Modern Baal Worship

Anyone who’s read their Bible knows about Baal, the Canaanite god who was worshipped back in the days of the ancient Israelites. God’s chosen people were often in deep hot water for turning away from God and putting their trust in this stone idol.

Of course, we laugh at such a thing today. None of us would ever worship something so obviously created by man.

Or would we?

Baal worship revolved around three main principles... child sacrifice, sexual immorality, and pantheism.

Child sacrifice was brutal and blood-curdling. A baby or young child was burned alive before a statue of the god. It was known as making your children pass through the fire and it was considered an abomination that was absolutely and unambiguously forbidden by God.

Sexual immorality in those days was of the hetero- and homosexual variety. Men and women would have orgies with members of either sex in order to help the fertility of the land. The problem of getting pregnant and not wanting the child was easily taken care of in one of two ways -- either you had sex with a same-sex partner or you provided fodder for the next child sacrifice.

Pantheism is the belief that God is in all things and all things are god. This boils down to a reverence of the creation over the Creator.

Sounds familiar, doesn't it.

When it comes to child sacrifice, we just happen to handle it more efficiently by killing the child in the womb through abortion. No messy ashes and smoky fires, no sooty residue.

As for the sexual immorality part -- we have that covered in spades. Sex outside of marriage (i.e. fornication), pornography, incest, sodomy, and homosexuality abound. Just in case we don’t have the time ourselves to indulge, we can watch other people perform all these acts and many more in the movies and on TV, or we can read about them in magazines and bestselling novels. What’s even worse, when it comes to adultery and homosexuality, we insist that it’s all part and parcel of a loving relationship.

If you think we don't reverence the creation rather than the Creator, just take a look at the evolution that’s being forced down our throats by the media and indoctrinated into our children in school. According to the Darwinists, the Creator had nothing to do with making the universe or planet earth or any of the creatures living on it. We even have a breed of radical environmentalists who put animals and the environment above the needs of human beings. If that’s not pantheism, I don’t know what is. As for the concept of global warming, this is more of a faith-based religion than science -- at least if you truly examine the facts. Your career can be in jeopardy if you don’t fall in line with this latest pronouncement from on high. And yet, only thirty or so years ago, scientists were warning of an impending ice age.

Welcome to Baal worship, 21st century style. As it says in Ecclesiastes, there’s nothing new under the sun.

New Age Bible Versions Part 2

I’ve been immersed in a fascinating book called NEW AGE BIBLE VERSIONS by G.A. Riplinger which charges that the many new versions of the Bible like the NIV and the NASB are moving mankind toward the Antichrist’s one world religion. According to the author, the only reliable Bible version is the King James for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is that the translators themselves were some of the most godly men who ever lived and the manuscripts they used as their basis have not been tampered with by men like Westcott and Hort who were known to dabble in Spiritism and other occult practices.

When you think about it, the devil subtly changed what God said in the Garden of Eden. It worked pretty well then, why not keep doing it? There are plenty of people on earth he can use to try to accomplish his goal to thwart the plan of God, whether it’s Hitler or a misguided Bible translator.

Here’s a prime example. The NASB translates 1 Cor. 8:4 as “There is no such thing as an idol” while the KJV says “ an idol is nothing.” These two statements are not the same thing at all. The new version translation can lead to much confusion especially considering how many times idols are mentioned throughout the Bible.

Here are some more thought-provoking tidbits I learned from this book...

Occultists have long used the phrase ‘Jesus the Nazarene’ to place Jesus in a limiting context. The NASB among others calls him “Jesus Christ the Nazarene” in Acts 4:10, “the Nazarene, Jesus” in Acts 6:14, and “Jesus the Nazarene” in John 19:19. The KJV uses ‘Jesus of Nazareth’ in all three places.

There are at least 100 instances where the deity of Christ is avoided in the new versions. The Godhead is also missing in many places. In Acts 19:10 and 1 Cor. 16:22, the NASB has “the Lord” while the KJV says “ the Lord Jesus” or “the Lord Jesus Christ.”

The new versions even manage to make it possible to accuse Jesus of sin by omitting a key phrase in Matthew 5:22. The KJV reads, “That whosoever is angry with his brother WITHOUT A CAUSE shall be in danger of judgment” while the NASB and NIV say “Anyone who is angry with his brother will be the subject of judgment.” That extra little phrase in the KJV makes all the difference in the world when you consider the occasion when Jesus angrily overturned the tables of the money changers.

Hundreds of times in the new versions, the ‘he’ or ‘him’ that refer to Jesus have been changed to the sexless ‘one’. The avowed lesbian translator of the NIV, Virginia Mollenkott, has said in other places that she wants to replace the ‘he’ of Christianity with the neuter ‘one.’ Ms Riplinger lists 21 examples of where this has happened and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

The real kicker is the fact that the NIV and NASB have removed the only reference to Lucifer by name in the entire Bible. The KJV states in Isaiah 14, “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning.” Compare that to the NIV’s “How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn” and the NASB’s “How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn.” The latter translations help the new agers who assert that Lucifer and Satan are two separate entities. Even Harper’s Bible dictionary says of Isaiah 14 that “the connection was made erroneously between Lucifer and Satan.”

If something in the Bible doesn’t make sense and you’re using one of the new versions, it would seem a good idea to check the passage against the venerable KJV just in case.

New Age Bible Versions Part 1

The Bible and its various translations is a topic that never ceases to fascinate me. I have many of the major new translations in my collection, including the NASB, NIV, NLT, and NKJV. I love to contrast and compare verses in each of them.

I’ve always loved the King James Version for its beauty and majesty. The KJV has been the sole translation used in our churches for hundreds of years. Throughout our country’s history, our children were taught the alphabet and reading with the King James version of the Bible. Our founding fathers used it as a guide when they wrote the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.

That situation began changing in the last half of the 20th century when new Bible versions multiplied exponentially and our pastors started using them to teach from the pulpit. There are now over 150 translations in English and still counting. It makes a person wonder why so many are needed.

All these new versions have one thing in common -- they all use the same manuscript texts as their translation source (a version compiled by Westcott and Hort from the Sinaiticus text) as opposed to the Textus Receptus (Received Text) used by the translators of the KJV. It always seemed odd to me that every single new version uses the Sinaiticus text which has numerous omissions and alterations.

Now I’ve come across a book, NEW AGE BIBLE VERSIONS by G. A. Riplinger that has given me an entirely new perspective and much food for thought on this whole issue.

I was never a fan of the KJV only crowd who insist the KJV is the only version that should be used by Christians. And yet, Riplinger’s book works to show that these new versions are systematically and very subtly steering Christianity toward the New Age movement’s New World Order.

The author says her research yielded these fascinating discoveries...

1) The New Age movement has long expressed a goal of infiltrating the evangelical church and with the help of modern translators is gradually changing the Bible to conform to a one world religion.

2) The editors of these new versions hold beliefs that are not necessarily Biblical -- which helps to explain why they’re comfortable using a manuscript version that was altered by a known spiritualist (Westcott) as the source of their translations. As the author points out, the NIV’s chief editor doesn’t believe that in order to be born again, man must first accept Jesus as savior. Another of the NIV’s translators is a lesbian. And the progenitor of the NASB version has been called ‘the mediator between East and West’ and was instrumental in working toward an East-West synthesis. He referred to his alternations of the articles of faith saying 'the changes thus far... are in the right direction... and should contain the germs of a new theology.'

3) The new versions are often more difficult to read than the KJV because they use many more words to explain a concept and they often use more difficult words when a simple one will do. The KJV may seem like a tough read, but it’s actually on the opposite end of the spectrum from Shakespeare in that it uses a vocabulary of about 8,000 words in contrast to Shakespeare’s enormous vocabulary.

4) The ‘new’ Christianity which is emerging from these versions substitutes ‘riches for righteousness, a crown for a cross, and an imitation for a new creation.’ Could this be why so many churches are becoming more and more ‘liberal’ in their thinking and teaching, so much so that the majority of Christians now believe there are many paths to heaven among other non-Biblical teachings and our younger generation has no problem with homosexual unions?

Ms Riplinger’s book certainly makes for interesting reading whether you agree with her conclusions or not. For one thing, it’s filled with charts of comparison verses. At first, I couldn’t believe these questionably translated verses were from the NIV or the NASB. But when I checked my Bibles, there they were in black and white. A quick example has the author wondering if you’re using a ‘holy’ Bible as she shows that the word ‘holy’ has been removed from the new versions in many places. Instead of ‘holy angels’ in Matthew 25:31, you have ‘angels in the NASB and the NIV. Instead of the ‘Holy Ghost’ in John 7:39, 1 Cor. 2:13, Matt. 12:31. Acts 6:3, and Acts 8:18, you have “Spirit’. Instead of ‘holy prophets and apostles’ in Rev. 18:20, you have ‘prophets and apostles’.

And that’s just for starters. I hope to share more on this topic next time...

Those Bigoted Christians

Have you ever tried to tell someone Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, only to be told you’re narrow-minded, bigoted, and intolerant?

How dare you be so exclusive as to say there’s only one way to heaven! Even Oprah come to the conclusion years back that she didn’t like that kind of God, a decision that has led her down the new age path with a vengeance as she happily rubs shoulders with Eckhart Tolle and Marianne Williamson.

Someone recently told me I was a bigot for supporting the Florida marriage amendment. I must admit, whenever someone says something like this to me, I feel more than a twinge of guilt and shame. I am, after all, a child of my generation and of the indoctrination I got not only in school, but which the culture tries to inculcate in all of us every single day.

