I would imagine that most people have had a place, somewhere in the world and beyond their current home, where they would have wanted to live out their lives. A special place, in their mind and heart, that seemed to be the definition, the perfect picture of peace, beauty, joy, contentment and life. A place where the rat-race of daily life seemed to fade away or even become non-existent. I found such a place as this, over thirty years ago, and I would, if it were possible, move there tomorrow!
In the Summer of 1978, I was blessed to have experienced the beauty, peace and joy of Montreux, Switzerland and its people. I had spent four, wonderful days there with my college jazz band. We had been invited to perform at the Montreux Jazz festival, as well as the jazz festival in Nice, France.
Montreux sits on the southwest shore of Lake Geneva and is surrounded by the French and Swiss Alps. Lake Geneva is a large glacial lake with dark-green water that seems to stretch forever in either direction. Looking out over the lake, the French Alps rise in the clear blue sky and reflect off of the water.
There were several of us who would arise early every day, eat our continental breakfast, which usually consisted of fruit, pastry and a variety of coffee drinks, and then walk the shoreline. There’s a walk way that stretches out for miles, and it’s lined on one side by the lake and by gardens on the other. Montreux is an immaculately kept city: every morning the home and store owners would be seen scrubbing their sidewalks and street gutters. I could have literally eaten out of the gutter without becoming ill. We would walk for miles, along the shoreline, while being in awe of our beautiful surroundings and the smell of freshly baked bread, varieties of flowers and the clean alpine air.
The French Swiss are small in stature, but the men are broad at the shoulders, sturdy and strong. Everyone looks so content and healthy. They’re a quiet and friendly people who always seemed to be looking out to see if we needed anything. The stores and shops are quaint, for the most part, and the food is out of this world! Our lunch and dinners, which we had to supply, usually consisted of French bread, hard salamis, cheeses, a salad and wine. Our evenings, when not performing, were spent under the influence of the best tasting, as well as most potent, beer that I have ever had. The Europeans, in general, were always surprised to find out that we couldn’t handle the potency of their beers and wines. They found it very amusing.
One particular morning, after breakfast, I decided to walk on my own. I walked for quite a while, and then I stopped to sit on a bench, which was facing the lake. As I sat there on that beautiful, July morning and tried to literally comprehend what my senses and emotions were taking in, I found myself suddenly overwhelmed by the thought that what I was experiencing could have never come about by chance. In those few, amazing moments, I came to understand, somewhere deep in my mind and heart, that God exists and was responsible for this beauty, joy and peace that I was experiencing. It was a life changing experience, which I will never forget.
Oh yes, if I had the ways and the means, I would have a little villa that sits on the shore of Lake Geneva, in that beautiful and friendly city, and every morning I would walk for miles and then sit on my bench, while sipping coffee, and ponder God and His beautiful creation that surrounds me.
I PRAY THAT MANY OTHERS FIND THIS TRUTH ALSO! THE LORD’S PEACE BE ON ALL WHO VISIT HERE!
Ever notice how America has every month set aside for some kind of cultural/gender/ideology/history, pride-filled political purpose. We have Black History Month, Hispanic Heritage Month, Womens History Month and now LGBT (lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgender) Pride Month.
{But where’s the Anglo-Saxon Ancestry Month, or the Working Class American Month, or the Heterosexual (Caucasian) Male Pride Month? I guess those kind of months would be politically incorrect and “very, very uncool, dude!” I don’t care, but I was just curious, since this society seems to be so concerned with other cultures being observed and respected? Oh, but wait! I forgot! It’s Hollywood and the politically correct crew (the Godless and hedonistic left) who decide what can be observed or even “tolerated:” the folks I mentioned above are the “totally uncool,” politically incorrect (PI) and therefore, disenfranchised, in the eyes of the politically correct (PC), tolerant and “cool” beautiful people!}
Here is a Religion Clause article that is just one of a multitude of examples on this issue.
Wednesday, June 03, 2009
Obama Issues LGBT Pride Month Proclamation
Baptist Press reports that many evangelicals are unhappy that President Barack Obama on Monday issued a Proclamation (full text) proclaiming June 2009 as “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month.” The proclamation notes that this year is the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion, a clash with New York police that is generally seen as the start of the gay rights movement. The Proclamation says in part that: “LGBT Americans have made, and continue to make, great and lasting contributions that continue to strengthen the fabric of American society.” It lists a number of pro-LGBT initiatives undertaken by the Administration. Yesterday’s Windy City Times says that both sides are unhappy with the Proclamation. Gay rights activists says the Administration has not done enough to further equal rights. This is not the first time a President has issued this sort of Proclamation. Bill Clinton issued gay pride proclamations in 1999 and 2000. (emphasis added)
“Gay rights activists says the Administration has not done enough to further equal rights.” Now there’s the surprise quote of the day: “We want more! We want more! We want more! And we’ll have a continuous tantrum until we get it!”
