfully declare God's Truth can turn the tides of history. Therefore, let us now turn to questions of doctrine.

In this essay, part 16, we shall explore some of the logical correlations between Christian doctrinal orthodoxy and conservative political philosophy. When I speak of orthodoxy, I mean the great truths of the historical creeds and the confessions of the church.

In the first essay in this series, I proposed that the five streams of conservatism have always had a positive influence on Western culture. This is particularly true of Christian conservatism — when the doctrine is orthodox and the truths of the faith are propagated boldly and without compromise.

Christian truth claims transform Europe

The truth claims of Christianity preoccupied the scholars at the monasteries and universities of the 11th through the 13th century. They pursued the truth with extraordinary enthusiasm, zeal, and intellectual vigor. Watering down the truth to pander to the crowd — as is so often the practice today — would have been unthinkable to these zealots.

Interestingly, some of the learned debates of scholars in the 12th century were attended by large crowds of ordinary people — who shared in the general zest for truth. Never has a common people been so enthusiastic about the battle for truth. Never have students burned with such intellectual excitement and displayed such an earnest striving after Truth — with the possible exception of the students who sat in the olive groves of Plato's Academy, or the students who walked in the gymnasium colonnade of Aristotle's Lyceum, and were called the "peripatetics," or the students who walked in Zeno the Stoic's colonnade which overlooked the Agora of Athens.

However, the enthusiasm of the European "scholastics" was ultimately shared by perhaps a thousand-fold more students than ever sat in Plato's Academy olive groves, or strolled in Aristotle's colonnade. As marvelous as the teachings of the Greek philosophers were, it was a small-scale enterprise compared to the Medieval European universities, and ill timed in history for a maximum cultural effect. Plato, Aristotle, and Zeno appeared after the golden age of Athens was over — and the culture was set in its ways.

In contrast, scholasticism appeared shortly after 1100 A.D., when European civilization was brand new. Therefore, scholasticism had a seminal influence in molding of the culture of Europe when it was impressionable and pliable. The twelfth century was particularly flexible and dynamic, and the developing culture was rapidly changing.

The greatest of the "scholastics" was St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274). His works are still included in the Western literary canon. The "Thomists" — scholars who specialize in Aquinas — still appear on the scene when there is intellectual ferment among people who have a renewed interest in metaphysics.

Scholasticism gives Europe the edge in rationality

From almost the beginning of the civilization of the High Middle Ages, Europe had a uniquely rational culture. Scholasticism was formally developed in the early decades of the 12th century. European culture was then in a very early stage of formation, because the civilization was born in the second half of the 11th century. Europe became the premier society of rationality and remained so until the early days of the 20th century. The historical advantages of Europe were mainly advantages of reason and the educated intellect.

Other natural advantages of Europe like navigable rivers and natural harbors had to be aggressively exploited by intelligent men. The proliferation of wind mills, water mills, and machinery for cutting stones and hoisting stones betokens a society of restless minds seeking to solve practical problems. The slumbering minds of the Dark Ages had to be awakened to such tasks. Scholasticism and education in the Cathedral schools and monasteries were a key stimulus for that awakening of the mind.

The scholasticism of the universities and monasteries was a truth-seeking venture sponsored by the church. Therefore, it was Christianity that gave Europe its edge over other civilizations in its rational powers. The triumph of scholasticism was a triumph of doctrinal orthodoxy. During the scholastic debates of the early 12th century, orthodox views soon triumphed over heterodox and heretical views.

Thus, European culture was shaped and enlightened by the theology of doctrinal orthodoxy. Most of the remainder of this essay will be devoted to establishing the affinity of doctrinal orthodoxy and conservative political philosophy.

Conservative vs. modernism

Just as conservative theology (i.e., orthodox doctrine) is compatible with conservative political philosophy, liberal theology is compatible with political liberalism and progressivism — i.e., the politics of modernism.

Liberal theology can be characterized as modernism wrapped in a Christian package. Modernism is the common enemy of conservative theology and conservative political philosophy. None of the links between Christianity and conservative political philosophy that we shall explore in this essay are applicable to the nominal Christianity of liberal theology.

Conservative theology and conservative political philosophy are the friends of reason and civilization. As we shall see in the next essay, Modernism in the 20th century has fallen to a shocking state of intellectual and moral decadence and has become the enemy of reason and of civilization.

A tight theology and a loose political philosophy

The fact that there are logical connections between conservative theology and conservative political philosophy does not imply a perfect fit. There are points of tension. Therefore, It is a loose fit, not a tight fit. A loose fit is good enough for a political philosophy, but only logical precision is acceptable for orthodox theology. Whereas the great creeds of the faith required an exacting precision of language and concepts, political philosophy needs only to provide a good general fit, like clothes purchased off the shelf that need not be custom tailored for a perfect fit.

Beware of doctrines that are woven too loosely and political philosophies that are woven too tightly. Loose doctrines are an invitation to heretics. Tight political philosophies collapse into narrow ideologies, which are not amenable to debate. Such ideologies alienate natural allies and make political compromise impossible.

Perfectionism and political disaster

We just came through a political campaign in which the search for the perfect conservative candidate led to the mutual assured destruction of all the conservative candidates. As the ground was littered with conservative bodies, John McCain, a moderate candidate whose chances had long been written off, stepped forward and claimed the Republican nomination. He was beaten by a vague and inexperienced liberal Democrat named Barack Obama.

Perfectionism is suicidal in politics. I speak as one who was guilty of insisting upon the perfect conservative and fought against the imperfect conservative candidates who might have won.

As a sadder and wiser man, my mission now is to unite the five historical streams of conservatism. That would be unfeasible if all five groups were perfectionists or defined their cluster of ideas as narrow ideologies. The five schools of conservatism can only work together if a loose fit is tolerated. A loose fit allows each of the five schools of conservatism to learn from each other. Each of the schools has its own special wisdom that is needed by the conservative movement as a whole.

