The End of Christian America

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Obama Removes Jesus from Easter Message

Vince Haley

President Obama literally edited Christ out of his “ holiday greeting” today when he excerpted a sermon given by a military chaplain on Iwo Jima on Easter Sunday 1945. Below is the relevant paragraph from Obama’s holiday greeting today:

The rites of Passover, and the traditions of Easter, have been marked by people in every corner of the planet for thousands of years. They have been marked in times of peace, in times of upheaval, in times of war.

One such war-time service was held on the black sands of Iwo Jima more than sixty years ago. There, in the wake of some of the fiercest fighting of World War II, a chaplain rose to deliver an Easter sermon, consecrating the memory, he said “of American dead – Catholic, Protestant, Jew. Together,” he said, “they huddled in foxholes or crouched in the bloody sands…Together they practiced virtue, patriotism, love of country, love of you and of me.” The chaplain continued, “The heritage they have left us, the vision of a new world, [was] made possible by the common bond that united them…their only hope that this unity will endure.”
Their only hope that this unity will endure.

Now read below the same paragraph again, but this time note the additional bolded language that comes from the original audio of the 1945 sermon and its context, but which President Obama decided not to include:

There, in the wake of some of the fiercest fighting of World War II, a chaplain rose to deliver an Easter sermon, consecrating the memory, he said:

He has risen. With all due reverence, we apply these words to our beloved dead.

There are too many air call wings encrusted with the stain of their owners’ life blood, too many marine trousers upon the graves, too many symbols of American dead – Catholic, Protestant, Jew. Together,” he said, “they huddled in foxholes or crouched in the bloody sands under the fury of enemy guns here on Iwo Jima. Together they practiced virtue, patriotism, love of country, love of you and of me. Together they stand before the greatest soldier of them all – Jesus Christ, to receive the token of our triumph. For Christ has said: “Greater love than this no man hath then that he lay down his life for his friends.”

And so our beloved dead have gone from the world of hate to the world of eternal love.

The chaplain continued, “The heritage they have left us, the vision of a new world, [was] made possible by the common bond that united them in the drudgery of recruit training or here in the chaos of bursting shouts. Their only hope: that this unity will endure.”

And so our dead have risen to glory.

The American President is president of all the people, believers and non-believers alike. So when presidential messages are delivered to mark the special observances of major religious groups, it is understandable that a president will strive to provide some measure of explanation of how a particular religious observance honors values that all Americans can share.

But there are limits. A president cannot possibly hope to be a grand synthesizer of all religious traditions in the United States. Despite his skills, it is above President Obama’s pay grade to construct some kind of civic religion that stands above traditional religions and which should guide Americans going forward.

Instead of providing separate messages to Jews and Christians on the observance of Passover and Easter, President Obama said in this holiday greeting that “while we worship in different ways, we also remember the shared spirit of humanity that inhabits us all – Jews and Christians, Muslims and Hindus, believers and nonbelievers alike.”

Obama then went on to say that “on this Easter weekend, let us hold fast to those aspirations we hold in common as brothers and sisters, as members of the same family – the family of man.”

The problem is that when you start to water down what people actually believe in an attempt to construct a religion of the “family of man”, you start to misrepresent fundamentally the nature of the hope that is at the center of lives of believers.

In the case of Christians, Christ is our hope. Our hope is in the risen Christ, which we celebrate on Easter Sunday.

But if a president wants to water down religious beliefs in an attempt to find a synthesized religion of the ‘family of man’, you end up removing Christ from Easter, which is, strangely, exactly what President Obama did today in his Easter message.

Is this the first American president to dechristianize Easter?

[Aplomb]

Meanwhile, behind the scenes, our angels are looking out for us and often seem to be having a great time...

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ARMY REPORT SAYS CHRISTIANS THREATEN US FOREIGN POLICY

By Chuck Baldwin
April 14, 2010

NewsWithViews.com

Army Report A Precursor To Christian Persecution?

Last Friday, I told readers of this column that I had come across a very disturbing government report and that I would be exposing that report during my Sunday address this past Sunday morning. I did exactly that, and anyone wishing to see an archived video of that address can do so by using this link (the video should be uploaded by this weekend)

The report's header reads, "Strategic Implications of American Millennialism, A Monograph by MAJOR Brian L. Stuckert, U.S. Army. This monograph was defended by the degree candidate on 01 May 2008 and approved by the monograph director and reader named below. Approved by: Timothy Challans, Ph.D., Monograph Director; Robert Taylor, COL, MI, Monograph Reader; Stefan J. Banach, COL, IN, Director, School of Advanced Military Studies; Robert F. Baumann, Ph.D., Director, Graduate Degree Programs." The School of Advanced Military Studies, United States Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, produced the report.

Here is the TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Why Millennialism Matters
The Role of Civil Religion and Culture
Millennial Theologies in America
Post-Millennialism and the Founding of America
Civil War, World War and the Rise of Pre-Millennialism
Israel, Nuclear War and the Last Days
Contemporary Pre-Millennialism in the American Electorate
Contemporary Pre-Millennialism and American Culture
The Holy Land and Armageddon: U.S. Policy in the Middle East
Anti-Christ, Gog, Magog, and Armies From the East
Conclusions and Recommendations
Bibliography

Remember, this is not a Christian university report or even a secular university's religion department report, but rather a report written by an active duty Army major (who is now stationed in Afghanistan, I am told) for one of America's war colleges.

Before analyzing this report, here are some questions to ponder.

Whose brainchild was this report?

Did the major select the topic himself or did a superior assign it to him?

To whom exactly was the report distributed?

How was the report used?

What are the interconnections between this report and the MIAC and Department of Homeland Security reports that draw similar conclusions?

And perhaps the biggest question is, What does this report portend for government action in the future?

When Major Stuckert speaks of millennialism, he is referring to the Biblical doctrine of Eschatology--specifically, the Second Coming of Jesus Christ to the earth to institute a 1,000-year (millennial) reign. He recognizes some of the nuances of this doctrine in his study, most notably post-millennialism and pre-millennialism. His report is heavily focused on pre-millennialism, however.

At this point, I feel it is necessary to make this observation: whether one is a post-millennialist or a pre-millennialist, the fact that we Christians believe in the literal return of Jesus Christ to the earth to establish His Kingdom puts us in the same boat, as far as the ramifications of Major Stuckert's report--and similar reports--are concerned. We Christians need to recognize that, as far as the Stuckerts of this world are concerned, because we believe the Bible and we believe in the literal return of Christ, we are considered an enemy. We can disagree with one another all we want to about whether there is a Rapture (and if there is one, when it will occur), whether Christ will return before or after a millennial kingdom takes place, and scores of other theological differences, but none of that is important to the events at hand: there is a growing sense among many governmental and military leaders in America that Bible-believing Christians are an enemy that must be marginalized, warned about, watched, and even controlled. And it does not matter to a tinker's dam to these Machiavellians whether one is a post-millennialist or a pre-millennialist. If we believe the Bible and believe that Jesus is coming again, they consider us "dangerous." And we Christians better wake up to this stark reality, stop fighting each other, and focus on working together to preserve our liberties!

And one more early observation: there is an eerie and uncanny connection between the verbiage and spirit of Stuckert's report and the now-infamous MIAC and Homeland Security reports. The timing, too, is significant. The MIAC and Homeland Security reports were produced shortly after Major Stuckert's report was produced. A coincidence? Not on your life!

Here are some excerpts from Stuckert's report:

"Millennialism has great explanatory value, significant policy implications, and creates potential vulnerabilities that adversaries may exploit." (Abstract, page iii.)

"These factors [results of millennial belief] can be problematic for any military leader or planner attempting to achieve U.S. Government policy objectives through strategy, operations and programs." (Abstract, page iv.)

Notice that from the very outset of this report, Stuckert asserts that Christians who believe in the Second Coming create circumstances or conditions that might be "problematic" for America's military leaders. We Christians also create "potential vulnerabilities" that America's enemies may "exploit," according to Stuckert. Furthermore, Stuckert laments that we Christians may even interfere with "U.S. Government policy objectives."

Pray tell, exactly what are those "U.S. Government policy objectives" that Christians might prove to be "problematic" for? And is Major Stuckert suggesting that those Christian military officers currently serving in the US armed forces are somehow "problematic" to "U.S. Government policy objectives"? And do these same Christian officers make America "vulnerable" to our enemies? Is he suggesting that military officers in the US armed forces who believe in the Second Coming of Jesus Christ be expunged from military service, because of their beliefs?