American society, overall, is driven and will ultimately be swept away and destroyed by its own entitlement oriented ideology and undeserved pride (“Pride goes before the fall”), as has happened with all other power and greed-hungry, self-serving and corrupted societies (nations) throughout history: Babylon, Egypt (Pharaohs) Greece and Rome, just to name a few.
American society, over the past century, has become “self-actualized, baby!” This new and supposedly better American society no longer lets minuscule and outdated notions, such as God, His Son, His Word and absolute truth (nor human history or experience), get in the way of its needs and desires. Oh no, not this society. American society knows there are no absolutes, because “everything is relative, dude!” Culturally relativistic/atheistic American society has become so “enlightened,” as with the rest of this God hating world, that it now knows there is nothing bad or good, better or worse, right or wrong, especially when it comes to viewing those of other cultures or chosen “lifestyles.” Yet, thanks to its ability to make-everything-up-as-it-goes, American society clings, in self-righteous (hypocritical) arrogance, to its “ethics” and “morality,” which is supposedly still “evolving” and, to me, anyway, very much “mutating.”
Here is an example of this new “mutating,” Godless and degenerate “morality:” a woman can have her baby murdered in the womb, by an abortionist “physician,” but this same woman and “physician” will cry for blood when they hear of a child being molested. What are some of their relativistic, feminist and atheistic excuses, when confronted with their blatant murder and hypocrisy: “Life doesn’t begin until actual birth!” or “It’s legal to abort a fetus!” or “It’s my body and my right! I can do as I please.” and “A child molester is sick and should die!”
{In our modern and relativistic (and aesthetically dead) America, there’s no difference in quality between Michelangelo’s sculpture of David and a wooden image of a bird found in Africa. High art in America has been brought so low and dehumanized (devoid of God) that a crucifix in a jar filled with urine, or racist and vulgar “rap” music and really lousy rock & roll are more revered than the paintings of the great masters, or the monumental symphonies of the Classical and Romantic periods. Is it any wonder that almost everything we see or hear, artistically, is mediocre or worse?}
“Enlightened,” relativistic and atheistic/agnostic Americans have all but done away with outdated and “uncool” phrases like “we should have” or “we could have,” or “that’s a really bad piece of art,” or “homosexuality is a mental and spiritual illness that is destructive to everyone involved, and therefore, wrong!”
As the Apostle Paul said,
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.
Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.
And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them. (Romans 1: 18-32)
The entire article can be found here:
via Religion Clause: Obama Issues LGBT Pride Month Proclamation.
Tags: government, homosexuality, hypocrisy, Jesus, political correctness, scripture, Truth
The Legacy of Man's Entitlements: Rights & Rights Withheld!
The Apostle Paul tells us,
Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men… Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY,” says the Lord. (Romans 12: 17, 19)
So my writing here is in no way condoning the murder of the doctor in the following article. But what I do want to say here is, first of all, a murderer was murdered yesterday, not a “Christian, good” physician. Most physicians seek to heal and save life, but this man evidently had little use for life. This church going doctor, according to God’s law, murdered unborn children in the late stages of pregnancy. God’s law overrules our supposed entitlements every time!
The lord made it clear:
‘You shall not murder.’ (Deuteronomy 5:17)
Evidently the Hippocratic oath and God’s law meant little or nothing to this “Christian, good” doctor.
Kansas Abortion Doctor Slain; Suspect In Custody
NPR.org, May 31, 2009 · Dr. George Tiller, one of the nation’s few providers of late-term abortions despite decades of protests and attacks, was shot and killed Sunday in a Wichita, Kan., church where he was serving as an usher.
The gunman fled, but a 51-year-old suspect was detained some 170 miles away in suburban Kansas City three hours after the shooting, Wichita Deputy Police Chief Tom Stolz said…
There was no immediate word of the motive of Tiller’s assailant. But the doctor’s violent death was the latest in a string of shootings and bombings over two decades directed against abortion clinics, doctors and staff.
Long a focus of national anti-abortion groups, including a summer-long protest in 1991, Tiller was shot in the foyer of Reformation Lutheran Church, Stolz said. Tiller’s attorney, Dan Monnat, said Tiller’s wife, Jeanne, was in the choir at the time. (emphasis added)
On the news last night, they interviewed a woman at the church, and she said (of the slain doctor), “He was a Christian, Good man!” They then ran an interview with the slain doctor, from a few years back, and he arrogantly proclaimed his right, by law, to abort unborn children and added that no one would stop him. I guess he was wrong.