I was recently listening to a sermon by Jon Courson and he had three great points to consider on the subject of why Jesus is the only way.

1) God did it for our protection.
There is one way to get to heaven and only one way. This makes it simple for us -- a black and white choice that even a child can make. Of course, we humans try to complicate the matter by adding various works, sacrifices, and a myriad of other stipulations on what we need to do to ‘earn’ salvation when it’s already a done deal. We can’t seem to leave well enough alone. It’s kind of like the law of gravity which works on the simple principle that what goes up, must come down. Gravity never fails to pull us back to earth anytime we step off into empty space, whether it’s a footstep on a path or a plunge off the Empire State building. However, gravity is also there for our protection -- otherwise we would all go flying off the face of the earth straight into outer space.

2) God did it as a proclamation for us.
In the olden days, a king would send a proclamation throughout the kingdom. Sometimes it was good news for his subjects like a celebration, just the way God’s proclamation of Jesus is good news for us. Sometimes it was more serious news, like a new law that had to be obeyed. You were then free to decide whether you wanted to heed the proclamation, knowing that if you broke it, you’d be hauled off to the nearest dungeon. God has graciously given us the same opportunity. It’s really pretty simple. God said this is the way it is and He can be as exclusive as He wants -- it’s His universe. Like the bumper sticker says, “There is a God, and you’re not it.”

3) God did it as provision for us.
Neither Muhammad nor Buddha nor anyone in any other religion died for your sins so that you could be made holy in the eyes of a perfect God. Only Jesus suffered for us and died in our place. There is no greater love than to lay your life down for a friend. I don’t know about you, but I never fail to cry at the beauty of such a sacrifice when I see it in the movies. Just recently, in the film AUSTRALIA, one guy stayed behind to hold off the bad guys so the rest of the group, mostly children, could escape. I had to get out the kleenex because tears were running down my cheeks at this heroic sacrifice which he undertook of his own free will. How much more gratitude, awe, and reverence should we feel when it comes to Jesus and His ultimate sacrifice? And why wouldn’t we want to take advantage of the most wonderful offer in the universe?

Think of all that the next time someone calls you narrow-minded.

The War Against Our Children

There’s a war going on against our children.

Never mind that all kids are being taught the theory of evolution as fact when there is absolutely NO PROOF. Never mind that they’re being told they’re nothing more than an animal that evolved from the primeval goo. There’s a lot of other dastardly stuff going on in our schools in the name of education when it’s really total indoctrination.

The textbooks are filled with liberal lies these days. They’re rewriting history, bending and twisting the facts just like the Communists did. One history text states that the Spanish were more brutal than the Aztecs. Can anything really compete for brutality with a culture whose religion called for ripping beating hearts out of people’s chests by the millions? None of the texts reveal that Columbus’ main purpose in looking for a route to the Indies was to evangelize in the name of Christ (you can read all about it in his diary). Kids are told he was a greedy glory-hound, looking solely for riches and fame. It's not just the history from centuries ago that's being changed. Most of the history books now call Reagan a war monger while pushing the ridiculous and unhistorical notion that Gorbachev was responsible for bringing down the Berlin Wall. Pages are spent on Islam while the Judeo-Christian worldview responsible for the founding of this beautiful, free country and the ending of slavery among other things is barely covered. In one text Jesus is even called a Palestinian.

When it comes to grades, the schools are coddling our kids in a self-destructive way. Grades have become inflated even as the SAT test scores continue to drop... in spite of the test being made easier. Now they’re talking about doing away with the dreaded red pen in marking papers -- after all, it might hurt the kids’ feelings. Many schools are doing everything in their power not to give out F’s either. Instead they give you an H (for held) and allow the student 12 weeks to make up the work. Other schools hand out NY’s meaning Not Yet, as if the kid is a cake that’s not quite done. If you’re wondering why so many kids can’t spell, blame it on school systems that refuse to mark down for spelling mistakes. Again, it might damage the kids’ self-esteem.

Everything is based not on equal opportunity but on equal outcomes. That’s why we see stories like the one about the 9 year old Little League pitching phenom. His team was winning every game thanks to his pitching arm, which of course, wasn’t ‘fair’ and so the team was disbanded. This boy was punished for being TOO GOOD!

The latest outrage is an English teacher who’s forcing teens to question why they’re straight! Here are some of the unbelievable questions included in her questionnaire... Is it possible your being straight stems from a neurotic fear of the same sex? What caused your heterosexuality? Is it possible this is a phase you might grow out of? Do your parents know you’re straight? Do your friends and roommates know? Why do you insist on flaunting your heterosexuality -- can’t you just keep it quiet? Why do you heterosexuals feel compelled to seduce others into your lifestyle? This teacher says this provides a guide for a discussion on tolerance and that it will help instill critical thinking skills. Her goal is to have kids think for themselves so they won’t have to depend on mom and dad.

All of these tactics have one end in sight -- the destruction of a Biblical worldview in our children. These people know that you transform the world by changing the children. They have no qualms in pushing their agenda.

I wish we Christians would be even half as bold.

Monday Miscellanea

Obama has chosen people for his cabinet who are very much in favor of the United Nations (Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State and Susan Rice as U.N. Ambassador among others). This is not a good thing for America. The U.N. is heavily weighted in favor of Muslim countries and spends a major portion of its time coming up with resolutions that bash Israel even as they set aside days to honor and promote the Palestinians. The U.N. has also been pushing the Convention on the Rights of the Child. This sounds like a good thing until you learn it’s another ploy to take away the authority of parents in favor of the state. Whenever a child’s ‘rights’ are being violated (they don’t want to go to church, maybe, or they refuse to attend the school you’ve chosen for them), they would have access to a lawyer so they could SUE THEIR PARENTS!! (Something similar has already happened in Canada where a teenage daughter sued her father over his disciplinary decision and she won!). The U.N also wants to get rid of Mother’s Day because it discriminates against women who don’t have children! How off-course and wacky can you get? America needs to get out of the U.N., the sooner the better.

Freedom of speech took another hit when an African-American woman was fired from her job teaching at a university for saying that homosexuality is NOT a civil right. As she correctly pointed out, she can’t wake up tomorrow and NOT be a black woman, while who you have sex with is a total choice. She’s now suing the school.

Communism may be coming to a school near you sooner than you think. The Four Pillars of Lifelong Learning from the Chinese model are:
1. Eliminate tests and grades. (We’re well on our way to doing this with the growing practice of not giving out failing grades because of our ridiculous fear of harming our kids’ self-esteem).
2. Make truth a relative value. (The secular agenda in our schools has seen to this. In one case, college students admitted they didn’t agree with Hitler’s actions in killing 6 million Jews, but they refused to come right out and say he was wrong!).
3. Make education serve the masses. (The National Education Association is seeing to this as I talked about in a previous blog).
4. Combine education with labor. (One way we’re doing this in Florida is by making kids choose a major while still in junior high. I thought schools were supposed to educate you, not channel you into the job market before you even hit puberty!).

Just to get you in the spirit of the holidays, Planned Parenthood is offering gift certificates. Now you can give an abortion for Christmas!

The Atheists are out in full force this season. Their latest coup is a sign the governor of Washington state placed next to the Nativity Scene in the state capitol building which says God is a myth and that religion hardens hearts and closes minds. Someone should tell these guys that it takes more faith NOT to believe in God. If you’re a atheist, you must believe that 1) life came from non-life, 2) intelligence came from non-intelligence, 3) cause came from no cause, and 4) meaning came from meaninglessness. Thanks, but no thanks.

E-Harmony, the online dating service, has agreed to match same sex couples after being sued by a homosexual for discrimination, even though there are plenty of gay dating services available on the Internet. Although the company was started by a Christian, the case never went to trial because they feared the financial consequences of standing up for what’s right and settled out of court. No one seems to realize that same sex marriage not only violates God’s law, it’s got failure built right in. Same sex marriage is artificial. It needs state intervention to succeed. It also causes standard rights to decline right along with traditional marriage, thereby leading to the disintegration of the society in which it’s practiced.

The Bible vs Evolution

Did you know the Bible and the theory of evolution stand in total opposition to each other?

The Bible says plants were made before the sun. Evolution says that the sun came first.

The Bible says marine mammals were made before land mammals. Evolution says the land mammals came first.

The Bible says that birds were made before reptiles. Evolution has birds evolving from dinosaurs.

The Bible says the earth’s atmosphere was created between two layers of water. Evolution says the atmosphere was above the water.

The Bible says man brought death into the world. Evolution says death brought man into the world.

The Bible says God created man. Evolution says man created God.

There’s no way these two can be reconciled, although the Catholic Church among others tries with a theistic version of evolution that says each day of creation was composed of millions or even billions of years. Right away you realize it still doesn’t work because if plants were created first as the Bible says, they couldn’t have survived for millions of years without the sun.

The idea that God created the universe and then let evolution take over is ludicrous. Anyone who knows the God of the Bible would realize the fallacy of this idea immediately. God would never condone such a cruel mechanism as evolution which calls for the death and suffering of millions in order for the ‘strongest’ to survive. God created everything there is and then declared it good. Evolution is certainly not good.

The bottom line is that you either have to believe God created the universe exactly as it says in the Bible or you have to believe in the godless and totally unproven theory of evolution.

I find that a no-brainer.

The Communist Agenda

I recently learned what’s contained in the Communist Manifesto and the rules they’ve set out in order to foment a communist revolution. I had no idea how far we’ve gone down the very path we fought so hard against throughout the 20th century. This is a path that will destroy the very freedoms we all love.