As one will observe when reading the 61-page treatise, Major Stuckert, with a broad brush, paints millennialist Christians as being serious problems for America's foreign policy and for "U.S. Government policy objectives," and that we must be dealt with; but he offers no details on what, exactly, should be done. Or if he did, that part of his treatise is not a matter of public record.

More quotes:

"The impact of American millennial religious ideas on U.S. Government policy will add to strategic hubris, compel increasingly reckless international action, and continue to over-commit the military in ways the Nation cannot afford." (Page 1)

Again, notice that Christians who believe in Christ's return add to pride, recklessness, and war. Good grief! I suppose that we Christians are also responsible for the escalating price of gas and oil too--and maybe even global warming!

Stuckert continues:

"First, millennial thought and its policy implications may create strategic transparency that affords adversaries an advantage in decision-making.

Second, an understanding of American millennial thinking may provide adversaries with the means to manipulate American policy and subsequent action.

Third, the enemy may exploit American millennialism to increase the fragility of and even disrupt coalitions.

Fourth, adversaries may exploit American millennialism to demoralize or TERRORIZE joint forces and the American people.

By recognizing these potential vulnerabilities, military leaders and planners may TAKE ACTION NOW to mitigate the effects." (Page 2. Emphasis added.)

Dear reader, is the hair standing up on the back of your neck yet?

If not, it should be!

According to Major Stuckert, the belief in Christ's Second Coming makes us vulnerable to America's adversaries.

In fact, these adversaries (are they foreign or domestic?

He doesn't specify) might even exploit this belief to "TERRORIZE . . . the American people." (Emphasis added.)

There's that "T" word again!

Do you now see the connection to the MIAC and Homeland Security reports? Is it all starting to make sense now?

Because we believe in the literal return of Christ to the earth, do people such as Major Stuckert consider us to be potential terrorists?

And just what does Stuckert mean by the statement, "Military leaders and planners may take action now to mitigate the effects"?

Does he propose that we Christians be rounded up and put in all these FEMA camps (that don't exist)?

Just how does he plan for the US military to "mitigate" the effects of us Christians? This statement is downright chilling!

In this report, Major Stuckert specifically mentions the holiness and Pentecostal churches; as well as the Assemblies of God; non-denominational churches; and Independent and Southern Baptists.

Again, anyone who believes in the Second Coming of Christ is targeted in this report.

According to Stuckert, "Millennialism actually refers to any system of belief or interpretation that employs a literal thousand years, or chiliad, in reading and applying Revelation 20:1-7." (Page 9)

Stuckert even went so far as to say that Christian "mission work, especially overseas, [has] significant implications for U.S. foreign policy." (Page 27)

I bet that when you folks make that financial donation to your church's foreign missions program you have no idea that you are causing significant (negative) implications for US foreign policy. Well, Stuckert thinks you are.

Stuckert also berates Millennialists for "[driving] the U.S. further from the U.N. in the near future since many pre-millennialists have to come to view that body as a platform for the Anti-Christ."

He went on to say, "American pre-millennialists will also feel increasingly threatened by the E.U. in coming years." And, "Pre-millennial interpretations of biblical prophecy that predict the emergence of a one-world government led by an anti-Christ causes distrust and even antagonism toward organizations like the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, the European Union, NAFTA and OPEC." (Page 52)

In other words, folks, Stuckert is greatly chagrined that we Christians do not, and will not, accept the push toward global government being orchestrated by institutions such as the UN, the EU, et al.

He feels that because we oppose NAFTA, GATT, the WTO, the FTAA, and the overall NEW WORLD ORDER agenda, we are "problematic" and must be "mitigated."

Stuckert goes on to blame Christians for "problems for relations between the U.S. and Russia" (Page 53), problems in the Middle East and China (Page 56), as well as coming "global disaster." (Page 55)

Major Stuckert then makes an incredible admission on page 58. He said, "War is primarily about politics. While geography and technology play a role, in order to be successful military leaders must be able to see the political goals as clearly as possible. Because of the influence of pre-millennialism, it can be difficult for military leaders to see themselves and their government accurately and state policy goals objectively."

What did he say?

"War is primarily about politics"?

I thought war was about defending the people and territory of the United States. I thought war was about protecting freedom and liberty.

War is about politics?

So that's why our young men are fighting and dying in Iraq and Afghanistan? It's all about politics? If so, whose politics? Major Stuckert's? Barack Obama's? George W. Bush's? The CFR's? The UN's?

Exactly whose politics is sending our sons and daughters to fight and die? The good major doesn't say.

But did you catch that last sentence? "Because of the influence of pre-millennialism [and he could just as easily have said post-millennialism], it can be difficult for military leaders to see themselves and their government accurately and state policy goals objectively."

Holy cow!

Belief in the Second Coming blinds military leaders?

They cannot see themselves or their government accurately?

What the heck does this mean? Is Stuckert saying that because a military officer believes the Bible--believes in the return of Christ to the earth--he or she cannot see themselves and cannot "see" their government properly?

Exactly what is it about his or her government that cannot be accurately seen? Maybe Stuckert means that because a Christian military officer believes in God, he or she cannot recognize government to be his or her god. Is that it, Major Stuckert?

You want us all to see the US federal government as god?

On page 59, Stuckert accuses belief in millennialism of producing "pessimism and paranoia." On the same page, he accuses people who believe in millennialism of causing a "predisposition toward pessimism in world affairs and a general worsening of international relations."

Yeah! That's right, Major! You devote 61 pages (and untold hours producing them) accusing Christians of bringing "global disaster" to the world, but we are the ones who are paranoid? If that isn't the pot calling the kettle black, I don't know what is.

On page 60, Stuckert blames Christians for having a "proclivity for clear differentiations between good, evil, right, and wrong [which] do not always serve us well in foreign relations or security policy." Oh! Really?

Is Stuckert saying that there is no right and wrong in regard to America's policies with foreign nations? Is he saying that there is no such thing as right and wrong in regard to security policies? Is Stuckert saying the US government should be able to do whatever it likes, regardless of right and wrong? Is he saying that anything done in the name of "security" is right, regardless of what it is? Is it right to lie to the American people, Mr. Stuckert? Is it right to violate the US Constitution? Is it right to murder? If there is no such thing as right and wrong, moral and immoral, in regard to the waging of war and other security matters, pray tell, what were those Nuremberg trials all about?

In researching this column, I found a WorldNetDaily report written by Bob Unruh on December 19, 2009. In his report, Unruh said that an Army spokesman "could not say whether any other writings ever had attacked a religious belief as Stuckert's work." That's a good point. Where is the Army report that singles out people who embrace Islam, Judaism, Catholicism, or liberal Protestantism as being "problematic" to America's foreign policy? Why is it that only people who embrace conservative Christianity, or fundamentalism/millennialism were singled out?

Unruh's report also notes that "no study or article refuting" Stuckert's report has been discovered. Therefore, absent a counterpoint, it might be accurate to conclude that Stuckert's report has become de facto US government policy.

It certainly does appear that the particulars of Stuckert's report made their way to both the MIAC and DHS reports.

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Ideas do have consequences. I can see the Communists taking advantage of Millenial beliefs in Their Psycopolitical/Geopolitical warfare....The deeply ingrained theology that posits a future where Russia MUST invade Israel with Islamic allies is a case in point, having dire geopolitical ramifications in the region that is anticommunist but against US friendship with Israel....

Frankly I never dreamed of the US abandoning Israel during the last administration or Russia and China becoming world leaders.

Only in the last 12 months am I seeing this moving from theory to reality coming from this Marxist Administration.

Along with the deeper set of beliefs involving the 'Rapture', in which Communists would encourage the idea among Rapture believers that 'the worse, the better' and that the Enemy cannot be fought by force of arms....Or the cultivation of political millenial sects like the 'Hutaree'

Stuckert is not entirely off the reservation on this one.

Every doctrine conceived of men has some kooky traditions and beliefs.

The problem I see emerging is a tangible movement of growing persecution toward the Right from the Left.

Christians are just part of a larger group that are ideologically opposed to Left in this country.

Once the persecution starts at which group will it end?


When they came for the Rich,
I remained silent;
I was not Rich.

When they came for Jobs in the private sector.
I remained silent;
I had not lost my Job yet.

When they came for Health Care.
I remained silent;
Because soon after I lost my Job and didn't have Health Care.

When they came for the Militia,
I remained silent;
I was not a Militia member.

When they locked up all the kooky Christians opposed to the Government,
I remained silent;
I was not a kooky Christian.

When they locked up the Right Wing Freedom Speech Nuts,
I did not speak out because;
I was not a Right Wing Nut.

When they came for the Firearms,
I did not speak out;
I was not armed.

When they came for me, there was no one left to speak out.