Now let us turn to the central theme of this essay. To wit: There are affinities and logical correlations between Christian doctrinal orthodoxy and conservative political philosophy. A theologian could write tomes on this subject, but we are limited by space and time to consider a small sampler of the affinities.

Man has a nature

"I believe in God the father almighty, creator of heaven and earth." This first line of the Apostle's Creed confesses that God is the creator. If God created man, he also designed man. If man has a design, he also has an innate nature. An integrated design is not subject to material change, but is fixed over time. Thus, human nature is fixed throughout the centuries and is universally shared by all mankind.

Modernists almost universally deny that man has a universal nature — and insist that man is a construct of culture, environment, economics, and biology. In contrast, doctrinally orthodox Christians and political conservatives almost universally insist that man has an innate nature.

Modernists believe that human nature is in flux and that men were essentially different in former centuries. Therefore, they are skeptical about the wisdom of the past. In contrast, theological conservatives and political conservatives insist that man has always been essentially the same. Therefore, they cherish the wisdom of the past.

Here we get a look at the great gulf between modernism, on one side, and conservatism on the other. We also observe how theological conservatism lines up with political conservatism in opposition to modernism.

Human nature and legislation

If man has no nature, but is a construct of society, as liberals think, the legislator will tend to think that he can fashion a better man through social engineering programs. In contrast, if man has a nature based upon a design that is fixed and unchanging, as conservatives believe, social engineering programs designed to change human nature can only inflict injuries upon man or stifle his nature.

Seventy years of social engineering by the Soviet Union failed to change human nature the slightest amount. The relentless attempt to change human nature turned the entire society into a wretched and joyless prison filled with dysfunctional people.

In contrast to the soviet tyrants, the thoughtful conservative legislator will review proposed legislation to determine if it runs against the grain of human nature. He will examine a proposed new law in an attempt to ascertain whether it is oppressive to human nature or whether it will provide wholesome boundaries in which man can flourish.

Political conservatives and theological conservatives will usually unite to oppose social engineering programs. Liberals and communists generally favor such programs. It is patently obvious why conservatives are invariably anticommunists and why historically, many liberals have had a secret sympathy for communism. This offers us a clue as to why poorly informed conservatives have long had difficulty in differentiating between liberalism and communism.

Although Christian conservatives and political conservatives generally agree in their opposition to social engineering programs, Christian conservatives put the emphasis of the principle that only divine grace can change the human heart. Traditionalist conservatives emphasize that government social engineering projects rend the delicate social fabric. And Libertarians are primarily concerned with how government programs interfere with individual initiative.

In Adam's fall we sinned all

Doctrinal orthodoxy requires one to see that although man is harmoniously designed with an innate nature that was originally good, his nature has been fatally corrupted by original sin. I like to think of man as having a well-designed constitution that has been contaminated.

Man is "totally depraved" in the sense that the contamination of wickedness has reached all his faculties and every part of his constitution. Man is not totally depraved in the sense of being absolutely evil, for that would be absurd.

The most evil of men — like Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, and bin Laden — started with an innate propensity to sin, and willfully pursued evil thoughts and evil deeds through various stages of development. In the fullness of time, they brought forth a highly developed evil, if not an absolute evil. The human lifetime is too short and the developmental process is too slow to produce an absolute evil. In like manner, a saint is overtaken by death long before he can realize a perfection of holiness.

This being understood, orthodox doctrine traditionally holds that there is no human faculty that has been left pure and uncontaminated by original sin.

The evangelist Charles Finney is regarded by some doctrinally orthodox theologians as a "pelagian" heretic, because he limited the scope of original sin. He asserted that the mind and the will was not automatically contaminated with original sin — and that man is as sinful or as righteous as he chooses to be. Finney preached the gospel on the assumption that men can choose their way into faith.

To the contrary, the doctrinally orthodox reformer Martin Luther taught us that 1) all of our faculties, including the mind and the will, are contaminated by original sin; 2) we are in bondage to sin until God sets us free through His grace; and 3) faith is a gift from God.

Man was originally good but became bad through Adam's fall. The opening lines of the McGuffey Reader were: "In Adam's fall we sinned all."

"Original sin" was inherited by all of Adam's progeny — meaning all mankind. The harmony of the original design was disrupted by the deep-seated wickedness of the human heart. It is not possible for us to return to Eden and regain the original harmony and goodness of God's design by relying on human strength and making human efforts. That is why we need a Savior.

Man is a contradiction

Traditionalist conservatives like to say that "man is a contradiction" and is capable of evil. This is a mild, common-sense view of the dark side of human nature. It is what the daily experiences of life and the lessons of history consistently teach us about man.

There is a tension between this view and the orthodox Christian view, but when it comes to politics and legislation, most differences seem to fade away.

Once again, we observe the loose fit of conservative theology and conservative politics. These two groups are easily united in political ventures against liberals who have convinced themselves, God knows how, that man is inherently good.

The bewitching of the conservatives

The ascendancy of liberalism unites the conservatives to the extent that their eyes are open to perceive a common enemy. One of the reasons conservatives were not united in the last election cycle was that the eyes of many were blinded in such a way that they failed to perceive the rise of leviathan out of the pit — that is to say, the rise of the far left into power.

Why were they blinded, deceived, and bewitched? One reason is that they slipped away from conservative principles. A Christian who forgets biblical truths can backslide and be deceived by the world and the devil. A political conservative who loses his grip on conservative principles can be deceived by the liberals or compromised by deals with moderates.

Some conservatives tried to balance conservative principles with incompatible modernistic concepts. As we shall see in the next section, this practice debilitates the conservative and induces a slide down a slippery slope to the left.

Wishful thinking

When liberals deny the palpable reality of the dark side of human nature, they reject all the lessons of life and experience. Such a denial suggests a powerful delusion or a childlike naivete.