For example, Communists are in favor of a progressive income tax. We already have this -- the more you make, the more they take. If things continue the way the new administration wants them to, this could grow even worse. Most Americans already work half a year or more just to pay their taxes.

Communists favor a central bank. We have this as well -- it’s called the Federal Reserve. The people who run it are NOT elected and there's no way to recall them, yet they control our economy.

Getting control of the media is a key step. We have the FCC which monitors the airwaves and which the new administration might use in order to implement the so-called Fairness Doctrine. If and when this happens, the (liberal) government will truly control everything we hear and wipe out a major portion of dissenting (conservative) voices in this country.

Communists want free public education because they get to set the curriculum. In the U.S., the states are supposed to handle this, but the federal government has long since gotten involved with No Child Left Behind being one current example. Our schools have abolished all signs of Christianity and now teach secular humanism (which is itself a religion though no one likes to admit this out loud) and evolution. They indoctrinate our children into accepting tolerance (the homosexual/bisexual/transgender agenda) and diversity (all cultures are equal and good except for the evil Judeo-Christian western civilization upon which America was founded). Thus they teach our youth to hate their own country.

Communists are atheists and very much approve of the tactic of corrupting the young and getting them away from religion. They're happy to break down moral virtue. They encourage a soft government attitude towards crime (ours gets softer all the time with the way we coddle criminals at the expense of the victims). This is all in the name of gaining control over an ever more chaotic society. The more you can divide people into hostile groups based on race, gender, and sexual orientation, the more fertile the soil for communism (and its cousin socialism) to take root.

Diverting people’s attention from their government by focusing it on athletics and sex is another ploy. I’ll bet people know more about their favorite football team and can list the players and their positions much more readily than they can name their senators and representatives in Congress or how the three branches of our government work. As for sex, it’s everywhere, forcing kids to become sexualized at younger and younger ages.

The Communist agenda works best by destroying people’s faith in their leaders in any way possible. These days Congress has a single digit approval rating and the president isn’t far behind (or should I say ahead?). Our media has worked hard these past eight years to totally destroy President Bush who can’t win no matter what he does. Now the media is over the moon about Barack Obama which means we’ll go to the other unhealthy extreme that often leads to demagoguery.

The basis for all of the above is evolution. Evolution is much more than a theory; it’s a religion. That's why it's the only theory taught in the schools. That’s why scientists are not allowed to disagree or even raise questions about its tenets without having their entire careers jeopardized. (Check out the movie EXPELLED if you want to know more on this topic). That’s why discredited illustrations used to fake results in favor of evolution can STILL be found in current textbooks. When Communists take over a country, the first thing they do, even before pushing communism, is to start teaching evolution. Evolution is responsible for the many evils of our modern world including Nazism, fascism, and communism. It will eventually form the foundation of the New World Order.

Perhaps evolution is the end times lie the Bible speaks of when it says ‘... and for this cause, God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie’ (2 Thes 2:11).

'Tis the Season to be Atheist?

What’s the deal with atheists and Christmas?

They don’t believe in God, which means they don’t believe in Jesus Christ. Other people who do believe want to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Why do atheists feel they have any say in anything about a holiday that means nothing to them? Are we supposed to feel sorry for them because they don’t have a holiday of their own at this time of year?

In actuality, the word holiday comes from holy day. So in principle, holidays are religious events. Atheists get the time off just like everyone else and they can do with it as they wish. No one is forcing them to participate. And if someone wishes them a Merry Christmas, so what? That person is just passing along his own happiness with the day and the season. I don’t celebrate Hanukkah, but if someone wished me a Happy Hanukkah, I would say thanks for the good wishes.

Now the atheists feel driven to advertise. It started in Great Britain when the British Humanist Association launched an ad campaign some months back that said ‘There’s probably no god. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.’

Then came the billboards in Denver and Colorado Springs that read ‘Don’t believe in god? You are not alone’, while the American Humanist Association has undertaken their own ad campaign on the sides of buses in Washington, D.C., just in time for Christmas. ‘Why believe in a god? Just be good for goodness’ sake’ is their advice.

The bottom line on all these sentiments is the same and always has been. These people don’t want to have to answer to God. They feel they should be able to do anything they want anytime they like. They’ve taken the idea of doing what’s right in their own eyes and they’re running with it -- straight to hell, as it turns out.

Sharia Law Strikes Again

Just recently In Somalia, a 13 year old girl was stoned to death, all in the name of Islam and Sharia law.

The story of what happened is like something out of your worst nightmare except that this truth is more horrible than any fiction.

It begins when a 13 year old girl is raped by three men. Her aunt takes her to the police station to report the crime. Instead, they arrest the girl, and in a secret trial, convict her of adultery. They order her execution by stoning.

Men go around town, announcing the big event which is to be held in the stadium. Crowds come to watch as the girl is dragged screaming into the arena. She’s buried up to her neck in the dirt and a gang of fifty men pick up stones from the pile which as been carted in for the occasion. They start hurling them at her. after a while they stop to check if she’s still alive. She is, so they stone her some more until she’s dead.

Hatred of everything female has deep, deep roots in Islam. The Koran shows little regard for women, allowing husbands to beat and kill them with impunity. The same goes for ‘honor’ killings which take care of any rebellion on the part of daughters or sisters, by allowing the men in the family to murder any female relative who does anything they feel ‘dishonors’ the family name. This includes things like dating a boy they don’t approve of, getting divorced, not wearing a veil... and getting raped in which case they blame the victim.

It would be hard to find a religion so diametrically opposed to Christianity in every way. Christianity lifts up women, making them co-heirs to God’s kingdom. Muhammad said hell was filled with mostly women and that it takes two women to equal the testimony of one man. Only in Western countries which are all based on Christianity have women obtained equal rights.

Even when it comes to eschatology, the Muslim end times mindset perfectly matches the spirit of the Antichrist of Christianity which means Islam’s animosity toward Christianity and the West will likely not be ending anytime soon. (Check out GOD’S WAR ON TERROR: Islam, Prophecy, and the Bible by Walid Shoebat for a mind-blowing take on the end times by a former Palestinian terrorist-turned-Christian).

It seems to me the Islamic religion has utterly squelched the essence of one half of humanity from their culture. How else can you have mothers who push their sons to become suicide bombers, something we in the West find unbelievably abhorrent? How else could any father take his two teenage daughters for a drive and then shoot them dead for dating American boys as happened right here in the U.S.? How else can the Palestinians imbue their tender young children with vitriolic hate against Jews and Christians, so much so that they even employ a cartoon Mickey Mouse clone to teach it to them? The whole culture has become hardened and cruel because they leave no room for the softer feminine virtues. Instead they idolize the warrior virtues of Muhammad to the point of irrationality.

I realize that many, if not the majority of Muslims don’t aspire to this kind of radical behavior. But the seeds are there, in the Koran and especially in Sharia law, ready to be nurtured into extremism. What worries me is that the moderate Muslims don’t seem to speak out against the terrorists and their ilk -- which makes me wonder where they really stand.

Do You Know What Your Kids' Teachers Are Up To?

I always thought the National Education Association (NEA) was a nice, traditional teachers’ union. I thought they concerned themselves with matters of education and the rights of teachers in the workplace.

And then I learned the NEA donated a cool million dollars to defeat Proposition 8 in California.

I find this outrageous. If I were a teacher and someone was abusing my union dues in this fashion, I’d be furious.

The fact of the matter is the NEA is a radical organization pushing hard for a leftist, secular humanist agenda. Check out the jaw-dropping resolutions they’ve passed at their annual convention...

1. They want universal healthcare.

2. They want more gun control.

3. They want to eliminate activities that contribute to global warming.

4. They oppose vouchers, tuition tax credits, and anything else that challenges their hegemony in the public schools by giving parents a choice.

5. They oppose making English the national language even though 80% of Americans support this.

6. They oppose any requirement that schools have a moment of silence.

7. They oppose home schooling unless it’s done by a state-licensed teacher using a state-approved curriculum.

8. They oppose home schooled kids being able to participate in extra-curricular school activities, even though their parents pay taxes for those schools.

9. They support diversity and a multicultural education that reduces homophobia (i.e. they support the homosexual agenda)

10. They’re in favor of gay marriage (ditto).

11. They’re in favor of reproductive freedom (i.e. abortion).

No wonder the U.S. Secretary of Education called the NEA a terrorist organization. The ACLU would be proud of an agenda like this.

The good news is that in many states, including California, there are actual laws that allow you to divert your union dues to the charity of your choice and not to the organization if it’s supporting causes which go against your values. Even better, this law applies to any union, not just the NEA. Check out the Pacific Justice Institute for how to do this if you’re interested.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if thousands of teachers decided to send their money elsewhere? If dues are $1000/year and 1000 teachers did this, that would mean a million bucks going somewhere other than towards the radical agenda of the NEA.

Life at the Bottom

I recently read a fascinating, but sobering book called LIFE AT THE BOTTOM: The Worldview That Makes The Underclass by Theodore Dalrymple.

It’s the searing account of life in the underclass written by a British psychiatrist who treated the poor in a British slum hospital and prison. Mr. Dalrymple believes that poverty is not caused by economics, but by a dysfunctional set of values, and he proceeds to lay out the evidence to back it up. We’re not talking about a few dozen examples either. Over the course of his employment, the author interviewed some 10,000 people who have tried to commit suicide never mind the thousands of others he has counseled. So he knows what he’s talking about.

Of course, Great Britain is more socialistic than we are here in America, but we’re rapidly heading in that direction and it can only get worse under Obama’s policies, particularly his ‘spread the wealth’ mantra.