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Judge: Natl Day Of Prayer Unconstitutional

April 15, 2010 - 4:49 PM |
by: Mike Levine

The National Day of Prayer, honored in the United States for more than a half-century, is unconstitutional, a federal judge in Wisconsin has ruled.

In a 66-page opinion issued Thursday, U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb said the holiday violates the "establishment clause" of the First Amendment, which creates a separation of church and state.

"I understand that many may disagree with that conclusion and some may even view it as a criticism of prayer or those who pray," Crabb said in her opinion. "That is unfortunate. A determination that the government may not endorse a religious message is not a determination that the message itself is harmful, unimportant or undeserving of dissemination."

The opinion comes in a case filed by the Freedom From Religion Foundation, a Wisconsin-based group of self-described "atheists" and "agnostics."

Crabb said her ruling is based on "relevant case law," and it does not prevent religious groups from organizing prayer services or prevent the President from discussing his views on prayer.

"The only issue decided in this case is that the federal government may not endorse prayer in a statute," Crabb said.

The Justice Department would not say whether it expects to appeal Crabb's ruling.
"We are reviewing the court's decision," a Justice Department spokesman said.

Within hours of the ruling, the ranking Republican on the House Judiciary Committee urged the Justice Department to "immediately" file an appeal.

"The decision undermines the values of religious freedom that America was founded upon," Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Tex., said in a statement.

"What’s next? Declaring the federal holiday for Christmas unconstitutional?"

Crabb said the ruling would not have any effect until any appeals are exhausted.

She insisted her ruling was not a judgment on the value of prayer.

"No one can doubt the important role that prayer plays in the spiritual life of a believer," Crabb said in her opinion. "In the best of times, people may pray as a way of expressing joy and thanks; during times of grief, many find that prayer provides comfort. Others may pray to give praise, seek forgiveness, ask for guidance or find the truth. ... However, recognizing the importance of prayer to many people does not mean that the government may enact a statute in support of it, any more than the government may encourage citizens to fast during the month of Ramadan, attend a synagogue, purify themselves in a sweat lodge or practice rune magic."

The National Day of Prayer was first established by Congress in 1952, with a more specific date for the holiday set in 1988. It is now observed on the first Thursday in May.

Smith said he can "assure" Americans that "Congress will do everything in its power to protect the National Day of Prayer."

On the holiday last year, President Obama issued a statement saying Americans have always "come together in moments of great challenge and uncertainty to humble themselves in prayer."

"In 1775, as the Continental Congress began the task of forging a new Nation, colonists were asked to observe a day of quiet humiliation and prayer," the statement said. "Almost a century later, as the flames of the Civil War burned from north to south, President Lincoln and the Congress once again asked the American people to pray as the fate of their Nation hung in the balance."

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GLOBAL WAR ON CHRISTIAN VALUES

PART 2

By Berit Kjos
June 6, 2010

NewsWithViews.com

Social Justice and the New Morality

"I am certain that nothing has done so much to destroy the [legal] safeguards of individual freedom as the striving after this mirage of social justice." Fredrich August von Hayek [1]

"In this book [Rules for Radicals] we are concerned with how to create mass organizations to seize power and give it to the people; to realize the democratic dream of equality, justice, peace.... This means revolution.'"[2] Saul Alinsky

“'To be a leader means to be able to move the masses.' Hitler’s aim was first to move the masses and then, having pried them loose from their traditional loyalties and moralities, to impose upon them (with the hypnotized consent of the majority) a new authoritarian order of his own devising."[3] Aldous Huxley, Brave New World Revisited

During the turbulent sixties, I finished nursing school, married Andy, traveled around the world with him for eight months (about $7 a day), and had two babies. Wanting to use my training, I offered to help at a "well-baby clinic" in a nearby black community. With my infant in a basket, I took my place at the examining table.

Some months later, I attended a community meeting important enough to merit the protective presence of the revolutionary Black Panthers. In awe, I watched its well armed warriors for "social justice" line up on each side of the hall. We, the white volunteers, listened to the organizer's angry words about capitalism, racism, social injustice and radical change. They didn't want our presence any more, so we were told to stay home and raise support for them in our white communities.

I didn't question their values that day. But a few years later, as a new Christian, I began to wonder. By then, I had been thoroughly exposed to the spiritual bleakness of liberal theology, its transformational agenda, and its hostility toward Biblical Christianity.

I had learned that the vision of "social justice" is infused with deceptive dreams. Promising economic equality, its well-trained "organizers" would destroy personal incentive, undermine family values, twist God's Word, and breed dependence and poverty for all but its elite leaders! There wouldn't be much wealth left to spread. Yet the lie survives -- even in today's churches.

A major advocate for this agenda is Jim Wallis, a member of the President's Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. He founded the left-leaning magazine, Sojourners, which promotes an idealistic view of "social justice." Its February 2007 issue gave us a glimpse of its position:

"The goal of social charity and social justice is furthering the common good.

Social charity addresses the effects of social sin, while social justice addresses the causes of such sins [inequality, capitalism, etc.]. Brazilian Catholic Archbishop Hélder Câmara famously said, 'When I feed the poor, they call me a saint; when I ask why they are poor, they call me a communist.'”

"Social charity... doesn’t fundamentally change or challenge the unjust structure. The principle of social justice...requires the individual Christian to act in an organized manner with others to hold social institutions accountable... to the common good."[4]

Do you wonder what they mean by "common good"? What can we learn from Venezuela? Or Greece?

THE ROOTS AND RESULTS OF SOCIAL JUSTICE

Neither Karl Marx nor Friedrich Engels, the leading change agents behind communism and contemporary socialism, showed compassion for the poor masses that supposedly justified their agenda. Their form of "social justice" was simply their excuse for tyranny. In letters to Marx, Engels referred to peasants as "bumpkins," "a barbaric race," "frightfully stupid," etc. Marx described them as "degenerate rabble."[5] Both despised Christianity and its moral values.

How, then, did socialism survive? Why is it spreading?

Dr. Thomas Sowell gives us a glimpse of its roots. In his article "Race and Resentment," he wisely connects this phenomena to a universal condition: our corruptible human nature:

"Recent stories out of both Philadelphia and San Francisco tell of black students beating up Asian American students. This is especially painful for those who expected that the election of Barack Obama would mark the beginning of a post-racial America....

"Many of our educators, our intelligentsia and our media -- not to mention our politicians-- promote an attitude that other people's achievements are grievances, rather than examples. When black school children who are working hard in school and succeeding academically are attacked and beaten up by black classmates for 'acting white,' why is it surprising that similar hostility is turned against Asian Americans, who are often achieving academically more so than whites?...

"The same phenomenon is found among lower-class whites in Britain, where academically achieving white students have been beaten up badly enough by their white classmates to require hospital treatment.

"These are poisonous and self-destructive consequences of a steady drumbeat of ideological hype about differences that are translated into 'disparities' and 'inequities,' provoking envy and resentments under their more prettied-up name of 'social justice.'"[6]

Perhaps you remember Kurt Vonnegut's short story, "Harrison Bergeron." It magnifies the destructive leveling needed to create a collective society of equals whose achievements offend no one:

"The year was 2081, and everybody was finally equal.... Nobody was smarter... [or] better looking than anybody else. Nobody was stronger or quicker than anybody else. All this equality was due to the 211th, 212th, and 213th Amendments to the Constitution, and to the unceasing vigilance of agents of the United States Handicapper General [H-G].

"... the H-G men took George and Hazel Bergeron's fourteen-year-old son, Harrison, away. It was tragic, all right, but George and Hazel couldn't think about it very hard. Hazel had a perfectly average intelligence, which meant she couldn't think about anything except in short bursts. And George, while his intelligence was way above normal, had a little mental handicap radio in his ear. He was required by law to wear it at all times.... Every twenty seconds or so, the transmitter would send out some sharp noise to keep people like George from taking unfair advantage of their brains."[7]

Hate and envy serve as driving forces behind socialism. By idolizing the leader (Hitler forced churches to hang his picture over their altars), popularizing solidarity, and inciting rage toward dissenters, socialist dictators have gained unthinkable power. Learning from Soviet triumphs, Hitler wrote in Mein Kampf.