During my late teens, around the time I was thinking about becoming a conservative, I remember telling a liberal college instructor that his arguments were based on "wishful thinking." The stubborn notion that man is inherently good was behind much of his naivete. We live in a broken world, and it does no good to wish otherwise as a naive child might do.

The willful denial by liberals of the evil that lurks in the human heart has, in some cases, an element of malice. Such a denial suggests a primal rebellion involving an indignant rejection of the harsh reality of the broken world in which they find themselves. "I refuse to believe that men are the rascals and knaves which they appear to be. Therefore, I insist that they are otherwise." The malice inherent in their rebellious denial is sometimes turned against conservatives who are pessimistic about human nature.

Can fallen man become virtuous?

Some theological conservatives believe that although man is depraved, he can cooperate with a development process leading towards virtue with the help of "common grace," an empowerment from God for the believer and the unbeliever alike. Through common grace, a "noble pagan" like Roman Emperor and Stoic philosopher Marcus Aurelius had reached some degree of light on truth questions. He knew the difference between good and evil, and between virtue and vice. By all accounts, he made significant headway in his quest for virtue and wisdom.

However, common grace without the special grace that comes with conversion to Christ is not enough. For all his virtue and wisdom, Marcus Aurelius wasted the substance of Rome with futile, tactically foolish wars against the northern barbarians. He persecuted the Christians. He designated Commodus — his foolish, malicious, and delusional son — to be the heir to his throne. Socrates was wrong. The rule of philosopher kings is no panacea.

Conservatism can be problematic

There is a problematic dichotomy with a creature who has a good design, but has become evil through rebelling against his Designer and resisting his design. According to Aristotle, virtue consists of thoughts and actions in agreement with the design of man. Vice consists of doing things that are "against nature" — that is to say, against the nature and design of man. This is not an intellectually easy nor intuitively obvious concept. A distinction must be made carefully made between a good design and a deep corruption.

Due to the failure to make this distinction carefully, fault lines have formed among conservative theologians and conservative political philosophers. The fault line can form from two kinds of errors: 1) downplaying human depravity by overemphasizing the goodness of the design; and 2) downplaying the goodness and harmony of the design, due to a preoccupation with human depravity. The first error might lead one to trust in man too much and to slip towards the left, theologically and politically. The second error might lead one to reject Natural Law philosophy, which is indispensable to a coherent systematic theology and a rational conservative political philosophy.

The difficulties do not end here. The conservative must carefully distinguish between the sinful nature and the habitual propensities that have developed from a long series of choices. A mistake here can lead to all kinds of sloppy thinking. Theologian John Gregory Mantle characterized this sloppy thinking by referring to self-righteous Christians as those who have built learned behavior upon a corrupt root.

The opposite error is to downplay the wickedness of a sinner by making the excuse that the person is merely following bad habits. This error leaves out a moral appraisal of the long series of wicked choices that were made to develop the bad habit. One can justly refer to someone as an "evil man" if he has spent a lifetime cultivating evil patterns of behavior. Certain criminal psychologists have determined that hardened criminals often start cultivating evil imaginations in childhood and perform many experiments in turning the thoughts into deeds. Through such experiments, they become proficient in increasing stages of evil. (See Inside the Criminal Mind by Dr. Stanton Samenow.)

A tutelary paradox

I have always had a pessimistic view of human nature, and at the same time have always been optimistic that individuals can eventually fulfill the destiny inherent in their design — with the help of divine grace. However, the developmental process of maturing and getting ready for one's ultimate destiny can be very long and very difficult. Many stray from the straight path that leads to the fulfillment of their destiny.

Some folks think that a potential destiny and manifest depravity are an impossible contradiction. I regard both dimensions of human nature as a tutelary paradox that can lead one slowly to wisdom and personal growth. The paradox is a motivator to seek help from God and to be delivered from the sins and vices that might bar one from fulfilling his destiny.

The particular and the universal

Some libertarian conservatives and some traditionalists emphasize the particular and unique qualities of individuals to such an extent that they doubt that man has a core nature with universal qualities. The denial of universal human nature of underlying the individual particulars is why some libertarians reject the idea of a universal moral law.

The confusion of not seeing the forest of human nature for the trees of individual particulars can be cleared up by a refresher course in Aristotle or St. Thomas Aquinas. Both men taught us how to differentiate "essence" and "accidents." Aristotle's universals subsist as the "essence" of particular things. In other words, one's core human essence — that is to say, one's humanity — is universal. The "accidents" are those superficial, tangible details, particularities, and eccentricities that make a person a unique individual. Recognizing the unique personality but ignoring the underlying personhood is an error of logical distinctions; e.g., "He is a rascal and a clown; therefore he is not a human being." The error is insulting because it is reductionistic.

Precisely because Aristotle's and Aquinas' thought was so deeply woven into Western culture, the West was long able to avoid extremes in collectivism and extremes in individualism. The West lost this facility in direct proportion to the decline of metaphysics after 1800 A.D. The political liberals of the present time swing wildly between collectivism and a lawless, atomistic individualism. It is no accident that metaphysics is anathema to them.

The existential mistake

Another Libertarian mistake is of the Existentialist type. It involves a failure to differentiate between essence and existence. Existentialists are obsessed with finding an "authentic" mode of existence. It is an extreme version of the American quest for a self-defining and trendy "life-style." Such preoccupation with modes of existence tends towards the neglect of "essence," the inner humanity that exists independently of one's modes of existing. Aristotle or Aquinas can clear up the problem by clarifying the difference between essence and existence.

Why cannot man be content just to exist and not be so concerned about his personal modes of existence? Because man is a finite, contingent, insecure, proud being who must attach himself to the world by raising a banner that he exists. "Look at me. I am right here, right now, and am expressing myself in a unique manner. Therefore, I exist!" The man who is spiritually mature enough to completely dispense with "raising the flag" is very rare. However, an obsession with "raising the flag" of existential self-expression is a sign of abnormal insecurity and immaturity.