The underclass in Britain is not poor as poverty has been traditionally defined. These people have a place to live thanks to the government as well as food, TV, and cell phones. They’re not politically repressed. And yet their lives are dominated by violence, crime, and degradation.

The author shows how these patterns of behavior come not from being poor, not from race or genetics, and not from the welfare state (at least not directly). Their situation comes from ideas which have trickled down from the intelligentsia (i.e. bleeding heart liberals) who want to blame everything but the kitchen sink for this sad state of affairs rather than holding anyone responsible for their actions thus giving people a victim mentality.

Sound familiar? People have happily bought into the same victim mentality in this country. With no moral compass to guide them because of course, religion is a crutch, people can only continue in a downward spiral. With sex freed of any contractual or social obligations, you end up with women having multiple children by multiple partners and a 70% rate of illegitimate births (and rising). Abortion is rampant with one common method involving the incensed boyfriend/father kicking the woman in the stomach to cause a miscarriage.

Mr. Dalrymple tells of endless streams of women who come to him having been abused by the most recent father of her latest child only to watch her take up with another man just as abusive.

One such woman in that situation sought his advice on what to do.

When the author asked about the boyfriend in question, she explained that the guy had been living with one woman, but the woman left him when she found out he was seeing somebody else. Now there’s a prime candidate for a loving, long term relationship. The author then asked what the boyfriend was interested in. “Nothing, really” was her reply. He asked about her own interests and got a similar answer -- “I don’t really have any.”

The author then proceeded to warn her in no uncertain terms. He told her her new boyfriend would completely take over her life, would most assuredly become violent, and would use and abuse her for several years until he eventually left her. He also pointed out that when this occurred, she absolutely could not consider herself a victim because he was telling her right up front what to expect, as he imagined her friends and her parents would also do.

Her answer? “But I love him!”

No one feels to blame for anything. As one man explained to the author after he’d committed murder... ‘the knife just went in’. Never mind that his was the hand wielding the knife or the fact that he was the one carrying a weapon around in the first place. And yet the police hardly ever arrest anyone because, after all, the powers-that-be insist punishment isn’t the answer, but that psychiatric treatment is needed for these poor, oppressed masses.

The Bible had it right all along. As it says throughout the book of Judges and elsewhere... everyone did what was right in his own eyes. This attitude can only lead to social chaos and personal misery. The Bible also says the heart of man is incurably wicked. Being left to ourselves without guidance from God’s word is a sure recipe for disaster as this book shows in vivid detail.

The Intolerance of the Supposedly Tolerant

The hypocritical, politically correct, pro-gay marriage contingent is on the rampage in California.

Even though the African American vote was a huge factor in helping to pass the amendment (African Americans favored traditional marriage by a margin of 70% to 30%), the homosexual community has chosen to ignore that fact in favor of protesting in front of the Mormon Church and Pastor Rick Warren’s Saddleback Church, both of which are considered politically correct targets. The polls also show that Hispanics were more in favor of traditional marriage than white voters who were basically split down the middle, but there are no protests going on in those neighborhoods either.

I watched the video of one of those rallies where a grandmotherly woman was peacefully supporting the adoption of Proposition 8 and traditional marriage by carrying a cross. She was physically attacked by a bunch of screaming, hostile homosexual marriage supporters who ripped the cross from her hands, threw it to the ground, and stomped all over it. They jerked and jostled the poor woman around, shoving their Vote No on Prop 8 signs in her face in an aggressive manner that was frightening to behold.

A reporter from a local station tried to interview the woman after the incident, but the screaming masses wouldn’t allow her to speak. The woman even mouthed ‘I love you’ to the crowd which, of course, is what the Bible teaches us to do, i.e. love the sinner and hate the sin. But these guys (and they were mostly men) were having none of it as they continued their red-faced, screaming tirade.

She never did get interviewed. Ironically her freedom of speech was violated by people on the opposing side exercising their own freedom of speech.

Worst of all was when the anchor back in the studio referred to the ‘hate coming from both sides’. What I’d like to know is where was the hate coming from this brave woman who was not only outnumbered, but was simply in favor of civilization’s millennia-long definition of marriage as one man and one woman.

The injustice continues as the people who demand tolerance show their intolerance in every possible way.

It started as soon as it became known that Proposition 8 had passed and only traditional marriage would be recognized by the state. Hate-filled emails hit the Internet. Some threatened bodily harm. Others called for the burning down of churches. Still others vowed to picket marriages, promising every bride and groom in California that they would vandalize their cars in the parking lot, make their cakes and drinks taste funny, and generally do anything and everything they could to ruin their weddings.

Challenges have already been issued by the ACLU and others to try and reverse the will of the people. The validity of the marriages of same sex couples that took place after the California Supreme Court allowed it back in June are also being questioned. Ironically, those marriages along with the traditional marriages performed during that time may be in jeopardy because according to California law, when you change a major procedure like marriage, you must allow 45 days for public comment and discussion. Not only was there no public discussion, but homosexual couples were already being married after only 15 days. Hence EVERY marriage that occurred during those months might be null and void thanks to the state of California violating its own legal procedures.

It’s like something out of a madcap Hollywood movie. It might be funny if it wasn’t such a tragic commentary of the spiritual state of the union.

Amazing Race

I’ve been reading about the triumph of Amendment 2 (the Florida Marriage Protection Amendment) and what an amazing victory it really was. It has God’s fingerprints all over it.

John Sternberger who headed the Yes to Marriage efforts in Florida (Yes2Marriage.org) feels it’s the triumph of the Common Man over the Cultural Elites. He summarized the absolutely fierce opposition along the way in his thank you email and it’s too uplifting not to share. Here are some highlights of the hurdles they faced -- and with God’s help overcame...

1. The rules changed after the petition was started, going from requiring 50% approval to pass in the general election to needing 60% approval.

2. A ‘gay’ church in Jacksonville tried to intimidate Florida voters who signed the marriage petition by publishing their names online in a ‘know your neighbor’ campaign. The Yes2Marriage group turned this around and used the website as a tool to help them find friends and family who hadn’t yet signed the petition.

3. The Miami-Dade Supervisor of Elections ‘accidentally’ counted 22,000 names twice, thus requiring an emergency effort to get another 22,000 signatures in only 13 days. They ended up collecting over 92,000!

4. Four South Florida newspapers published a month-old news story as if it were breaking news saying that the group had achieved their petition goal even as the emergency collection effort was going on. They refused to admit or report their error.

5. Opponents outspent them 3 to 1.

6. Thousands of yard signs were stolen, vandalized, and destroyed. Billboards were defaced. People who displayed Yes2Marriage bumper stickers had their cars keyed.
7. Every single daily newspaper in Florida (all 27 of them) openly opposed Amendment 2 more than once in their editorial pages.

7. Opponents filed a last minute complaint and a frivolous lawsuit which was denied by the judge on all counts.

8. The day before the election, former president Bill Clinton made a quarter of a million robo calls to scare Floridians into voting no on Amendment 2.

Thanks to the efforts of Yes2Marriage, their allies (including a diverse coalition of churches of various denominations, organizations, and businesses), and many thousands of volunteers, we can relax knowing that words like ‘mother’ and ‘father’ will NOT be removed from textbooks as being bigoted and our school kids will not be bombarded with diversity packs and homosexual lifestyle lectures.

Thank you, God, for keeping marriage sacred in the state of Florida. Let’s now pray that the passage of Propostion 8 will withstand the onslaught of lawsuits in California.

The Good, The Bad, and The Excellent

THE BAD NEWS...

Obama won the election.

The terrorists are probably dancing in the streets while Israel must be worried at the possible direction of our foreign policy.

It looks like abortion is here with us to stay, at least for this next generation.

The so called mainstream media was totally rooting for Obama with an overwhelming, one-sided positive coverage that was hard to overcome. Since they didn’t hold Obama accountable while he was running for president, they will not hold him accountable after he assumes office.

We’ll have to wait and see if Obama is able to deliver on his many other promises to liberalize America beyond recognition.

THE GOOD NEWS...

The election is finally over. Seems like it went on FOREVER!

The election was NOT the blowout the Democrats predicted.

The Democrats did NOT get a super-majority.

Marriage prevailed in Florida, California, and Arizona.

We have the final proof that America is NOT a racist nation, so maybe we can lay that tired accusation to rest. In that respect I am very proud to be an American.

THE EXCELLENT NEWS...

God is in control. We don’t know His plan, but since He allowed Obama to be elected, we can be sure it’s for our good. Maybe this election chaos will lead to a revival in America. Maybe Obama will be so liberal, he’ll cause Americans to swing back to the other side. Maybe it’s a harbinger of America’s decline in preparation for the end times. Only time will tell.

THE BOTTOM LINE...

As Christians, we have to step up to the plate in these next four years and let our voices be heard. We must do everything we can to keep the New Media (talk radio, Internet news, and the blogosphere) strong and free so we can have access to the unbiased truth and keep the dialogue going. The one thing we CANNOT do is to hide out in our churches and not engage the culture. The passage of the three Marriage amendments shows that Americans are not as radical as some would have us believe.

America is still the greatest country in the world. Praise God for that and pray for His continued mercy and blessings.

Fastng and Praying for November 4th

Today I’m fasting and praying for tomorrow’s election. I’m praying for God’s purposes to be accomplished whatever they may be. We may not know God’s agenda when it comes to the End Times or how that might play out for America, but we surely know what the Bible says about many of the issues facing us right now. I’m praying that America will stand firm against abortion and the homosexual agenda and the many other things God clearly abhors.