"The first task of propaganda is to win people for subsequent organization.... The second task of propaganda is the disruption of the existing state of affairs and the permeation of this state of affairs with the new doctrine..."[8, see note]

That new doctrine would free the masses from all Biblical morality. Depravity would replace modesty, honesty and integrity. As an angry young revolutionary, Marx admitted that his aim was not to improve the world but to enjoy its corruption:

"With disdain I will throw my gauntlet full in the face of the world,
And see the collapse of this pygmy giant whose fall will not stifle my ardor
Then will I wander godlike and victorious through the ruins of the world
And, giving my words an active force, I will feel equal to the Creator." [9]

THE MARXIST MEANING OF SOCIAL JUSTICE

Having endured the terrors of the Soviet gulag (prison) system, author Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn tried to warn the West. In his Foreword for a Russian book by Igor Shafarevich titled, The Socialist Phenomenon, he explained that,

"...socialism (at least at first sight) turns out to be a glaring contradiction. Proceeding from a critique of a given society, accusing it of injustice, inequality and lack of freedom, socialism proclaims [and produces]... a far greater injustice, inequality and slavery!...

"In the most popular work of Marxism, the Communist Manifesto, one of the first measures of the new socialist system to be proposed is the introduction of compulsory labor."[10]

Igor Shafarevich's book includes a section titled "Socialism is the expression of the quest for social justice." It highlights the conflict between the alluring myth and the harsh reality of social justice:

"Since it is unquestionably true that appeals to justice and the condemnation of the defects of contemporary life occupy a central place in socialist ideology, this question must be formulated more precisely: Is the aspiration for social justice the goal and the driving force of socialism or is the appeal to this aspiration only a means to achieve some other goals?

"...in the socialist doctrines themselves, at least, we should uncover compassion for the sufferings of the victims of injustice and the impulse to lighten their burden. Yet this is precisely what is lacking!...

"At a time when 'bourgeois philanthropists' such as Dickens and Carlyle were fighting against child labor, the... [Communist] First International adopted a resolution composed by Marx: '...In a rationally organized society, each child from the age of nine ought to be a productive worker.'"[11]

What kind of social justice is that?

Shafarevich lists four basic socialist principles that show the stark contrast between American freedom and socialist tyranny:

1. The Abolition of Private Property.
2. The Abolition of the Family.
3. The Abolition of Religion.
4. Communality or Equality.[12]

Freedom: The Opposite of Social Justice

In contrast to socialism, the authors of America's Constitution sought genuine freedom for all. It was incomplete, but by 1865, countless thousands had given their lives to free the slaves. By law, all would share the benefits of the First Amendment in our Bill of Rights: [13]

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

Yet, unless God intervenes, we may soon lose those legal rights. The hollow hope of a more perfect world -- in this case, a tyrannical collective -- has captured the hearts of idealistic Americans as well as revolutionary change agents.

Our children and youth are especially vulnerable. Public schools are training them to think collectively through the mandatory use of the dialectic process.

Subjective opinions and feelings replace objective facts and certainties, and compromise becomes a habit. Few children are prepared to stand firm on God's "offensive" moral values.

In other words, America is trading her moral foundation for a changeable set of amoral values that can be twisted in any which way by today's trained facilitators and capricious leaders. Please remember this warning:

"... if you do not obey the voice of the Lord your God....[He] will cause you to be defeated before your enemies.... He shall lend to you, but you shall not lend to him..... Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joy and gladness of heart for the abundance of everything, therefore you shall serve your enemies." Deuteronomy 28:15, 44, 47-48 (more)

"Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition...." 1 Corinthians 10:11

God tells us to live by His standard for justice. He has given us clear guidelines to follow them: help the needy, share our resources, and comfort those who hurt with His wonderful promises. The Old Testament prophet Micah summarized it well:

"He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?" Micah 6:8

That's a far cry from trusting a socialist government to rule our families, assign our activities, monitor our choices, prescribe our beliefs, and redistribute our possessions.

We live in an imperfect world, and a spiritual war is raging all around us. America may never be the same, but those who know God have a place of refuge. And in the midst of it all, we will -- by His grace -- continue to share His joy, comfort, mercy and resources.

"Be kindly affectionate to one another...patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality. Bless those who persecute you.... Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep." Romans 12:10-15

Click here for part -----> 1,

Endnotes:

1, Fredrich August von Hayek, Economic Freedom and Representative Government (1973)

2, Saul Alinsky, Rules for Radicals, p.3

3, Aldous Huxley, Brave New World Revisited (New York: Harper & Row, 1958, p.41
4, Rose Marie Berger, "What the Heck is ‘Social Justice’?" Sojourners, February 2007. Also available on this page.

5, Igor Shafarevich, The Socialist Phenomenon, p. 224

6, Thomas Sowell, "Race and Resentment," May 04, 2010.

7, Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., "Harrison Bergeron"

8, Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf (Cambridge: Houghton-Mifflin Company, 1943), 582. Note: "Nazis declared support for a form of socialism that is to provide for the nation: economic security, social welfare programs for workers, a just wage, honour for workers' importance to the nation, and protection from capitalist exploitation. Nazism, however, rejected class conflict-based socialism ...." (Wikipedia, footnote 18: Joseph W. Bendersky, A history of Nazi Germany: 1919-1945., p. 40.) See also Hitler was a Socialist

9, Richard Wurmbrand, Was Marx a Satanist? (Diane Books, 1976), p. 24
10, Igor Shafarevich, The Socialist Phenomenon, p.xii (Foreword by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn)

11, Ibid., pps. 220-221, 223

12, Ibid., p. 195-196

13, Human nature, apart from God, is vulnerable to every kind of evil. The "Emancipation Proclamation" didn't end racism and persecution, for absolute perfection is impossible among imperfect human beings. As God's Word tells us, "The heart is deceitful above all things..." (Jeremiah 17:9) But with His Word and Spirit as our life's foundation, peace and love can become a reality.

© 2010 Berit Kjos - All Rights Reserved

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FAITH UNDER FIRE
America, 2010: Christians hauled to jail for preaching Jesus
'Apparently the Constitution carries little weight in Dearborn'

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Posted: June 22, 2010
9:06 pm Eastern
© 2010 WorldNetDaily

One of the nation's top legal teams regarding civil and religious rights has stepped into a dispute stemming from last weekend's Arab Festival in Dearborn, Mich., where police are accused of enforcing Islamic law.

"Officers arrested four Christian missionaries and illegally confiscated their video cameras, which were recording the events surrounding their arrests," said a statement today from the Thomas More Law Center of Ann Arbor, Mich.

Officials in the police department with the city of Dearborn declined to comment to WND.

But the law-center announcement said the incident has been described as "police enforcement of Shariah law." The organization said it would represent the Christians.

"These Christian missionaries were exercising their constitutional rights to free speech and the free exercise of religion, but apparently the Constitution carries little weight in Dearborn, where the Muslim population seems to dominate the political apparatus," said Richard Thompson, president and chief counsel of the Thomas More Law Center.


"It's apparent that these arrests were a retaliatory action over the embarrassing video of the strong-arm tactics used last year by festival security guards. This time, the first thing police officers did before making the arrests was to confiscate the video cameras in order to prevent a recording of what was actually happening," Thompson said.

Arrested on charges of breach of the peace were Negeen Mayel, Dr. Nabeel Qureshi, Paul Rezkalla and David Wood, the legal team said.

Mayel, an 18-year-old woman whose parents emigrated from Afghanistan and a recent convert from Islam to Christianity, also was charged with failure to obey a police officer's orders. She was approximately 100 feet away and videotaping a discussion with Muslims when her camera was seized, the law firm said.

"Contrary to the comments made by Police Chief Ron Haddad, our Constitution does not allow police to ban the right of free speech just because there are some hecklers. Not all police officers approve of the way their department treated these Christians," said Thompson.

The Christian missionaries reported police told them they would have to be five blocks away from the festival to give away copies of the Gospel of John.

The law center also is representing Pastor George Saeig, who was prohibited by the festival and police authorities from distributing religious material at last year's festival. That case is ongoing and a federal appeals court ruled prior to the 2010 event that handing out Christian literature in the proximity of the festival was allowed.

WND reported earlier that at least two people claim a crowd was cheering "Allahu akbar!" while the Christians were led away in handcuffs for doing nothing more than engaging in peaceful dialogue and videotaping the event.

The Arab event was June 18 in Dearborn, where an estimated 30,000 of the city's 98,000 residents are Muslim.

The American Arab Chamber of Commerce announced the event was expected to draw "over 300,000 people from across the country, Canada and the Middle East." The festival covers 14 blocks and is free and open to the public.

All the Christian missionaries are from a Christian group called Acts 17 Apologetics.

Qureshi said people at the festival recognized his group from its visit in 2009. Last year, the Acts 17 Apologetics team was escorted from the grounds while being allegedly assaulted by security personnel and several attendees. The following is the group's footage of the incident:

This year, Qureshi said some attendees who recognized them "would come up to us, accusing us, threatening us, saying we were racists, saying they were going to hurt us and yelling curses and insults at us."