Unlike man, God's essence is the same as his existence, because he is complete and self-contained in the perfection of his being. If he "raises the flag," it is purely an act of love and never an attempt to ground or vindicate his existence.

Those who can't differentiate between essence and existence do not understand man. Those who think God has modes of existence does not understand God.

The West used to have a good balance between individual creativity and archetypal forms in the arts and literature. Now, the existential quest for radical individuality of expression has thrown the arts and literature into chaos.

A universal moral law

All designs have rules of operation. When one buys a new kitchen appliance, there are always written directions about how to operate the appliance and what one should not do with the appliance, lest it malfunctions and becomes dangerous to the user.

Since man is a designed being, there are rules and laws concerning what he may do that are salutary to his nature and what he may not do lest he destroy himself and his neighbor. These rules, laws, and precepts are the same for all people. Therefore, a universal moral law must exist. The moral law has been unchanging and universal ever since man has been on earth.

Considering that man is a designed being, Is there an instruction booklet for man, provided by the designer? Yes. We call it the Bible. The one thing on which the Old Testament and New Testament are in perfect agreement is the core elements of the universal moral law that are summed up in the Ten Commandments. Old Testament ordinances that were specific to Israel and were not universal in applicability were abolished in the New Testament — but not the precepts of the Ten Commandments.

Many modernists deny the existence of a universal moral law, and call such things the "value judgments" of individuals. They assume that because a modernist will often invent his own moral cosmos, the moral law of conservatives is the same kind of personal invention. They give this presumption away when they claim that the command against adultery is a personal value judgment. Not so. A universal moral law is the exact opposite of a made-up value that is unique to the individual.

One's positions on innumerable political issues will hinge upon whether he thinks there is a universal moral law, or dismisses such laws as individual "value judgments." For example, consider an example of a free-floating value judgment: "The babe in the womb is part of my body. I can do anything I want with my body. Therefore, I have the right to kill the baby. My free choice to do so makes it right."

The first sentence is contrary to scientific fact. The second sentence is contrary to natural law and biblical teaching. The third sentence is contrary to the universal moral law. The fourth statement comes from the funny farm of solipsism. This cluster of concepts ignores the spiritual reality that the babe in the womb is a person.

The invention of tailor-made value stances of this kind pander to personal comfort and unrestrained lusts. They promise freedom from consequences and from personal responsibility. In contrast, authentic moral laws require self-denial, develop personal virtue, and promote the general good of the family, the neighborhood, and the community.

The self-contradictory nature of modernism

In contrast to the fault-lines of conservatism, modernism has stark contradictions. As we have seen, the conservative fault lines can often be reconciled or reduced to a loose fit. However, it is dubious whether the contradictions of modernism can be reconciled or made to work together.

Modernists say: 1) man does not have a nature; and 2) man is inherently good. These two propositions are contradictions. If man does not have a nature, he cannot be inherently good, or inherently bad, or inherently anything.

Modernism posits an impossible contradiction and is therefore a false world view.

Modernists have an absurd view of the world. It is no accident that Sartre came to believe that life is absurd.

If men were angels

James Madison, the principal author of the Constitution wrote, "If men were angels no government would be necessary." We would not need police or a justice system to punish evil doers. Liberals, who believe men are good unless they are mentally ill, or emotionally damaged, sometimes propose that we substitute therapy for criminal punishment.

A liberal judge in my home town let a child molester off on probation in order that he could get "therapy." Was this morally deranged judge impeached? No, he was defended by the liberal press and was re-elected.

Some liberals say, "Society is the cause of criminality. Therefore, let us fix the root causes in society, instead of punishing criminals."

When there is a crime wave, conservatives talk of hiring more police and building more prisons, and liberals talk about therapy and social engineering projects. A Christian who believes in the fall of man must be skeptical that therapy can make an evil man good or that social programs can cure the real cause of crime that lies in the darkness of the human heart.

In the novel The Lord of the Flies, English school boys were cast adrift on an island and quickly reverted to savagery. When a seaman came to rescue them, a boy named Ralph realized how far the boys had sunk into depravity. He wept for "the end of innocence and for the darkness of the human heart." The boys were delivered of the illusion that man is naturally good, and it hurt to give up this pleasant illusion.

When I was on the college debate team, an argument was made that welfare programs do not corrupt the beneficiaries because "people have an innate desire to work." This point was baldly asserted on the grounds that man is naturally good and therefore tends to prefer virtue to vice.

That kind of thinking prevailed when the New Deal and Great Society programs were designed. The result was a great mass of welfare families who remained on the government dole for generations. Their idleness multiplied their vices and shattered their families. They did not sit at home studying the Aristotelian virtues.

Rights and duties

In our political culture today, those who shout the loudest about rights are the most likely to deny duties. This is the behavior of the dead beat, the moocher, and the con man. While I expect such moral decadence from liberals, I am embarrassed to confess that some libertarian conservatives carry atomist individualism to extremes and demand rights while denying duties.

If man has a nature, he must have both rights and duties connected with that nature. Governments that respect human nature are obliged to protect the innate rights of an individual against the infringements of other men. Since human nature is constant, these protections should be enduring principles of law. At the same time, no one should be offended when the legitimate duties of citizenship are called for.

If man has rights, he must also have duties. It is inconceivable that the creator would design man to soak up rights and deny duties. The man who demands every benefit but shuns every duty is despicable. He is a parasitic narcissist. It is unthinkable that man was designed to be this way.

To suppose that man is here solely to serve only his private ends calls into question the idea that man really has the innate dignity that warrants special rights and privileges. We can't have it both ways. Either man has both rights and duties, or he has neither.

Self-government

If man has both rights and duties, the full flourishing of his nature would require that he exercise himself in meeting those duties. If man is capable of arousing himself from self-seeking activities to carry out his duties, the unavoidable implication is that man is capable of governing himself — or, to some degree, moral and self-disciplined men who are thoroughly socialized as responsible members of the family and the community are capable of governing themselves.