However, if Obama is elected, there is comfort to be found in Proverbs 21:1 which says, “The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, as the rivers of water: He turns it wherever He will.” I know I will have a tough time praying for Obama as president, but since we’re told to pray for our leaders, and since God can turn any leader’s heart, I will do my best should that be necessary.

Our church gave out a list of issues to pray for today. No matter which candidate wins, we can still pray for God to have mercy on us and bless us in spite of our disobedience, and we can pray for the many congressional and local elections which will also effect the fate of our nation.

In no particular order the key issues I’m praying for are...

1. ENERGY, that we can have offshore drilling, more refineries, and more development of coal so we can end our dependence on oil from the hostile Middle East.

2. IMMIGRATION, that we can stop illegal entry into this country and make our borders secure.

3. LIFE, that we may finally stop killing our unborn children and most particularly stop the government from being in the abortion business through its funding of Planned Parenthood and others.

4. MARRIAGE AND HOMOSEXUALITY, so we can maintain civilization’s gold standard of marriage between one man and one woman, and stop federal hate crime laws based on sexual orientation which criminalizes the preaching of Christianity.

5. SCHOOL CHOICE, that we may do everything possible to allow parents to choose their children’s schooling through tax credits and/or vouchers and that we support home schooling.

6. TAXES AND SPENDING, that we may keep this country’s economy strong, produce more jobs, and get ourselves out of debt, both national and personal.

7. WAR AND PEACE, that we may keep our country strong militarily against the many enemies of freedom around the world and not pull our troops our of Iraq until the time is right.

8. JUDICIAL APPOINTMENTS, that we may appoint judges who are strict constructionists and not ones who want to legislate from the bench, a direct violation of our Constitution.

God Bless America!!

Ten Reasons This Christian Believer is NOT Voting For Obama

10. His running mate, Joe Biden
Every time I turn around, Joe Biden is saying something foolish or outrageous. He obviously doesn’t know history if he thinks Roosevelt was president during the Depression or that he went on TV at that time since there was no TV. Then he said that Obama will be tested as president in the first six months by our enemies. It doesn’t inspire confidence.

9. His disregard for our freedoms
Obama is NOT in favor of guns, he wants to squelch Christian and Conservative talk radio with the so-called Fairness Doctrine, he’s gone after people who don’t agree with him by using the U.S. Justice department and the Missouri Police among others. Look what happened to poor Joe the Plumber. This does not bode well for any of us.

8. His friends
They include Bill Ayers the unrepentant terrorist, Reverend Jeremiah Wright the Black Liberation Theology America-hating racist, Rashid Khalidi mouthpiece for the terrorist PLO, and Tony Rezko, convicted criminal. I wouldn’t give any of them the time of day and yet no matter how much he tries to deny it, Obama has been pals with these guys for years, even decades. Now we’ve just recently learned that independent scientific forensic evidence shows Bill Ayers wrote all or part of Obama’s book Dreams From My Father.

7. His character
Obama has shown he’s lacking in the kind of morals and values this country has always stood for. In fact, he’s downright unpatriotic. He disses America both here and abroad, believes the Constitution is a faulty document, and thinks Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount condones homosexuality. He says he’s a Christian, yet believes there are many ways to heaven. He was born a Muslim, was brought up learning the Koran, and has the support of any number of Islamic terrorist groups around the world. Even his wife said she was only proud of her country for the first time now that her husband is running for president so it obviously runs in the family.

6. His arrogance and disregard for the law
Obama had what looked like the presidential seal on his podium until too many people complained. He had a huge mock up of a Greek temple for his big rally. While he was a sitting Illinois senator, he broke the law by going to Kenya to campaign for his relative Odinga at taxpayer expense. He was involved with and still supports ACORN, an organization wallowing in voter fraud. He’s disabled the security check on his website which means the system doesn’t cross-check a credit card number with an address. As long as the credit card clears, anyone can donate as many times as they like by using the same credit card with various phony names. This has already happened and only the Obama campaign knows how many times although they’re not telling. It helps to explain how he’s been able to raise so much money -- it’s easy when you let foreigners and terrorists as well as American citizens contribute fraudulently.

5. His socialism
Joe the Plumber nailed him on it, but Obama’s socialist ways have been evident from the start for anyone who cares to investigate his record. He wants to grow the government and redistribute the wealth as he sees fit.

4. His stance on Israel
The Israelis are pretty worried about an Obama presidency, especially now that it’s come out how friendly Obama is with Khalidi, Edward Said, and other Israeli-bashers. Israel is the apple of God’s eye. We must support the only democracy in the Middle East and the only real friend America has in that troubled region.

3. His stance on marriage
Obama is totally in favor of homosexual marriage. As has been proven in Europe, once you allow homosexuals to marry, the institution becomes meaningless and people no longer bother getting married. The repercussions to civilization of this massive social experiment will be a lethal moral free fall.

2. His stance on the whole homosexual agenda
He’s in favor of the entire homosexual agenda, including benefits for sex change operations, enforced indoctrination of school children into accepting the homosexual lifestyle, and hate crimes legislation against Christians.

1. His stance on abortion
Obama is in favor of every kind of abortion and infanticide known to man. He’s promised to sign the Freedom of Choice Act just as soon as he can which will wipe out everything the pro-life movement has fought for these past thirty plus years including stopping partial birth abortion and parental notification laws.

As Janet Porter said in her editorial on Tuesday for World Net Daily, if you insist on voting for Obama, at least do us all a favor and quit calling yourself a Christian.

Christians and the Movies

According to statistics from the Motion Picture Association of America, children and teenagers spend more than 1900 hours a year watching movies and television. If they go to church once a week, that means only 52 hours of worship. Dr. Ted Baehr and his monthly publication, MOVIEGUIDE, want to level the Hollywood playing field of influence by getting studio executives to make more family-friendly movies and TV programs with a Christian worldview.

The good news is that since Movieguide started, the number of movies with strong Christian content has increased by a factor of 50.

Actually, it’s good business to make family-friendly movies since those are the ones that take in the largest box office. They’re called four-quadrant movies meaning that young and old, male and female can enjoy them.

Movieguide (the magazine and the website) provide an amazing amount of information on the movies they review. Movies are often very subtle in presenting their anti-Christian bias. These reviews will set you straight on that and a lot more.

The core of each review is a rating of 1) the overall Quality of the movie and 2) its Acceptability for Christians.

The Quality rating is similar to other publications and goes from one star (poor) to four stars (excellent).

The Acceptability rating is something unique. This scale starts at +4 (Exemplary) and goes through +3 (Moral), +2 (Good), and +1 (Worthwhile). From there it descends from -1 (Caution), -2 (Extreme Caution), -3 (Excessive), and -4 (Abhorrent).

Both WALL-E and FIREPROOF got 4 stars for quality and a +4 rating. As you can imagine, this is somewhat rare. The kids’ movie Space Chimps got 2 stars and a +3. HELLBOY 2, HANCOCK (Will Smith), and YOU DON’T MESS WITH THE ZOHAN (Adam Sandler) all got a -3 on the Acceptability scale even though Hellboy 2 and Hancock each got 3 stars for quality. The Batman movie, THE DARK KNIGHT rated 3 stars for quality, but only a -2 on Acceptability.

Most of the ‘usual Hollywood fare’ that comes to our multiplexes week in and week out usually fall in the minus range, including, to my shock and surprise, most of the romantic comedies.

Ratings are given for the level of Language (L), Violence (V), Sex (S), and Nudity (N). So, for example, a single L means few obscenities, LL is several, and LLL means the movie has numerous obscenities and profanities.

The reviews provide information in dozens of other categories including many you might not have even considered. Does the film promote a Humanistic (H) or a Biblical (B) worldview? Is it flat out Anti-Biblical (AB)? There are categories for Patriotic (P), Romantic (Ro), and Anti-Capitalistic (AC) to be used as needed. These reviews tell you if there’s Smoking and Drug Use (D). Alcohol and Drinking (A). Homosexuality (Ho). Paganism (Pa).

Each review explains exactly how these monikers apply and discusses the movie’s salient points the way any other review would.

This is great stuff and wonderful food for thought and discussion, particularly for those of us warriors who hope to engage the culture.

Miscellanea

These items speak for themselves...

Greenpeace activists were acquitted on the charge of causing $61,000 in damages to a coal-based power station. The British jury felt the danger of global warming justified it. What’s next, acquittals of murderers because their victim harassed them and thus the killing was justified?

In Spain, apes have been declared to have human rights. With one stroke of the pen, humans suddenly became just another animal in the forest. Next time you’re in a bar, maybe you should buy that ape next to you a drink.

Switzerland has gone even further in the craziness department. They’ve declared that experimenters working with plants must give due consideration to their dignity. So they must safeguard the plants’ independence, i.e. their reproductive and adaptive ability. Think of that next time you’re pruning back your rosebushes.

Al Gore is asking for civil disobedience on coal plants that do not have carbon capture and sequestration. How blatantly hypocritical -- and probably illegal -- for him to foment this kind of protest since he owns shares in competing energy companies.

George W. Bush was the first president to actually propose the establishment of a Palestinian state. He’s had his Secretary of State in the Middle East trying to force the Israelis to give up their heartland. No wonder the natural and economic disasters hitting this country just keep on coming.

Interesting tidbit. The market collapse on September 29, 2008 totaled 777 points and occurred on the eve of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year. Seven is God’s special number. Maybe He’s trying to tell us something?!