However, he said his group was able to engage in civil conversations with many people who initiated discussion. But then the group was arrested by local police. Each of the four are now free on bond.

"Paul, David, Negeen and I went to the festival to see and comment on the situation," Qureshi wrote on his blog. "Thankfully, we recorded every second of our activity at the festival."

In Saieg's case, WND reported, a federal appeals court granted an emergency motion allowing him to hand out information about his faith at the same festival.

A three-judge panel from the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, citing the precedent that even a minimal loss of a fundamental right is irreparable, granted the motion requested by the Thomas More Law Center on behalf of the Sudanese Christian.

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Why is Obama Changing “Freedom of Religion” to “Freedom of Worship”?

Words matter. Words often hold great meaning. That is especially true when it comes to the words of our founding documents like the Bill of Rights in our Constitution. Those words are especially cherished. Yet in the past year it appears the Obama administration has been changing one key word in that sacred scroll.

Last month the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom’s 2010 report revealed grave concern about both President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton rejecting the term “freedom of religion” for the term “freedom of worship” in public pronouncements. Why the change when the First Amendment talks specifically about our freedom of religion and not simply worship?

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof… – US Constitution

Last November Obama used the term “freedom of worship” at the memorial service for the victims of the Ft. Hood shooting. A few days later he did it again in speeches in both Japan and China. In December Hillary Clinton also used that terminology three times in a speech at Georgetown University and never once used the phrase “freedom of religion”. In January of this year Clinton used the “freedom of worship” term four times while addressing senators.

This change in phraseology could well be viewed by human rights defenders and officials in other countries as having concrete policy implications.” – U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom’s 2010 report

The response by many religious freedom advocates is fear of what this all means. Nina Shea, director of the Center for Religious Freedom and member of the Religious Freedom commission believes freedom of worship is limited to private beliefs and prayer but not public activity.

It excludes the right to raise your children in your faith; the right to have religious literature; the right to meet with co-religionists; the right to raise funds; the right to appoint or elect your religious leaders, and to carry out charitable activities, to evangelize, [and] to have religious education or seminary training. – Nina Shea

Some Christian based publications are also worried.

That’s not an inconsequential change: Freedom of worship means the ability to have church services, which is crucial, but leaves out protection for Christian schools, publications, and Christian compassionate ministries…’Freedom of religion’ means that ministries designed to help prisoners change their lives, or to help the poor enter the workforce, can teach what the Bible teaches. Under ‘freedom of worship,’ these ministries could become illegal, as they are in many parts of the world. This is a development to watch warily. – World Magazine

Some in the State Department argue the words “religion” and “worship” can be used interchangeably and there is nothing to worry about. Others aren’t so sure and see this change in terminology as a major shift by the Obama administration.

Those of us in the business of sniffing out rats know that this is a rhetorical shift to watch. – Tom Farr, Professor of Religion and World Affairs at Georgetown University and the former head of the State Department’s International Religious Freedom Office

This President clearly sees religion as a key part of foreign affairs when the Muslim world is involved especially. He is ultra-careful to not want to offend followers of Islam. We already know that the administration has rejected the term “radical Islam” or any similar language and refuses to admit religion plays a major roll in terrorism.

This new terminology of “freedom of worship” might be given as a sign to Muslim nations and places with Christian persecution like China that they are not going to crack down on religious persecution for minority religions in those countries. That could explain why Obama first used the term after a radical Muslim killed Americans at Ft. Hood. And it could also explain why he used the term in speeches in China and Japan.

I’m very fearful that by building bridges, we’re actually stepping away from this fundamental principle of religious freedom. … It is so critical for Western, especially American, leaders to articulate strong defense for religious freedom and explain what that means and how it undergirds our entire civilization. – Nina Shea


Shea has it right. I’m not sure who all the Obama administration is trying to build bridges with by a shift in terminology, but it it a dangerous shift. When Obama’s folk shift terminology that always means there has been a shift in policy. They (with the exception of Vice President Biden) choose their words very carefully. The administration needs to publicly proclaim what this new policy means for Americans and for religious freedom around the world.

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Obama Administration Denies Entry of Christian Missionaries into the United States
ENTRY DENIED. All MEETINGS CANCELED -Andrew Strom

I am very sorry to announce to those of you who were planning on attending some of our meetings over the next month that we have been denied entry to the USA and sadly will have to cancel all the meetings.

My whole family were detained for over 6 hours at the US border
yesterday (the USA side), questioned, photographed, fingerprinted
like criminals – and sent back to Canada. We were told we could
not come in to preach to a series of Christian groups like this –
even though their website clearly says we CAN – and I have already
been in TWICE THIS YEAR doing exactly the same thing. They let
me in then – but no more. They even fingerprinted my 15-year-old
daughter. None of us (except our 9 and 11-year olds) can even set
foot in the USA again without going to the US Consulate and getting
special permission. We literally are now in the “criminal” class
according to US Immigration.

All this because we were invited by church groups and Christian
groups across the USA to come preach a series of meetings.
They told me to do that I have to have an “R” visa. (These take
months and months to get – often never). This is not what their
website says. New Zealand is a “visa-waiver” country and Conference
speakers are specifically allowed into the US under those rules. I
asked them, “How then can a foreign preacher who is invited by a
Christian group to the USA ever get in to preach?” They said maybe
that is OK for one or two meetings, but not for a series.

So we cannot preach in churches across the nation – even though that is
exactly what they have let me in to do before. This is the first time I have
ever been denied entry to do that very thing. And now we are
all – very evidently – “criminals”. Never to darken the door again.

But, you know, at the end of the day, God is in control. I felt sure
then and I feel sure now that even though this was so distressing,
God was still speaking to us through it all. I believe He is the one
who is slamming the door shut on America right now – and doing
so in no uncertain terms. We have been praying and many others
have been praying for too long for this to have just been “man’s”
decision. I accept it as the voice of God. America is over for us.

WHERE to FROM HERE?

The most likely thing is a return “Down-Under” to New Zealand and
Australia. We have been away from home now – traveling and
ministering – for 18 months. Perhaps it is time for a return to what
the explorer Pedro Fernandez de Quiros called the “Great South
Land of the Holy Spirit.”

I just want to apologize again to all those who wanted to attend
our upcoming meetings. I am very sorry, my friends. Our family
is still pretty shaken by all of this, so we would certainly appreciate
your prayers at this time.

-Please comment on this article below.

God bless you all.

Andrew Strom.

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Christian missionaries will stand trial in Dearborn

By Ed Brayton 9/20/10 7:30 AM

The four Christian missionaries arrested for disorderly conduct for preaching to a predominately Muslim crowd at the Dearborn International Arab Festival in June will stand trial after the judge refused to grant a motion filed by defense attorneys to dismiss the case.

The Thomas More Law Center, which is defending the missionaries, the ACLU of Michigan — two groups that rarely agree — and constitutional law professors told the Michigan Messenger that the arrests appear to violate the First Amendment.

Arab Festival 2010: Nabeel and Paul's Arrest in Dearborn

Dearborn Police and Mayor John C. O'Reilly have accused us of screaming at Muslims, harassing them, and inciting a riot. What will they say in response to video proof that they are wrong?

[quartertiller]

The actions and words by the oval office show the obvious disconnection with reality. Speaking as if speaking for the sum total of the country, when in fact his sub-conscious, unconscious, or conscious mind is "leaking" his own standing. If the guy is so intelligent, how does he assume to know what the collective population of America thinks?

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Update: Gay Activists Vow to Fight Christian Group’s iPhone App

• Posted on December 15, 2010 at 4:43pm by Meredith Jessup

When Apple unveiled its iPhone and welcomed techies everywhere invent creative apps, they probably didn‘t anticipate they’d find themselves embroiled in a battled over abortion and gay rights. But the fight over the Manhattan Declaration app continues to intensify.

In November, a petition from Change.org pushed Apple to pull the app, a pledge that “speaks in the defense of the sanctity of life, traditional marriage and religious liberty,“ and calls on Christians to ”adhere firmly to their family convictions.”

The Christian group behind the app is now proposing an updated version they hope will be considered less controversial. Supporters of the app have also launched an ad campaign against Apple’s “censorship,“ labeling Apple CEO Steve Jobs ”Big Brother.”

But opponents of the app — including the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) — are pledging to oppose any app which suggests homosexuality and abortion are immoral:

The makers of the application say they have removed the quiz and will resubmit the application. But simply removing the quiz does nothing to address the underlying problem, which is that this application tells people to pledge to oppose equality for gay and lesbian couples.

Tell Apple to stay strong in the face of pressure to reinstate this application – and to stand behind its commitment to keep these hurtful attitudes out of its app store.