The capacity of men to govern themselves makes it possible to have a Republic of free men and a limited role for government. The greater part of the government will be self-government. The lesser part will be civil government. It is no accident that at a time when individual self-control is in decline, an increasing number of citizens are calling for an increased scope of government programs and government regulation.

The restoration of self-government

It is not enough for conservatives to fight against the expansion of government. They must show the way — through example and teaching — to the restoration of self-control by individuals.

It is not enough to be virtuous and to teach the classical virtues to the populace. The preaching of righteousness, holiness, personal responsibility, and self denial, long absent from America's pulpits, must be restored. Perhaps an entire generation of pandering seeker-sensitive ministries must pass from the scene, so that a new wave of godly men, with their hearts on fire for truth and zeal for righteousness and holiness, might rise up from the grassroots of America. The sharp edges of doctrinal orthodoxy, which have been blunted and rounded off in the fear that someone will be offended, must once again be a razor-sharp two-edged sword.

This has happened several times before in American history. That is why we have had such a long run of self-government and personal freedom.

Freedom within boundaries

All designs are integrated with boundaries and limits. This truth is known to every engineer and architect. If man is a designed being, all of life must be conducted within limits. Virtually all doctrinal and theological conservatives understand this.

However, liberals and modernists frequently talk about the absence of limits on the possibilities of an individual. This popular idea passes for wisdom and enlightenment, but it is a notion so filled with fantasy and folly that even a child should know better.

All ideas about a life without limits are destructive to man. Many Americans are lured to their doom by the pied piper of "no limits." They boldly throw off boundaries, thinking it will set them free and they can then do the impossible.

This is madness, of course. Man is a created being and therefore is finite and is obliged to live within boundaries, like them or not. Get used to it.

God has placed each of us on earth according to "appointed times," and has established the "boundaries of our habitation" (Acts 17: 26). He has put us in a particular place at a particular time to do business for Him in a particular station in life. Our lives have starting and ending times, and the community, province, or nation in which we live has boundaries. Every kind of work we might do is hedged about with duties and boundaries. God himself has established these "boundaries of our habitation." We flourish and find our freedom within these boundaries.

Everyone who knows they are not God but are mere created men should understand this in the marrow of his bones. Unfortunately, 20th century modernism promotes a powerful delusion that we are gods, and not men, and therefore have no limits. As we shall see, in the next section, it was Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900) who opened this pandora's box to poison the souls of 20th century men.

Conclusion

Christian doctrinal conservatism, allied with conservative political philosophy, is a good antidote to Nietzsche's nihilistic modernism. Christian conservatism is uniquely potent in fighting modernism.

Therefore, Christian conservatism is indispensable as one of the five branches of conservatism. Without it, the other branches will be in constant danger of being seduced by modernism and drifting to the left.

© Fred Hutchison

Video, Will Obama be like Lincoln?

2009-02-23T01:43:00.000-08:00

Interesting.

RW

VIDEO;Alan Keyes: Stop Obama or U.S. will cease to exist Claims 'communist usurper' plunges country into chaos.

2009-02-23T01:21:00.000-08:00

Order out of chaos? Hmmm sounds familar. I wonder why?

NOW why cannot these TRUHTFUL questions be in the public eye 24 hours a day? YES PEOPLE, THEIR IMMORAL AGENDA HAS ARRIVED and continues. IF these allegations are true WOULD YOU PLEASE PROVE THEM WRONG? And for now the whole Campaign year up to the elections and occupancy, same old corrupted politics different President, Congress, Senate, House, etc etc. WHAT will really CHANGE?
When will the Constitution be followed truthfully again if ever?

Again I say to America, if America wanted the First Black American President, TELL ME WHY DIDN'T YOU PICK A PERSON WITH ACTUAL EXPERIENCE LIKE MR KEYES?

Again all things done in secret will be exposed in the LORD JESUS's time.

RW

The GOD WHO IS THERE.

2009-02-13T15:40:00.000-08:00

100% TRUTH.

The God Who Is There (from desiringgod.org)

February 12, 2009
By D. A. Carson

In an essay entitled “Do Christians Have a Worldview?

” Graham Cole begins with the following lines as his opening paragraph:

He took the blade. It was bright silver. He loved the way it glistened. It felt good in his hand. He cut deep into her chest again and again. He showed no emotion, no recognition of her humanity. She lay motionless, her life gone. He made no attempt to cover the body. Later that night over a beer he openly talked to a stranger in the bar about what he had done. The stranger felt ill.

What does the paragraph mean? If the words refer to a serial killer boasting about his latest savage triumph, the sentences are pretty ghastly, and the man in the bar should call the police. On the other hand, if the words refer to a forensic pathologist who talks about his autopsy of a particularly interesting corpse, there is no criminality (though there may be a lack of professionalism in talking like this to a stranger). How you interpret the quoted lines depends entirely on the context.

That is the problem we face today when we talk about “Jesus.” For some, “Jesus” is no more than profanity. For others, he is a moralist who makes you feel bad if you start having fun. Or he is the founder of a world religion like other founders of world religions—Muhammad, for example. Or he is “Gentle Jesus, meek and mild” who loves to turn the other cheek and who is never, ever, angry. Or he is the Jehovah's Witness Jesus, a pretty impressive second-string god, but certainly not to be identified with the one, true God. Or he is an empty cipher with virtually no content at all. All of these different hearing groups constitute contexts in which what we say about Jesus will be understood (or misunderstood).

Where a church enjoys good, biblically faithful ministry, Scripture itself will gradually and decisively correct these contexts that are so far out of line with what the Bible says. But suppose you are just beginning to share your faith with someone who lives in one of these hearing contexts—what then? Where do you start?