Do you know the best way to persecute a group? First you identify them, then you marginalize them, then you vilify them, then you pass laws against their activities, and finally you enforce those laws. This is what Hitler did to the Jews and this is what’s happening to Christians around the world. Even here in the U.S. we’re closing in on Stage 4, passing laws against them. This has already been done in Colorado with the bill the governor recently signed into law to include gender as a basis for anti-discrimination. Men can now legally go into women’s restrooms and selling the Bible or any other book that considers homosexuality a sin could be considered illegal. Janet (Folger) Porter flew out there to test the law the day it went into effect by handing out her book THE CRIMINALIZATION OF CHRISTIANITY. She expected to get arrested, but nothing happened. At least for now. But it's coming. One guy has already tried to sue Zondervan, publisher of the NIV Bible, for millions of dollars because of the Bible's stance against homosexuality. I guess you're supposed to leave those parts out.

Ending on a happier note... More good news about FIREPROOF. The movie starring Kirk Cameron has generated $21 million in box office revenue. That’s 40 times what it cost to make! Also, the book that started out as a plot device in the movie, the 40 day love dare that the hero undertakes to save his marriage, has hit the number one spot on the New York Times advice category list and is number six on the general trade paperback list. THE LOVE DARE by the movie’s Stephen and Alex Kendrick is in its 7th printing. You go, guys!

Biblical Contradictions Part 2

The Bible contains history, poetry, prophecy, and figures of speech galore. These must all be taken in context the way we would do with any other written work. Historical books should be read in the normal (literal) way while poetic passages that include imagery should be understood as such. According to Chuck Missler, there are hundreds of kinds of figures of speech in the Bible. These should be viewed as nothing more or less than figures of speech used anywhere else, so that referring to the four corners of the earth doesn’t mean the Bible thinks the earth is flat nor does talking about hiding beneath God’s wings mean that God has feathers.

Sweeping generalizations are another area where people often protest there are contradictions when there aren’t. The book of Proverbs is one area that contains many basic rules for how to live life. God approves of us being righteous and says that this kind of behavior is rewarded and yet there are righteous people who have been persecuted and even killed. In other words, these general principles work most of the time, but they’re not inviolable universal rules.

Yet another cause of contradictions comes from the fact that we’re reading the Bible in translation. Scholars disagree in many instances on a particular translation. When this happens, it’s a good idea to use a Hebrew/Greek lexicon to check out meanings for ourselves. This is in addition to the fact that there are slight variations in the many ancient manuscripts we use as our basis.

A contradiction of inference is where someone infers a contradiction that the text doesn’t actually state and is another area where Christians need not worry. Matthew says that Joseph, Mary, and Jesus went to Egypt after his birth in Bethlehem. Luke doesn’t mention Egypt, but has them in Nazareth. We can infer that these two gospels are talking about the same period of time, but that’s not necessarily true and the text doesn’t say this. There are many possible explanations on how this timeline in Jesus’ life might have unfolded, but it’s not a contradiction, but simply a matter of who emphasized which details.

A subset of the contradiction of inference is the X and X only fallacy which occurs when a reader mistakenly assumes that a number stated in the Bible (X) indicates only X. In Mark 5 and Luke 8, only one demon-possessed man is mentioned while according to Matthew there were two. Perhaps the one man was more violent than the other or perhaps he kept himself more in the background and thus wasn’t mentioned in the first two accounts. Mark and Luke don’t say there was ONLY one man, they just happened to focus on one man.

Apparent factual contradictions happen when a critic claims the Bible contradicts a well-established fact. However, such secular ‘facts’ as the Big Bang, evolution, naturalism, and the secular order of events are not beyond question and to argue that the Bible is wrong because it doesn’t agree with them is a vicious circle argument.

Best of all, these many types of critical attacks on the Bible backfire on the very critic who asserts the Bible is false because it contains contradictions. Only if the Bible is true, are contradictions unacceptable in the first place! Assuming the law of non-contradiction means the person takes it for granted that a contradiction can’t be true and the only reason this is true is because God is truth and can’t go against Himself. Only by accepting the biblical world view can we know that contradictions are always false because only in a biblical world view is there a basis for the law of non-contradiction.

If your head isn't spinning yet, check out Answers in Genesis where they will be going deeper into the topic of contradictions with more examples of the various types.

Biblical Contradictions Part 1

How many times have you heard “You can’t trust the Bible, it’s full of contradictions”?

I’ve recently become enlightened on exactly what a contradiction is thanks to a new series from the Answers in Genesis folks.

A contradiction is a proposition and its negation (often written as A and not A). A genuine contradiction cannot be true, even in principle. In other words, you can’t have a sunny night or a married bachelor or dry water. So the charge that the Bible contains contradictions is a serious one since Christians believe the Bible is without error.

There’s a difference between a contradiction and an objection, a category into which many of the accusations against the Bible fall. Just because the Bible contains miracles is not a contradiction, but an objection based on the assumption that miracles are impossible. Someone who objects to the miracles in the Bible and calls this a contradiction is in essence saying the Bible is false because the Bible is false. Miracles are a psychological problem for this person, not something that’s illogical. If God is all-powerful, he can perform any of the miracles we read about in the Bible with room to spare. The argument that something in the Bible isn’t plausible needs no refutation since that stance is merely an opinion.

A contradiction is something else entirely. If the Bible makes a claim and then asserts a contrary claim, they can’t both be true at the same time. Just one of these genuine contradictions could seriously challenge our faith so it’s important we understand how this works.

One type of alleged contradiction turns out to be the use of a word in a different sense, so that it’s possible to have what appears to be A and not A at the same time. A man can be a bachelor and married -- if you’re using the word in the sense that he’s married to his job. The controversy over James vs Romans when it comes to works vs faith offers just such a case. James is teaching about justification before men while Paul in Romans is talking about justification before God. So there’s no contradiction.

Other so called contradictions in the Bible are simply false dilemmas. One example is the idea that the Bible was given by the inspiration of God vs that it was written by men. The implication here is that only one of these can be true. But there’s no reason why the Bible can’t be both at the same time.

Taking things out of context is another place where contradictions in the Bible end up not being contradictions at all. The Bible includes many statements that are not true or that it doesn’t endorse. This occurs in Psalm 14:1 where it says ‘there is no God.’ Of course, it’s the fool who is saying this in his heart. The Bible isn’t claiming there’s no God, but if you lift out this one line, you can try to prove otherwise. Same thing in Judges when it says “everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” This is an indictment, not a directive. The Bible certainly isn’t condoning this type of behavior as a positive lifestyle.

(to be continued...)

Hitler's Cross

Hitler is obviously a type of the AntiChrist, but I never realized how much so and how much our country is traveling down the same road as Nazi Germany.

Try these facts on for size...

Hitler outlawed school prayer. We did that decades ago.

He eliminated Christian holidays in school. We’ve basically done the same thing by removing Christmas and Easter from our lexicon and calling these holidays Winter and Spring break.

He promoted paganism, eastern mysticism, and environmentalism.

He killed 6 million Jews. We’ve killed 50 million unborn babies.

He abolished private schools. Only Nazi-approved ideology was allowed. We’re doing something similar. Our public schools promote a politically correct liberal curricula that includes secularism, cultural diversity, global warming caused by man, and the homosexual agenda. I just read where a first grade class in San Francisco was bussed to their teacher’s lesbian wedding ceremony and encouraged to participate with bubble makers and rose petals to toss in her path.

He took control of the media. We have the blatantly liberal left-leaning media which will likely really spiral out of control if Obama gets elected. If that happens, they’ll also probably be able to get the so-called Fairness Doctrine passed which targets the only media NOT controlled by the liberals and which will virtually wipe out conservative Christian talk radio as we know it.

He prosecuted pastors for teaching the word of God as proclaimed in the Bible. This is already happening in Europe and Canada where pastors have been jailed for preaching about the sin of homosexuality.

He outlawed the cross and replaced it with the swastika.

He pushed neutrality and was obsessed with globalism.

When Hitler’s henchmen persecuted the Jews, they couldn’t be accused of breaking the law because he’d already changed them. When you take God away as the basis for government, something going on in this country right now, you have no recourse if the state decides to take away your rights.

He wouldn't allow the teaching of creationism. He used the doctrine of Darwinian evolution to justify the killing of Jews to ‘purify the race’.

The people of Germany accepted the socialism he was pushing because they didn’t want the pain, just the way we’re doing now with this massive Wall Street/Fannie/Freddie bailout among other socialist solutions we’ve taken or perhaps will take (like national health care paid for by the government).

I was blown away by these facts about Nazi Germany and this is just a sampling. It’s all laid out and much more in a revealing, fascinating book called HITLER'S CROSS by Erwin Lutzer. There are so many lessons we can learn from the past -- if we will simply open our eyes. The scariest lesson of all is that the absence of any guidance by the churches in Germany was a big factor in what happened there. Even the pope refused to speak out against the systematic annihilation of the Jews.

A telling question for us here in America is where are the majority of our churches today? Are they going to continue on with business as usual while our nation plummets on its moral, political, spiritual, and economic downward spiral or are they going to take a stand?

Don't All Roads Lead to God?

As Bill Wiese points out in his latest book, most people spend more time researching their annual vacation destination than they do their eternal destination.

It’s understandable in a way. No one likes to think about hell or being sent there. Most people when asked consider themselves ‘good’ and assume they’re going to heaven. The Bible begs to differ and assures us there’s only one way to heaven and that’s through accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.

Mr. Wiese’s first book, 23 MINUTES IN HELL, was a bestseller. He claims he was taken in a vision to hell and it was such a searing, horrible experience, he woke up screaming and traumatized. He also found himself re-inspired to warn people about it.