GLAAD also warns that not removing the Manhattan Declaration app could be bad for business.

But blog site Gawker suggests that whatever Apple decides to do — whether it will keep the new app or pull it like the last — the company will inevitably anger some significant group of customers, but says “the company only has itself to blame.”

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Our future if the Left continues to have their way in America

Christianity isn’t dying, it’s being eradicated

By Cristina Odone Society Last updated: March 1st, 2011
2141 Comments Comment on this article

Owen and Eunice Johns at the High Court (Photo: Jane Mingay)

It’s official: Britain is no longer a Christian nation. In banning Eunice and Owen Johns, a devout Christian couple, from fostering children, Lord Justice Munby and Mr Justice Beatson declared that we live in a secular state, and that the Johns’ religious convictions disqualified them from raising citizens of that state. We’ve outgrown Christianity, the judges professed. Instead, we have graduated to the status of a multicultural nation, blessed by a plurality of faiths.

Ironically, the justices who have pronounced that Britain is no longer Christian did so in a court where witnesses swear on the Bible and invoke God’s help in telling the truth. I do not imagine that these judges leave out the first word in “God Save the Queen” – nor would they shun an invitation to the Royal wedding, which is happening not at a registry office but the centrepiece of official Christendom, Westminster Abbey.

In taking part in these traditions, the judges – and the rest of us – are no different from past generations. For Christianity is not merely a part of life here, a provider of schools, hospitals and orphanages. It is the backbone of our laws, the impetus for the charity, justice and tolerance that have long been characteristic of this country. Its grand principles have inspired citizens to extraordinary actions, such as William Wilberforce’s campaign against slavery, and to ordinary kindnesses, such as reading to hospital patients or delivering meals on wheels. When David Cameron speaks of our moral duty to our Arab brothers, or shares his vision for the Big Society, he taps not into narrow party allegiance, but into our common Christian heritage.

The Christians of an earlier era may not have known about multiculturalism, or predicted that it would be the signature tune of our times. Yet their faith gave them a moral imperative that demanded respect for others: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Without this moral underpinning, multiculturalism sags into a factionalism of competing demands and conflicting interests. Instead, the Gospel’s commandment inspires the Christian majority to accommodate Jewish, Muslim, atheist and Hindu minorities, without losing sight of the basic principle of mutual respect.

This, indeed, is one of the reasons why non-Christian believers are so passionate in wanting to protect Christianity as a presence in public life.

Jews, like Muslims, recognise that while Christians – and especially Anglicans – may enjoy a special status, their faith embraces all people as made, and loved, by God. The Act of Succession, which bans us Catholics from the throne, makes me angry; but like all members of a religious minority, I feel safer in a culture that cherishes spiritual values than in one that rubbishes them.

So it is not just Christians that the ruling in the Johns case will alarm and unsettle. As the judges wagged their fingers about the secularist principles that, they claim, define the nation (and which “ought to be, but seemingly are not, well understood”), they were not describing the status quo: a strong majority of Britons still consider themselves to be Christian. Instead, they were making clear their desire to steer this country in a direction of their own choosing – one that matches the views of an increasingly strident group that is determined to scrub Christianity from public life.

Its efforts to push the majority faith underground are evident everywhere, from our bus stops to our workplaces. The British Humanist Association is campaigning to discourage “cultural Christians” from identifying themselves as believers in the forthcoming census. Jo Johnson, a Tory MP, wants to drop the prayer that traditionally opens Parliamentary sessions. Companies like BA forbid their Christian staff from wearing crosses to work. Schools and offices present Christian holidays as secular breaks. And now devout Christians are to be prevented from becoming foster parents.

According to our learned judges, “the aphorism that ‘Christianity is part of the common law of England’ is now mere rhetoric”. How excruciatingly unjust.

[American Patriot]

England is doomed.

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Shocker! Churches promoting Islam

'Spiritual treason' seen as 'something hostile to Jesus Christ himself'

Posted: June 24, 2011
By Michael Carl
© 2011 WND

Dozens of churches, from Park Hill Congregational in Denver to Hillview United Methodist in Boise, Idaho, and First United Lutheran in San Francisco to St. Elizabeth's Episcopal Church in Honolulu, are planning to send "a message both here at home and to the Arab and Muslim world about our respect for Islam" with a time to read the Quran during worship this Sunday.

It's not just wrong, but dangerous, according to Christian trends analysts.

The aim of the program, which is promoted by social activists behind the Faith Shareda cottage industry of hate.
website, is to counter the message from Islamic activists who say opposition to their religion is the product of what they call
So the Interfaith Alliance and Human Rights First is calling on Christian clergy to read portions of the Quran during their services Sunday.

"Everlasting Hatred: The Roots of Jihad" – Hal Lindsey explains how 4,000-year-old struggle exploded on America's shores

The readings, supporters say, will "counter the anti-Muslim bigotry and negative stereotypes that have erupted throughout the country in the past year and led to misconceptions, distrust and in some cases, violence."

Not so fast, says apprising.org religious trends analyst Ken Silva.

"I would think they need to have their spiritual heads examined. It's foolish to think that we're going to read something that originates with demons and read that in a Christian church," Silva said.

The action amounts to "spiritual treason," he asserted.

Pastors of participating churches declined to discuss their programs with WND.

But Silva said, "Second Corinthians 6:14-18 (the verse warning against partnering light with darkness) says we're forbidden to do that kind of thing. It's one thing to be friendly with someone in Islam, but it's a whole other thing in a Christian community to be reading something that is antithetical to Christianity and is hostile to Jesus Christ himself."

Listen to Silva: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=314661

Silva isn't the only analyst who has objections to the program. Worldview Weekend President Brannon Howse said he's not surprised with the development.

"I expect that of the mainline churches. Many of them have denied the essential Christian doctrines," Howse said. "They have denied the exclusivity of Jesus Christ. They have denied the inerrancy of Scripture; they've denied the inspiration of Scripture. So I'm not shocked that pagans would united with pagans."

His critique of what he sees as the failure of the mainline churches grew more severe.

"I'm not shocked that apostates would unite with apostates. I'm not shocked that people who practice the occult of Christian yoga or practice the occultism of contemplative prayer, which is another name for Transcendental Meditation," Howse said.

Howse said he believes Islam is also rooted in the occult.

"I am not shocked that an occultic religion of mainline liberal Christianity would lock arms with the occult of Islam. They're both steeped in the occult and paganism. So I'm not shocked by that at all," Howse said.

Howse also has a word of caution for evangelical Christians.

"If you're an evangelical, you better defend the exclusivity of Jesus Christ and the deity of Jesus Christ, the inspiration of Scripture and the inerrancy of Scripture. If you're not willing to defend that, then you really shouldn't be calling yourself a Christian," Howse said.

Listen to Howse:

Shocker! Churches promoting Islam http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=314661#ixzz1QC7DHoFD



Neither the Interfaith Alliance nor Human Rights First responded to WND's repeated requests for interviews.

The Faith Shared website paints a different picture of the objectives. The site says that tensions between Islam and Christianity have grown in the past year.

"Tensions around Islam in America have erupted throughout the country in the past year, leading to misconceptions, distrust and in some cases violence. News stories on the rising tide of anti-Muslim bigotry and violence abound, with graphic and often searing images of the antagonists, the protagonists and the battlegrounds where they meet," the site said.

"All too often, media coverage simplistically pits Muslims against would-be Quran burners, neglecting any substantive representation of where the majority of Americans actually stand: a shared commitment to tolerance and freedom," the site read.

"We are committed to ensuring that the storyline changes dramatically in 2011 by helping to create an environment of mutual understanding and respect for each other’s faith traditions," the site said.

The Human Rights First site said the group simply wants to fight what members believe is rampant anti-Islamic prejudice.

"Faith Shared seeks to counter the anti-Muslim bigotry and negative stereotypes that have erupted throughout the country in the past year and led to misconceptions, distrust and in some cases, violence," the statement said.

"This countrywide, day-long event will engage faith leaders on the national and community levels in a conversation with their houses of worship, highlighting respect among people of different faiths," the site said.
The sites make those claims despite reports that the actual number of anti-Muslim incidents has gone down in the United States in the past 10 years.

Culture and Media Institute analyst Alana Goodman reports that anti-Muslim actions as a percentage of all anti-religious acts never went above 13 percent of the total number of anti-religious hate crimes.

"Since 2001, hate crimes against Muslims have decreased significantly, according to FBI statistics. After 2002, hate crimes against Muslims have not risen above 13 percent of all anti-religious crimes, and the most recent data from 2008 calculates them at 7.8 percent," Goodman's report stated.