The apostle Paul faced these challenges in the first century. When he was preaching in a synagogue (for instance, in Pisidian Antioch, Acts 13), he was dealing with people who believed there is one God, that this God is creator of everything in heaven and earth, that he is sovereign and holy, that the problem with human beings is their rejection of their Maker, that salvation must first and foremost reconcile us to this God, that history is teleological (that is, that it is heading to a telos, an end, a climax), that there is a final judgment to be faced, that there will be a new heaven and a new earth, that God alone prescribes how people are saved, and so forth. Paul did not have to establish any of these points: He and his hearers held them in common. In such contexts, Paul focused most of his attention on who the promised Messiah must be: He must be not only the long-awaited Davidic king, but he must suffer and die, and rise again. That was the most disputed point between unconverted synagogue attendees and Christians.

But when Paul finds himself preaching to pagans in Athens (Acts 17:16-31), not one of the propositions I’ve listed above is shared by Paul and his hearers. As a result, he takes time to establish all these points, and a few others, before introducing Jesus. Otherwise the Jesus he wants to proclaim will be misunderstood, because Jesus will be placed by Paul’s hearers in the wrong context.

Learning to evangelize men and women who know nothing about the Bible and who are bringing their own “baggage” or “context” with them does not require a super intellect or a Ph.D. in biblical theology. What it requires is learning to get across a lot of things that we Christians simply presuppose.

There are quite a lot of ways of doing this. One of them is to focus on a variety of biblical texts drawn from across the entire Bible and work through them with people. One might begin with Genesis 1-2: “The God who makes everything.” Genesis 3 becomes “The God who does not wipe out rebels.” We keep working through the Old Testament and eventually arrive at the New, coming to topics like “The God who becomes a human being” (John 1:1-18). The wonderful atonement passage in Romans 3 covers “The God who declares the guilty just.” Gradually the Bible becomes a coherent book. It establishes its own framework; it is the context in which alone Jesus, the real Jesus, makes sense.

This is what we’ll aim to do at Bethlehem’s North Campus on back-to-back Friday nights and Saturday mornings, February 20-21 and 27-28. The seminar is called “The God Who Is There: Naming God in a Pluralistic World.”

Clearly this series will not attract those who are unwilling to learn. But it may teach the gospel to friends who know little or nothing about the Bible and who are willing to think their way through the Bible, even if only in a preliminary way. It may establish baby Christians in the fundamentals of the faith, of what the Bible says, of how to read it. And it may teach a few mature believers how to share truths they presuppose with a new generation of lost men and women who know nothing at all about our beloved Master.

I hope you’ll join us.

VIDEO: DOES ANY AMERICAN REMEMBER THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE JULY 4TH 1776?

2009-02-12T23:43:00.000-08:00

SO Sad that no AMERICAN save a few even cares about our history, the glory GOD gave this nation, and to show all the world that actually a PEOPLE can rule equally if HE is HONORED above all things because the GOVERNMENT IS ON HIS SHOULDERS FACTUALLY.
And now here we are in a mess our LEADERS have put the People through because the WE THE PEOPLE voice truly is silenced by the WICKED few who are out to continue to spread the plague of immorality and wickedness ever proving the BIBLE is true to HIS EVERY word. DOES ANYONE CARE ABOUT OUR NATION ANYMORE TRUTHFULLY?
Oh how awful to fall into the hands of an angry, just and righteous GOD when we knew better every second of our lives. And the worst thing that will ever befall man will not be hell but standing in front of HIM as our Judge when HE could have been our Savior saying to us who LOVE HIM "Well done faithful servant enter into the JOY of your LORD".
The second worst thing will be the deserved punishment of the second death in the LAKE OF FIRE as is promised for GOD's enemies. And who could ever say to HIM, "What have you done"? How many times does HE have to show and tell you?

“For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life.”- John 3:16

What a merciful GOD and HIS mercy will endure forever for those who truly LOVE HIM.

RW FEB 2009

VIDEO on the truth of the Stimulas Skyrocket. What is wrong with our Government?

2009-02-12T23:23:00.000-08:00

Answer: Our Government has lost it way completely with an illegal President, a Congress, a Senate, and House of Reps. creating Socialism and a People who continue to support UNCONSTITUTIONAL progress that continues daily ever disgracing all who fought to keep AMERICA FREE and not in debt to anyone or anything RIGHT KING GEORGE?
This is what Happens when a Society forgets GOD, its morals, and it's history and clings, tolerates, and or practices immoral practices selfishly. Nations become swallowed by its own sowing and reaping wickedness plain and simple. Just like PLATO said " An unsupervised DEMOCRACY always becomes a Dictatorship"..... Whether the tyranny is one man or many. And that is when they IGNORE the PEOPLE because they are in power get it? They do what they want because they know most AMERICANS do not care so they slither in serpentine like and slowly rob our freedoms away disintegrating our CONSTITUTION right before our eyes. AND YOU THINK THE MEDIA WILL EVER REPORT THE TRUTH?
Say no to the Stimulas PEOPLE because actually there is NO CURRENCY just PAPER the FEDS PRINT WHICH IS NOT WORTH ANYTHING BUT TOILET PAPER GET IT. THERE WILL BE NO RELIEF. And you thought the new administration would be better? Think again.
Praise GOD for HIS judgments.
RW FEB 2009

Find more videos like this on The Patriotic Resistance

REMEMBER SOCIALISM NEVER LASTED IN CHINA DO YOU REMEMBER? HOW ABOUT BEFORE THE BEGINNINGS OF THE UNITED STATES. GET IT ? DO YOU UNDERSTAND?
TIME TO TAKE BACK OUR COUNTRY FROM THE SOCIAL TYRANNICIDE.
ARE YOU BRAVE ENOUGH OR WILL YOU BE A STUPID AMERICAN ALLOWING YOUR CORRUPTED GOVERNMENT CONTINUE TO ROB YOU OF YOUR CONSTITUTIONAL FREEDOM? YOU DECIDE?

Eligibility issue: McCain checked but not Obama?????