Whether you believe that he actually had this experience or not is moot, in my opinion. All I know is that his vision was so horrifying on so many levels, I don’t ever want to go there or anyplace remotely like it. The even scarier part is that he has the Bible verses to back up everything he said. It makes you stop and think.

In his new book, HELL, he answers all the questions people like to hurl at Christians about God and hell, usually with a sneer or a superior ‘gotcha’ attitude. Why would a loving God send people to hell? Why can’t God just overlook our faults? Just how bad can it really be? (This is for the people who say stuff like, ‘I don’t mind going to hell, all my friends are gonna be there’.)

Not only does he answer these questions, he explains the five ways in which God warns us about our impending judgement if we don’t repent. God has given us 1) creation, 2) our conscience, 3) the Bible (funny how it’s available everywhere and more popular than ever after thousands of years. No other book on the face of the earth can make that claim), 4) other people (there are preachers all over the world who are happy to explain God and His plan of salvation, not to mention TV, cds, dvds, radio, books, magazines, and the Internet), and 5) dreams and visions, the category into which the author falls.

The book includes true stories and testimonies galore as well as the answers to more obscure questions concerning things like fallen angels (Nephilim). It explains false doctrines such as Annihilationism (people in hell cease to exist) and Universalism (people are eventually saved out of hell). He could have easily titled it Everything You Wanted to Know About Hell, But Were Afraid To Ask.

As Christians we know that all roads do not lead to God and heaven. Every road but the one through Jesus, leads to that other place. This is not something you can remain neutral about unless you truly don’t care where you’re going to spend the rest of your time after you leave this earth. Besides, there’s no such thing as neutrality. A lack of decision is a decision against, just like in a court case -- if you don’t show up, you lose by default.

What a dumb way to land yourself in hell.

The Fall of America

There were five primary reasons why the Roman empire fell according to Edward Gibbon in his famous book THE HISTORY OF THE DECLINE AND FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE.

1. Undermining of the dignity and sanctity of the home.
We see this going on in our culture in spades. Broken homes, blended families, homosexual marriage. How can you have the sanctity of marriage and the home with a divorce rate of 50%. Women who don’t work outside the home are made to feel deficient because they are ‘only housewives’.

2. Higher and higher taxes.
More and more of our earnings go to taxes which are then used to bail out other peoples’ bad decisions (the Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac bailout fiasco) or wasted by Congress in every way imaginable from pork barrel spending to supporting Planned Parenthood and their systematic program of abortions.

3. Mad craze for pleasure.
Movies, TV, sports. People do little else in their spare time. Have you ever read about some of those Victorian era people? They crammed 3 or 4 lifetimes worth of career and scientific discoveries into one, plus wrote thousands of letters and kept extensive diaries and raised families.

4. Building of great armaments even though the enemy was within.
We’ve cut back for a while, but with rogue nuclear weapons floating around out there ready to fall into the hands of terrorists, we can’t afford to grow slack on this front. At the same time, we are allowing ourselves to be weakened from within when we kowtow to the Muslims, illegal immigrants, and the ACLU (which tries to undermine everything religious from the landscape that even breathes a hint of Christianity while catering to everything else) just to name a few.

5. Decay of religion fading into mere form, thus losing the power to guide the people.
We’re living in a secular society. Churches no longer influence national character the way they once did and the culture shows it. Christians have abdicated their role of being salt and light and merely go to church every Sunday while burying their religion the rest of the week so that they’re basically undercover and no one even suspects they’re Christians.

There is no longer any relation between character and destiny. The cream of our nation does not rise to the top on a consistent basis anymore. And as the Founding Fathers pointed out, our kind of constitutional republic only works with a moral and religious people, not the anything goes moral relativism of our current culture.

I think ‘all of the above’ is the reason America is not found in end times prophecy. We will likely fall economically, militarily, and morally and will be in no position to defend ourselves let alone the apple of God’s eye, Israel, when the time comes.

The Visitor's Center in Washington D.C.

The new $600 million Visitor’s Center in our nation’s capital is deliberately trying to rewrite history by taking God out of it.

The anti-God path that the anti-religion minority in this country seems determined to trod (with plenty of help from the ACLU) is getting downright depressing. Their onslaught against this country’s founding values grows more relentless every year and comes from every side.

For two hundred plus years we have proudly displayed God on our national monuments. He’s featured on our dollar bills and on our coins (although ‘In God We Trust’ has now been placed around the outside rim rather than on the actual face of the coin). He shows up in our Declaration of Independence and in our Constitution. Yes, there’s a war against God going on and it’s time for the people, the majority of us who believe in God, to step forward in protest.

It’s no news that this anti-God business in our national monuments started before the Visitor’s Center was a gleam in someone’s eye. The FDR memorial makes no mention of God, in spite of the fact that FDR was not afraid to defer to God and actually led the nation in prayer over the radio.

The WWII Memorial was the second national monument built that has no acknowledgment of God. The quote they use from Eisenhower conveniently stops just a few words short of where his appeal to God begins.

Censoring God in general has been on the rise since they took prayer out of the schools, but lately it seems like it’s becoming a terrible juggernaut everywhere you turn. Another casualty is the recent halting of the flag folding ceremony because God is mentioned... the fact that the participants want to retain these references to God seems to make no difference.

Which brings me back to the Visitor’s Center and the unbelievable audacity of these take-God-out-of-history revisionist nuts. They show images of the inside of the house chamber -- you know the place, it’s where ‘IN GOD WE TRUST’ is etched into the wall behind where the Speaker of the House stands. Sounds like a good thing until you discover they’ve removed the phrase, leaving the wall blank. I’ve heard of airbrushing cover models, but wiping out the living, breathing details of our revered architecture because it doesn’t agree with someone’s secular viewpoint is downright evil.

In one document they took out the words ‘in the year of our Lord’. That’s the kind of thing the Communists did when they wanted to rewrite history to suit themselves. Talk about unethical. You’re tampering with a historical document, for pete’s sake.

Not only that, it seems they have many of their facts wrong including details about the War of 1812. You’d think with that much money involved they could find someone who knows the actual history.

One congressman called the Visitor’s Center a “$600 million godless pit’.

Sadly, I have to agree.

Fireproof Redux

I went to see FIREPROOF this weekend.

I’m happy to say the movie lived up to my expectations and then some.

I wish every movie could be as inspiring, romantic, funny, and thrilling as this one. The brothers Kendrick have outdone themselves.

I honestly believe this movie could teach Hollywood a thing or two. I’ve written several screenplays myself and this one is polished and entertaining from start to finish. The storytelling is spot on and the plot structure is pretty much flawless. During the movie, one part of my mind was in awe of the pacing and the perfect placement of scenes that kept the story humming along. Character dramas like this one can be tricky, but Fireproof came through with flying colors.

The characters are engaging and real and very relatable. I loved the way Caleb hit bottom in his relationship, even as he’s attempting to follow the Love Dare, a last ditch effort he's only undertaking because of his dad. Only when all hope is lost can he finally see his need for God’s help to fix things and even then, the situation with his wife goes from bad to worse, just like it so often does in real life. Turning to God doesn’t mean the Almighty is going to wave a magic wand and fix everything that instant. I also like the way the film makers didn’t hit the viewer over the head with this aspect of the film. It’s a fine line to walk when you want to attract a general audience. They didn’t hide the gospel message either, but portrayed it in a moving and realistic manner. The ending is powerful and emotional and very satisfying in the best Hollywood tradition, but with a Biblical heart that you know means this marriage will go the distance until death do them part.

Ted Baehr’s MOVIEGUIDE magazine had this to say: “Fireproof may be a small movie in terms of budget, but it’s got a gigantic, well-produced Hollywood heart.”

Fireproof took in six and a half million dollars at the box office over the weekend and came in fourth with the second highest per screen average. This is good news indeed. Not only has it already earned back its diminutive $500,000 budget and then some, it’s well on its way to the kind of success FACING THE GIANTS had.

Even better than all this is that these guys (who are also pastors) have a great shot at helping marriages throughout this country thanks to the movie’s Love Dare which is now out in book form. The Love Dare is the 40 day program that Caleb undertakes to save his marriage and it’s based on Biblical principles like patience, thoughtfulness, and putting your partner first. It was wonderful to see these virtues at work in the movie, but it will be even better if word gets out and they can have a positive effect on the pitiful state of marriage in our society.

I can’t wait to see what Alex and Stephen Kendrick tackle next.

Ahmadinejad and the End Times

Every time I turn around, there are more indications that we’re living in the end times.

The latest example is Ahmadinejad’s visit to New York City to speak at the U.N.

I saw red when I heard how he stood there and trashed America and called Israel a cesspool and then got applause from the U.N. members for doing so. (Israel and the U.S. were not present at the time).

The Iranian leader was later interviewed on Larry King. Good old Larry asked him about his children and their ages among other things. Whatever happened to American patriotism? Can you imagine Washington or Jefferson inviting an evil man like this to the White House, never mind giving him this kind of credibility on the world stage? I can just see him returning home in triumph, showing the mullahs clips of him yukking it up on American T.V. so they can see for themselves how soft and lacking in integrity we are.

It’s enough to make your blood boil, but here’s where the end times angle comes in -- several U.S. church groups have invited him to an interfaith rally in his honor. The topic? “Has not one God created us?”