Silva believes the real reason for the Shared Faith event is spiritual emptiness in the country.

"So many Christians talk to each other and they read other Christians rather than read the Scriptures themselves. There's a real move inside our country right now for an ecumenism and a syncretism trying to bring everyone together and it's rooted in contemplative spirituality," Silva observed.

"There's a deception that comes. They're under the impression that God is trying to bring all people together, and bring in God's dream for the world to make the world a better place," Silva continued.

"The Gospel has been changed from repentance and forgiveness of sins in Jesus' name to God wants to make the world a better place, get involved with where He's working and bring about His dream," Silva added.

"It's what Walter Martin would say spiritually obtuse Christians are easy marks for the more militant of the Muslims who are presenting this as some big Islamophobia," Silva said.

"We are not hateful to Muslims, but we are hostile to Islam because it enslaves people. We want people to be free," Silva said.

Howse says his warning to Bible-believing Christians is simple.

"Be aware of these people who have crept in secretly, unnoticed, with destructive heresies. I want to warn the church to be a 'Watchman on the Wall' for the 'Religious Trojan Horse' who is trying to draw people away from the faith," Howse said.

"Some of this deception is going to be so deceitful, so camouflaged, that we're going to be shocked at the Christian leaders who will follow it," Howse said.

WND reported only days earlier on a clash over Islam in Christian ministries.

Jack Van Impe

It happened when Jack Van Impe Ministries launched a campaign to expose what it views as false teachings in Christianity and named several major ministry leaders.

Trinity Broadcasting Network halted broadcast of a Van Impe program over it, and Van Impe decided to take his broadcasting elsewhere.

"I Will Not Be Silenced! I will not allow anyone to tell me what I can and cannot preach," Van Impe said in a statement when TBN would not allow his program to air.

"When I see heretical teaching leading to apostasy, I will speak out," he said. "The Bible says 'All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:' (II Timothy 3:16). The Apostle Paul also gives instructions in Titus 1:9-11, 13 'Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers. For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers … Whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre's sake…Wherefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith.'"

Van Impe said he immediately called his media agents and told them, "I no longer wanted to air my program on Trinity Broadcasting Network; we will take the tremendous amount of money that we were spending there to obtain new stations that will allow us to continue to reach every square mile of America with the truths of the Bible without this network."

The dispute arose over the issue of advocating for "Chrislam" and other efforts that are designed to find "common ground" between Christians and Muslims. TBN declined to air one of Van Impe's programs that contained sharp criticisms of leaders such as Rick Warren of "The Purpose Driven Life" fame and Robert Schuller.

In a statement from Van Impe Ministries, Executive Director Ken Vancil said his organization rejected an effort by TBN to reinstate the programming and would work to develop alternative broadcast outlets where they were needed.

"We would not be able to minister effectively if we had to look over our shoulder wondering if a program was going to be censored because of mentioning a name," Vancil said. "While there is hurt over this incident, we hold no animosity towards TBN. Dr. Van Impe has often expressed his appreciation to Paul and Jan (Crouch, of TBN) and all that they have accomplished."

But he confirmed that Paul Crouch Sr. continued to "caution" him "regarding Dr. Van Impe's naming of names and publicly rebuking ministers and their teachings."

Other ministries have voiced criticism similar to Van Impe's.

Joe Schimmel, senior pastor of Blessed Hope Chapel in Southern California and chief of the Good Fight Ministries, openly has questioned whether church leaders are affirming Allah.

Schimmel, who is best known for "They Sold Their Souls for Rock n Roll," which exposes satanic influences behind much of yesterday and today's popular music and how it negatively influences youth, suggested in a WND column, "Could it be that we are witnessing the formation of the prophesied one-world religion under the Antichrist? (Revelation 13:1-18) "

He cited Brian McLaren of the emerging church movement, who planned for an Islamic Ramadan celebration. And he mentioned Warren's agreement to address the Islamic Society of North America, which "the Department of Justice categorized two years ago as a co-conspirator in financing a foreign terrorist group!"

Another church leader, Tony Campolo, "a proponent of the so-called 'evangelical left' claimed that 'even if' Muslims 'don't convert, they are God's people,'" Schimmel wrote.

"Even more chilling is the fact that over 300 prominent Christian leaders signed a letter issued by the Yale Center for Faith and Culture claiming that world peace is dependent on Muslims and Christians recognizing 'Allah' and 'Yahweh' as the same God. This letter, titled 'Loving God and Neighbor Together,' was written in response to a signed document by 138 Muslim leaders titled 'A Common Word Between Us and You.' McLaren, Warren, Robert Schuller and Bill Hybels were just several of the signatories to this outright betrayal of Christ!" he said.

TBN previously had a conflict over its intolerance for criticism of Islam. It was in 2006 when Hal Lindsey, WND columnist and one of the world's most popular non-fiction authors, clashed with the network because TBN wanted him to soften his views on Muslims. Lindsey refused.

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California wants lesbians as mandatory 'role' models

Family advocates call plan 'worst school sexual indoctrination ever'

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Posted: February 11, 2011
10:40 pm Eastern

By Bob Unruh
© 2011 WND

Lawmakers in the state of California are proposing a law that would require schools to portray lesbians, homosexuals, transsexuals and those who have chosen other alternative sexual lifestyles as positive role models to children in all public schools there.

"SB 48: The worst school sexual indoctrination ever" is how officials with SaveCalifornia.com describe the proposal, SB 48, sponsored by state Sen. Mark Leno.

Openly homosexual, Leno boasts on his website of founding a business with his "life partner, Douglas Jackson," who later died of AIDS complications.

That description as "worst" is considerable, considering the organization, SaveCalifornia.com, was a key player in the battle in the state in 2007 and 2008 over a variety of laws that now forbid any "adverse" portrayal of those alternative sexual choices in school, class, curriculum and by teachers...


U.S. Department of Education to Host LGBT Youth Summit in Washington, D.C.

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius to give remarks

Contact: Jo Ann Webb, U.S. Department of Education Press Office, (202) 401-0316, press@ed.gov
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Press Office, (202) 690-6343

Event Date 1: June 06, 2011 08:30 am - 10:30 am

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan will give remarks at the Department’s first-ever Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) youth summit at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, June 7, at the Washington Court Hotel in Washington, D.C. The two-day summit, “Creating and Maintaining Safe and Supportive Environments for LGBT Youth,” will take place Monday-Tuesday, June 6-7.

Duncan will highlight the administration’s commitment to ensuring equal access to education for LGBT students as it does for all students. He also will discuss the Department’s Office for Civil Rights recently released guidance on the protection against harassment in an education setting based on gender, which includes gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, and transgender individuals. The guidance, which was sent to schools, colleges and universities in a “Dear Colleague” letter, explains educators’ legal obligations to protect students from harassment based on racial and national origin, gender and disability...


Obama Administration Recruits Homosexuals to Adopt Children at LGBT Summit
HHS Official Tells Youth Summit: We're Recruiting LGBTs to Adopt Kids

Thursday, June 09, 2011
By Patrick Ryan



David Hansell, acting assistant secretary for the Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families. (Photo: CNSNews.com/Penny Starr)

(CNSNews.com) - David Hansell, who runs the federal government’s Administration for Children and Families, told a group of high school students at the U.S. Department of Education’s “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT)” youth summit on Tuesday that the Obama administration is recruiting “LGBT parents” to adopt children.

“[O]f course, we’re also trying to recruit more foster and adoptive parents who are lesbian and gay,” Hansell said in a general session of the summit held at the Washington Court Hotel in Washington, D.C. (As CNSNews.com previously reported, the Department of Education barred reporters from attending the summit’s breakout sessions, which were also held at the hotel.)...

The teachers are coming 'out' indoctrinating very young children in elementary schools

Public School - Gay Agenda

California governor signs bill requiring schools to teach gay history

By the CNN Wire Staff
July 15, 2011 1:26 a.m. EDT


"History should be honest," Democratic California Gov. Jerry Brown said about the gay history legislation.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• The bill is believed to be the first of its kind in the nation
• It will also require teachers to instruct on the role of people with disabilities
• "History should be honest," Gov. Brown said in a statement

Los Angeles (CNN) -- Democratic California Gov. Jerry Brown said Thursday he had signed a bill that will require public schools in the state to teach students about the contributions of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans.

The bill, believed to be the first of its kind in the nation, will also require teachers to provide instruction on the role of people with disabilities.

"History should be honest," Brown said in a statement.

"This bill revises existing laws that prohibit discrimination in education and ensures that the important contributions of Americans from all backgrounds and walks of life are included in our history books. It represents an important step forward for our state, and I thank Senator Leno for his hard work on this historic legislation."