2009-02-12T00:08:00.000-08:00

AND STILL THE DISHONESTY AND THE WILLFUL IGNORANCE CONTINUES.
But we must remember no one truly gets away with anything, GOD SEE ALL AND REVEALS ALL.

OBAMA WATCH CENTRAL
Eligibility issue: McCain checked but not Obama
Lawsuit contends Congress failed to qualify Democrat for Oval Office
Posted: February 10, 2009
9:09 pm Eastern

By Bob Unruh
© 2009 WorldNetDaily

A lawsuit that accuses Congress of failing to investigate President Obama's birthplace before approving the Electoral College vote giving him the presidency has been amended to include additional claims of rights violations, including unequal treatment, because Congress did such an investigation into GOP candidate Sen. John McCain.

That word comes from Mario Apuzzo, the lawyer handling the case on which WND previously has reported.

The case raises many of the same arguments as dozens of other cases that have flooded into courtrooms around the nation since the November election.

The case was brought by Apuzzo on behalf of Charles F. Kerchner Jr., Lowell T. Patterson, Darrell James Lenormand and Donald H. Nelson Jr. It names as defendants Barack Hussein Obama II, the U.S., Congress, the Senate, House of Representatives and former Vice President Dick Cheney along with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

(Story continues below)

Apuzzo told WND that Congress last year raised the issue of whether McCain was a "natural born" citizen, a requirement set out in the U.S. Constitution for the president, because of his birth to U.S. citizens in the Panama Canal Zone.

Where's the proof Barack Obama was born in the U.S. or that he fulfills the "natural-born American" clause in the Constitution? If you still want to see it, join more than 235,000 others and sign up now!

According to a report in the Washington Post, the Senate unanimously declared McCain to be a "natural born" citizen, meeting the demand of Article 2 of the Constitution, which states, "no person except a natural born citizen … shall be eligible to the office of president."

The report, however, pointed out that such a statement was opinion only, and the constitutional question actually isn't so simple. It quoted Catholic University associate law professor Sarah Duggin saying the document is ambiguous.

"Ultimately there has never been any real resolution of this issue. Congress cannot legislatively change the meaning of the Constitution," she told the newspaper, saying a constitutional amendment or a U.S. Supreme Court ruling would be the way to reach a determination.

However, even though his clients wrote to Congress requesting a similar review of Obama's birthplace, they were refused.

"The question is: Why do you do it for McCain, but not Obama," Apuzzo told WND.

More specifically, those who doubted McCain's eligibility had an opportunity for a review but not those who doubt Obama.

That violates a liberty right for his clients, he said, because as members of a republic, they have a right to know that their president is legitimate.

"What I'm arguing is that Congress and President Obama have violated my clients' due process under the 5th Amendment [of the U.S. Constitution]," Apuzzo said.

Already; Congress held a responsibility to make certain Obama is qualified for the post, he alleges. And the public outcry, evidenced by the dozens of lawsuits over the issue, should have prompted due diligence on the part of members of Congress, he said.

Obama, meanwhile, has refused to hand over "sufficient documents" to verify his "natural born" status, Apuzzo said.

"We're not a monarchy," Apuzzo said, "People have a right to know."

He said his case in U.S. District Court in New Jersey is at the point where the court notices about the case are being distributed.

He said the fact Obama already has been inaugurated changes nothing in his case.

"Before that, everything really was premature," he said. "He has a right to run for office. But when you down to the nitty gritty, he still has to qualify for the position."

He said the Constitution specifically raises the scenario of a president who has been chosen for office but has failed to qualify.

"Even though you ran, everybody loves you, you still have got to qualify under the Constitution," Apuzzo said.

Further, the lawsuit explains, not only are there legitimate questions about Obama's birth, and therefore eligibility, he might not even be a U.S. citizen at all.

"There exists a possibility that Obama could be an illegal alien," the lawsuit said. "Obama has yet to adequately prove that he was born in the United States. [Further], Obama has publicly conceded that his father was born in Kenya and a British subject/citizen at the time of Obama's birth which precluded Obama from gaining any U.S. citizenship from his father."

The lawsuits over Obama's eligibility, in various ways, have alleged Obama does not meet the "natural born citizen" clause of the U.S. Constitution, Article 2, Section 1, which reads, "No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President."

Some of the legal challenges have alleged Obama was not born in Hawaii, as he insists, but in Kenya. Obama's American mother, the suits contend, was too young at the time of his birth to confer American citizenship to her son under the law at the time.

Other challenges have focused on Obama's citizenship through his father, a Kenyan subject to the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom at the time of his birth, thus making him a dual citizen. The cases contend the framers of the Constitution excluded dual citizens from qualifying as natural born.

Several details of Obama's past have added twists to the question of his eligibility and citizenship, including his family's move to Indonesia when he was a child and on what nation's passport he traveled to Pakistan in the '80s, as well as conflicting reports from Obama's family about his place of birth.

Apuzzo told WND the biggest reason to investigate further is the fact that Obama has refused to allow public release of a signed "vault" copy of his original birth certificate.

Several of the legal cases – including those brought by Orly Taitz, Cort Wrotnowski, Leo Donofrio and Philip Berg, already have been discussed in conference at the U.S. Supreme Court, which has failed to have a hearing on any of the merits involved.

Taitz, in fact, is requesting information from the Supreme Court about a meeting eight of its justices held with Obama, a defendant in her case, before the justices reviewed the issues of the case in a private conference.

Several of the cases still remain active at lower court levels, from which emergency requests to the high court were launched.

"I know that Mr. Obama is not a constitutionally qualified natural born citizen and is ineligible to assume the office of president of the United States," Berg said in a statement on his ObamaCrimes.com website.

"Obama knows he is not 'natural born' as he knows where he was born and he knows he was adopted in Indonesia; Obama is an attorney, Harvard Law grad who taught Constitutional law; Obama knows his candidacy is the largest 'hoax' attempted on the citizens of the United States in over 200 years; Obama places our Constitution in a 'crisis' situation; and Obama is in a situation where he can be blackmailed by leaders around the world who know Obama is not qualified," Berg's statement continued.