Reading the invitation, seeing our so-called Christian leaders kowtowing to this Hitler wannabe by engaging him in social interaction as if he hadn’t just spewed his usual anti-Semitic, anti-West hatred made me sick. The groups behind the event include the American Friends Service Committee, Mennonite Central Committee, Quaker UN Office, Religions for Peace, and Worldwide Council of Churches UN Liaison.

These people should be ashamed of themselves. Have they learned nothing from history? That’s how we ended up fighting World War II -- because nobody would stand up to Hitler until it became too late for anything but war. The churches in Germany hold particular responsibility for not standing their ground.

Iran has recently voted to make the death penalty mandatory for the ‘crime’ of apostasy (leaving the Muslim faith). There is no freedom of religion in Iran. In fact, there are former Muslims, now Christians, waiting on ‘death row’.

And these Christian groups want to play nice with him??

I was listening to a call-in radio show on the topic. A priest phoned in to suggest that Jesus would have met with Ahmadinejad and worshipped with him.

I don’t think so! Jesus would have called him a hypocrite who was going to hell if he didn't repent. He surely would have confronted him about the jailed Christians. Jesus did not mess around as he proved when he knocked over tables and drove the money changers out of the temple.

The topic they plan to discuss is beyond ludicrous. Yes, one God created us, but his name isn’t Allah who incites Muslims to hatred, killing, and discrimination against women in the Quran. (If you want proof that God and Allah are not the same, just ask a Muslim to substitute the word God for Allah when they’re yelling ‘Allah Akbar’). All I can say is thank heavens 90% of Muslims have never read the Quran (according to a survey from Bielefeld University in Germany). Sad to say a majority of Christians haven’t read the Bible either which helps explain but doesn’t excuse this travesty.

Obviously these totally misguided groups did not get Jesus’ urgent memo about deception... not that Ahmadinejad is doing much to hide his true colors. I can’t join the protest in NYC, but at least I was able to go to the ACLJ website (American Center for Law and Justice) and sign their petition.

Fireproof

The creators of FACING THE GIANTS, Alex and Stephen Kendrick, have a new movie coming out this Friday called FIREPROOF.

It’s the story of a young couple whose seven year marriage is on the verge of collapse. The protagonist, played by Kirk Cameron, is a fireman who seems to be a hero to everybody but his own wife. His dad gives him a journal and asks that he not go through with the divorce for forty days while he undertakes the Love Dare, a series of steps he can use to save his marriage.

The movie opens this weekend, September 26th, and I urge everyone to go see it.

Many people don’t realize how important opening weekend is for a film. This is the one sure way we can vote with our dollars to let Hollywood know what kind of movies we want. If a movie doesn’t ‘catch on’ and do well opening weekend, it is often gone within the next week or two, especially a ‘smaller’ movie like this one.

I think this is part of what happened with THE NATIVITY STORY a couple of years back. Too many people I talked to about it told me they wanted to see it, but it was gone before they could get to the theater. If all those people had been there opening weekend, it might have been a different story. Hollywood sees this lack of enthusiasm -- and dollars -- and next time a biblically oriented story comes up, they pass.

THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST opened a lot of doors in Hollywood that are slowly closing again because nothing’s come close to the success of that movie. We have the power not to let that happen. We might not see another phenomenon like PASSION, but we can still flex our movie viewing muscles to support the kind of fare we’d like to see instead of the sex and violence Hollywood too often churns out.

The Kendricks’ previous movie, FACING THE GIANTS, a story of football and redemption, turned into a surprising success story. The movie was made for a measly $100,000. And yet this little movie-that-could earned $10 million! That’s how you get Hollywood to sit up and take notice. Because of that, the Kendricks were able to get a budget of $500,000 this time around and FIREPROOF will open in over 800 theaters this Friday.

What’s even more fun for us Christians is that Alex and Stephen Kendrick are associate pastors at Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Georgia. Through the power of an emotional, entertaining story, they hope to help married couples keep their marriages intact and strong. Alex has also written a companion book, THE LOVE DARE, that lays out the steps for the 40 day love dare shown in the movie. According to John Thompson of B&H Publishing Group “The Love Dare is the fastest selling book we’ve ever handled.”

Check out the movie trailer at the FIREPROOF website. For more info on The Love Dare and fireproofing your own marriage check out Fireproof My Marriage.

And hie thee to the movies this weekend.

Persecuted Christians

It’s easy for us, as we sit in our comfortable churches with our Bibles on our laps, to forget that our sisters and brothers in Christ are being persecuted throughout the world. Statistics place the figure at an unbelievable 250 million. Muslim dominated countries are some of the worst offenders, but it’s going on in places like Mexico and Colombia, Ethiopia and Cuba, and of course, China.

These kinds of world wide occurrences have always felt so overwhelming to me -- after all, what can I do about dictatorships, hostile majority religions that hate Christians, and all the rest of it.

Well, I found something that’s small, but powerful in its way, and oh-so-satisfying. It’s something available through Voice of the Martyrs, a wonderful ministry that works to get the word out on what’s going on with persecuted Christians around the globe and how to help.

One of those ways is called Prisoner Alert and it allows you to write a letter to a Christian being held in prison for his faith where he or she is perhaps being beaten, tortured, and is often in danger of death.

The really neat part about it is that the site translates your letter into the language of the Christian in question. Then you simply print out the letter, use the address provided, and place it in the mail.

The way it works is actually quite simple. You select from a list of phrases and Bible verses to compose your own letter. You pick and choose, add and delete until you’re satisfied with the results (which show both the English and the translated version so you know what you’re saying). When you print out the letter, you have to make sure there’s no header or footer identifying Voice of the Martyrs since it’s not a good idea to show the opposition that a group like this is behind it. (I ended up cutting off the offending portion rather than changing the settings of my printer.) I added a few lines of my own, put it in an envelope, and it’s now winging its way to a Christian doctor who’s imprisoned in Eritrea.

It couldn’t be easier, and yet I had the great satisfaction of knowing I was doing something. VOM says that many times, if these prisoners get a significant enough amount of mail, they’re released early. How wonderful is that! Plus, you’re showing your solidarity with those who are suffering for their faith in Christ. This kind of involvement can also result in better treatment for a prisoner. The authorities in many of these countries are very sensitive about their image abroad. When they realize outsiders are getting involved, that someone is monitoring a prisoner’s situation, conditions may be improved.

VOM says that often these oppressors try to brainwash the prisoners into thinking they’re forgotten. I can imagine how a persecuted Christian must often feel utterly alone and isolated from everyone they know and love. A simple letter can demonstrate that someone cares.

You can also write on their behalf to the various officials involved. I’m thinking that will be phase two.

This is front line spiritual warfare and I’m proud to play this small part.

Is It Biblical for a Woman to Hold Public Office?

First we had the Left savaging Sarah Palin after John McCain chose her as his running mate. Politicians and the media crossed the line in so many ways, I left off counting, the most egregious occurring when they made cracks about her pregnant daughter and her Downs Syndrome son.

I have to admit, though, I wasn’t terribly surprised.

Now we have some in the Evangelical community questioning whether Sarah Palin should be running at all because a woman shouldn’t hold public office.

I can’t believe this is even up for discussion.

The Bible contains examples of women leaders. Some were good, some bad. Jezebel immediately comes to mind as one of the baddies. She also happened to be a pagan high priestess and a big fan of the false Canaanite god, Baal. Her main goal in life was wiping out the Israelites’ Jehovah God in favor of hers.

Let’s not forget sweet, modest Esther, who is often held up as a prime example of womanhood. Nothing is said against the fact she was a queen. Admittedly she didn’t wield the power of her royal husband, but she had major influence and the authority to send out the decree which ultimately saved her people.

During the era when judges ruled in Israel instead of kings, Deborah was a judge. Her command of the army ensured a decisive victory over her country's enemies with the help of another woman, Jael, who hammered a tent spike through the temple of the commander of the opposing army while he slept. These women did not mess around. Both are extolled in the Song of Deborah.

Nor is anything negative said about the Queen of Sheba who came to visit King Solomon and was herself one of the wealthiest rulers in the world. In fact, the Bible honors her conclusion that Solomon was the wisest man in the world.

The Bible highlights three earthly spheres of government -- church, family, and civil. The Bible says that men are to be in charge of the churches. They’re called to be the leaders of their families. However, the Bible does not comment on who’s to be in charge when it comes to civil government. This includes business leadership as well.

The Woman of Proverbs 31 bought land and sold her handmade goods. Women in the New Testament ran successful businesses like Lydia, a prosperous traveling merchant who sold dyes and dyed cloth from Thyatira. Women like her were a huge factor in the birth of Christianity because of their financial support of Jesus’ ministry.

And let’s not forget that both men and women believers are promised they will reign together with Christ.

Where were these anti-women-in-public-office types when Hillary Clinton was running for the Democratic nomination for president? I guess since Hillary is not an Evangelical Christian, they didn’t bother to engage her on this topic. This is almost as bad as the way the feminists have no problem with Clinton or any other liberal woman running for office and yet they come out with guns blazing against Sarah Palin, a woman who epitomizes everything they claim to want for women in this culture. Ah, but Governor Palin doesn’t share their rabid support for abortion or their radical stance against men in general and men as husbands and fathers in particular. It shows where their true agenda lies. After all, the famous feminist slogan says that a woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle.

It seems to me that women in government is one of those areas of discretion mentioned in the Bible. As a Christian, we have the liberty to decide how to handle all the aspects of our lives the Bible doesn’t comment on specifically. Some Christians might have a glass of wine with dinner while others avoid it altogether. Some eat meat, some are vegetarians. Neither is right or wrong.


At the very least, Sarah Palin running for VP falls into this category. I say let’s give it a rest.