The governor was referring to the bill's author, Sen. Mark Leno, a San Francisco Democrat.

California law already requires state schools to teach about the contributions of Native Americans, African-Americans, Mexican-Americans, and Asian-Americans, among other groups.

"Today we are making history in California by ensuring that our textbooks and instructional materials no longer exclude the contributions of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) Americans," Sen. Leno said in a statement....


Teacher’s union gives ‘financial incentives’ for students to be gay

By Brody Levesque • Monday, July 11, 2011 • Comments (46)
335Share

Linda Harvey, founder of Columbus, Ohio-based anti-gay Mission America, has now targeted a National Education Association affiliate for providing college scholarships for LGBT high school students.

Harvey, who in April claimed that “demonic manipulation” was making kids gay as she railed against the National Day of Silence, took to the airwaves to imply that an NEA affiliate teachers union was offering “financial incentives” for students “to be actively engaged in both the political goals of homosexuals as well as the risky behavior.”

Harvey combined anti-gay rhetoric with her stringent opposition to the rights of workers and organized labor:

The group’s website says they raise money for teen scholarships given to those kids who consider themselves homosexual....


Obama: My administration is most pro-gay in history

by Kathleen Gilbert
Tue Jul 12, 2011 11:53 EST


President Obama greets attendees at a gay pride event at the White House in 2009.

WASHINGTON, D.C., July 12, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) – President Barack Obama again vowed his fidelity to the homosexual lobby at a White House reception in honor of LGBT pride month, boasting that his administration has done more than any other president to advance their cause.

“This administration, under my direction has consistently said we cannot discriminate as a country against people on the basis of sexual orientation, and we have done more in the two-and-a-half years I have been in here than the previous 43 presidents to uphold that principle,” said Obama at a news conference June 29, the day of the reception, according to the Christian Post.

Nonetheless, the president performed an awkward tightrope walk for gay rights supporters at the White House, as he praised their efforts, while coyly acknowledging their frustration with his public stance against federal imposition of same-sex “marriage.”

“There are going to be times where you’re still frustrated with me. I know there are going to be times where you’re still frustrated at the pace of change. I understand that. I know I can count on you to let me know,” said Obama to laughter and cheers from the raucous crowd....

[American Patriot]

California wants lesbians as mandatory 'role' models

Hmmm
For showing how to make out? Ok.

[vector7]

Feds Ban 'God' From Houston National Cemetery



AP File
By Lindsay Wise, Houston Chronicle

Local veterans and volunteer groups accuse Department of Veterans Affairs officials of censoring religious speech — including the word "God" - at Houston National Cemetery.

In one example cited in documents filed this week in federal court, cemetery director Arleen Ocasio reportedly told volunteers with the National Memorial Ladies that they had to stop telling families "God bless you" at funerals and that they had to remove the words "God bless" from condolence cards.

"It's just unfair that somebody would ask us to take God out of our vocabulary," said Cheryl Whitfield, founder of Houston National Memorial Ladies.

"I could've kept my mouth shut and let things happen, but when it comes to standing up for your belief in God and giving comfort to the families, I don't want to regret not saying anything," Whitfield said. "We all had to stand up for what we believe in."


Group sues to stop Texas governor's prayer day


By CHRIS TOMLINSON - Associated Press | AP – Wed, Jul 13, 2011



AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A group of atheists and agnostics filed a federal lawsuit on Wednesday seeking to stop an evangelical Christian prayer event next month that was proposed and is endorsed by Texas' governor.

The Freedom from Religion Foundation argues in its lawsuit filed in Houston that Republican Gov. Rick Perry's day of prayer and fasting would violate the constitutional ban on the government endorsing a religion. The event, which is called The Response and is billed as Christian-only, is scheduled for Aug. 6 at Houston's Reliant Stadium.

The complaint alleges Perry violated the First Amendment's establishment clause by organizing, promoting and participating in the event.

"The answers for America's problems won't be found on our knees or in heaven, but by using our brains, our reason and in compassionate action," said Dan Barker, a co-director of the foundation. "Gov. Perry's distasteful use of his civil office to plan and dictate a religious course of action to 'all citizens' is deeply offensive to many citizens, as well as to our secular form of government."

The group, which unsuccessfully sued to stop a national day of prayer earlier this year, filed the case on behalf of 700 members in Texas and called on the court to stop Perry from participating in the meeting or using his office to promote or recognize it.

Perry held a conference call with ministers who will be participating in the event on Wednesday, according to his spokeswoman, Catherine Frazier.

She did not have any details on what was discussed, but said the lawsuit will not change Perry's plans.

"He believes it will serve as an important opportunity for Americans to gather together and pray to God, seeking his wisdom and guidance as our nation navigates the challenges before it." Frazier said.

A spokesman for the event, Eric Bearse, dismissed the foundation's claims.

"This kind of legal harassment is no surprise, but we will vigorously defend the right of Americans to assemble and pray and we will win," he said.

Perry invited the Obama administration, the nation's governors and Texas lawmakers to attend the event.

"Given the trials that beset our nation and world, from the global economic downturn to natural disasters, the lingering danger of terrorism and continued debasement of our culture, I believe it is time to convene the leaders from each of our United States in a day of prayer and fasting, like that described in the book of Joel," Perry said in his open invitation to attend the event on June 3.

The event is being sponsored by several evangelical Christian groups, including the American Family Association, which has been criticized by civil rights groups for promoting anti-homosexual and anti-Islamic positions on the roughly 200 radio stations it operates.

The foundation said it does not oppose politicians taking part in religious services, but that Perry crossed a line by initiating the event, using his position as governor to endorse and promote it and by using his official website to link to the organizer's website. The plaintiffs also contend that Perry's use of Texas' official state seal to endorse the event and his plans to issue an official proclamation violate the Constitution.

An appellate court in April dismissed the group's previous lawsuit against the Obama administration over the National Day of Prayer, on which people of all faiths were invited to take part. The three-judge panel ruled that the group could not prove that they had suffered any harm when the president issued a proclamation observing the day.

In the lawsuit against Perry, the foundation complained that it had suffered from Perry's official promotion of the event because a major billboard company denied the group's attempt to purchase advertising in the Houston area to protest the event.

[Phil Fiord]

I want to note the Youtube thing above where the very young child equates being open minded to people who are different, to a new kind of vegetable. His implying homosexuality as a vegetable meant to try shows how young he really is despite being able to talk with good clarity. It is a much larger matter than that.

It seems not every child is ready to understand that a vegetable to try does not equate to matters that can define ones life choices.

That said, I am not opposed to people being who they are. All I personally ask is that we as people, let others find for themselves who they are and support people for honest choices for them-self. Not indoctrinate behaviors and lifestyles upon others. The same argument applies to any formative argument.

[vector7]

'Muslim Family Day' will spread peace at Six Flags

By ABE LEVY, STAFF WRITER

Updated 12:42 a.m., Saturday, September 3, 2011

Houston and Texas

SAN ANTONIO - Up to 3,000 Muslims from around the state are expected to converge Sunday on Six Flags Fiesta Texas for "Muslim Family Day" to celebrate the end of Ramadan and spread the post-9/11 message that most Muslims are peaceful and mainstream.

Families from as far as Corpus Christi, Austin and Waco have committed to attending the event, sponsored by local chapters of the Muslim American Society and the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

Fiesta Texas will be open to the public that day as scheduled, a spokeswoman said. She stressed that the event is not sponsored by Six Flags.

The two groups are selling discounted tickets and parking passes for an event that aims to give Muslim families a festive way to mark Ramadan's end while sharing their culture and challenging stereotypes as the 10th anniversary of 9/11 nears.

Activities will include Muslim prayers, entertainment, socializing and meals in keeping with the faith's dietary laws.

The public is welcome to buy meal tickets for international cuisine from local Muslim restaurateurs, event planners said.

The interaction with the general public at a popular, high-traffic amusement park will go far in reducing anxieties between Muslims and the larger community, said Sarwat Husain, CAIR's local president.

"It's our community, too, and we are mainstream just like anybody else," she said. "It's also giving a boost to the Muslims for what they have been going through. The 10th anniversary of 9/11 is coming up, and already there is much fear going on. We have to get out of that. It's been 10 years."

The event reflects the gradual acceptance of local Muslims, said the Rev. Paul Ziese, a Lutheran minister active in interfaith work and past board president of the San Antonio Community of Congregations.

"I know for years many amusement parks have had special events for Christmas and other Christian holidays," he said.

"I think it's appropriate that a Muslim event be recognized. Muslims still feel a little bit on the fringe even though many groups are starting to welcome them."