While Obama's campaign team called the cases garbage, here is a partial listing and status update for several of the cases:

* Philip J. Berg, a Pennsylvania Democrat, demanded that the courts verify Obama's original birth certificate and other documents proving his American citizenship. Berg's latest appeal, requesting an injunction to stop the Electoral College from selecting the 44th president, was denied.

* Leo Donofrio of New Jersey filed a lawsuit claiming Obama's dual citizenship disqualified him from serving as president. His case was considered in conference by the U.S. Supreme Court but denied a full hearing.

* Cort Wrotnowski filed suit against Connecticut's secretary of state, making a similar argument to Donofrio. His case was considered in conference by the U.S. Supreme Court, but was denied a full hearing.

* Former presidential candidate Alan Keyes headlines a list of people filing a suit in California, in a case handled by the United States Justice Foundation, that asks the secretary of state to refuse to allow the state's 55 Electoral College votes to be cast in the 2008 presidential election until Obama verifies his eligibility to hold the office. The case is pending, and lawyers are seeking the public's support.

* Chicago attorney Andy Martin sought legal action requiring Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle to release Obama's vital statistics record. The case was dismissed by Hawaii Circuit Court Judge Bert Ayabe.

* Lt. Col. Donald Sullivan sought a temporary restraining order to stop the Electoral College vote in North Carolina until Barack Obama's eligibility could be confirmed, alleging doubt about Obama's citizenship. His case was denied.

* In Ohio, David M. Neal sued to force the secretary of state to request documents from the Federal Elections Commission, the Democratic National Committee, the Ohio Democratic Party and Obama to show the presidential candidate was born in Hawaii. The case was denied.

* In Washington state, Steven Marquis sued the secretary of state seeking a determination on Obama's citizenship. The case was denied.

* In Georgia, Rev. Tom Terry asked the state Supreme Court to authenticate Obama's birth certificate. His request for an injunction against Georgia's secretary of state was denied by Georgia Superior Court Judge Jerry W. Baxter.

* California attorney Orly Taitz has brought a case, Lightfoot vs. Bowen, on behalf of Gail Lightfoot, the vice presidential candidate on the ballot with Ron Paul, four electors and two registered voters.

In addition, other cases cited on the RightSideofLife blog as raising questions about Obama's eligibility include:

* In Texas, Darrel Hunter vs. Obama later was dismissed.

* In Ohio, Gordon Stamper vs. U.S. later was dismissed.

* In Texas, Brockhausen vs. Andrade.

* In Washington, L. Charles vs. Obama.

* In Hawaii, Keyes vs. Lingle, dismissed.

WND senior reporter Jerome Corsi had gone to both Kenya and Hawaii prior to the election to investigate issues surrounding Obama's birth. But his research and discoveries only raised more questions.

The governor's office in Hawaii said there is a valid certificate but rejected requests for access and left ambiguous its origin: Does the certificate on file with the Department of Health indicate a Hawaii birth or was it generated after the Obama family registered a Kenyan birth in Hawaii?

SPIRITUALLY DEAD Government??? See for yourself

2009-02-11T23:55:00.000-08:00

Couldn't of said it better myself.

Commentary: SPIRITUALLY DEAD AND CONDEMNED (Jim R. Schwiesow)

. . . . We are about to transition from the lies, deceit and prevarication of one administration to the lies, deceit and prevarication of another; it will be, in fact, merely a continuation of the same betrayal of constitutional guarantees; unlawful and unrestricted immigration; insecure borders; wild frivolous spending; and government encouragement of a deeply immoral societal abjection. Babies will continue to be murdered; vice will be condoned and promoted for the revenue that it evokes; the government will persist in abrading constitutional protections; and the people's sovereignty will be bartered away so that the nation can be melded into a one world system.

George Bush, during his reign, feigned a mild disapproval of some of these condemnable odium's, but did nothing to deter the practice thereof. No words were uttered to marshal opposition and no actions were taken to lead the nation and its people onto righteous paths. While George Bush merely condoned - by his inaction and indifference - these abominations, Barack Obama actively pursues and encourages legitimacy for, and government-instituted protection of, the same . . . .

Despite the fact that our new self-proclaimed messiah, Barack Obama, will swear on Lincoln's Bible to be the deliverer of a reliant, dependent, deluded, narcissistic and hedonistic people he will fail as miserably as George W. Busch ever did, perhaps worse. When an ignorant people ultimately discern that he possesses no divine qualities and is unable to save their jobs, their homes and their lavishly decadent lifestyles he will be as despised as was George W. Bush. He had better savor and delight in the present worship by an erratic and fickle people because it will be short lived.

I was interested to learn that Mr. Obama, like one of our recent previous presidents, venerates Abraham Lincoln, and has purportedly communed with his spirit . . . In fact he has disclosed that he has on prominent display in his office a portrait of Lincoln that has actually spoken to him [Whoa! - Ed.] . . . .
It comes as no surprise that the new president has no knowledge of God's forbiddance of divination and necromancy. I would recommend to him chapter ten verses thirteen and fourteen of 1 Chronicles for some Godly instruction [see Scripture quote at bottom of this news page -Ed.] . . . .

The day of rebuke is hard upon this nation; we are on the cusp of the day of reckoning for our mockery of God's laws and well beyond the pale in regard to national sin. Every day of every week the level of decency, righteousness and morality descends to new lows. Murder, thievery, debauchery and crookedness are the norm rather than the exception, such behavior is the way of life of many on all levels of our society . . . .

This nation is doomed, but there is yet hope for individuals. Seek ye Jesus the Christ and confess your sins and ask for forgiveness, then forsake old ways and place yourself in His hands. His power and His might is beyond that of puny men and earthly kingdoms. He is the Alpha and the Omega and He will be with you even unto the end of the age.

Source:newswithviews.com