Do “Christian, good” men (and women, or “mothers”) murder babies in the womb? Is a man-made legal right, or entitlement, enough to condone the mass murder of millions of unborn children, or even one? Isn’t this kind of political argument what we, as a nation, found appalling with the Nazi’s defense for committing the holocaust (mass-murder of millions): “We were just following orders…” “It is the right of any nation to defend itself…” etc.
Doesn’t abortion, the murder of innocence, fall under the same “morality” that we so confidently and arrogantly cling to when we cry, “That’s sick, and he (or she) should be hanged,” after hearing of another molestation incident? At least in these perverse cases the children had been allowed to experience life (outside of the womb) by being born. With this in mind then, shouldn’t the murder of innocent babies, as opposed to “fetuses” or “zygotes” (desensitizing terms, or euphemisms, to soothe our consciences), be even more perverse than pedophilia to us?
And yet it seems that we (the whole world) have lost sense of our humanity, our connection with our Creator and His compassion and love. The so called “enlightenment,” evolution, eugenics, genetic engineering, cloning, selecting baby traits before birth (Darwinian/atheistic/materialistic pseudo-science), these have all desensitized us to each other and the sacredness of life, especially the life that begins in the womb. Our rights and seeking what we want, when we want it (without any sense of our own responsibility) have, over the past one hundred and fifty years (since Darwin), dehumanized us. The results of this dehumanization can be seen all around us. This is, of course, unless we have become so dead, spiritually, and blind that we cannot see or feel anymore, which is evidently the case with many of us?
Now we come to my main reason for writing this post. This church allowed a professed murderer (legal, of course) to continue as a member without question and even embraced him as a “good man.”
The Apostle Paul said,
I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people; I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world. But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler—not even to eat with such a one. For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within the church? But those who are outside, God judges. REMOVE THE WICKED MAN FROM AMONG YOURSELVES. (1 Corinthians 5: 9-13)
How much clearer can this scripture be? This church, as with many others, is evidently unaware of or ignoring this imperative from the word of God. I wonder if this same church would be as quick to welcome a convicted and registered sex offender who is seeking, unlike this doctor, to be altered by God? I doubt it, the doctor is pc (politically correct), while the repentant sex offender is very pi (politically incorrect). I guess it would be better, according to Christendom, in this case, to sit with a “pillar of the community,” who legally commits murder, and is proud of it, than sit with a sexual addict who is seeking to be healed. After all, this church might lose some money from the collection plate if it actually reaches out to the sick in this world.
As our Lord proclaimed,
And hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Mark 2: 17)
The entire article can be found here:
via Kansas Abortion Doctor Slain; Suspect In Custody : NPR.
Tags: abortion, Christendom, hypocrisy, Jesus, life, murder, scripture, Truth
Gee! I Wonder Why?
ABC has hit a new prime time low by producing and broadcasting, last evening, a materialistic “science” rag entitled, Earth 2100.
It wasn’t bad enough that GM filed for bankruptcy yesterday, and thousands of American, middle class workers found out they would soon be unemployed. Oh no, that wasn’t good enough for the top 3%, or the American power-elite. The power elite had to plant paranoid delusions in these soon-to-be unemployed and terrified workers and their families. How did they accomplish this? By playing the environmental paranoia card, that’s how. Why would they do this, and especially now? Because when people are frightened, then, according to the power elite, it’s the perfect time to manipulate them by producing fear and doubt. This then allows the power elite to control, emotionally and politically, those who are in great fear and uncertainty. And this is exactly what they were trying to accomplish last night, with this prime time (paranoia) special.
{Does anyone really believe its a coincidence that Earth 2100 coincided with the bankruptcy of GM: an American icon to the middle class?}
The power elite’s materialistic aces-in-the-hole (”scientists” and the ABC network) concocted this futuristic fairy tale that, for any parent, would be anything but reassuring. This made up concoction of pseudo-scientific confusion and manipulation pandered environmental paranoia to the extreme. It was almost comical, but liars, charlatans and greedy con-men hardly ever amuse me!
With animated sketches and narration, the materialistic/atheistic power elite attempted to convince parents that their children and grandchildren would be living in a world straight out of an Orwellian novel: only the environment, in this case, would play the part of Big Brother. Who was at fault in this supposed world wide catastrophe? The middle class, to some extent, since they were the ones who worked in the factories and drove the cars that caused “global warming.” You know, their “carbon footprint” was just way too big and heavy for “mother earth?”
Let me say, before I continue, that the same materialistic/atheistic power elite, who are now trying to manipulate you and me, are, in fact, responsible for the pollution that they are whining about. And yes, we, their peons, have added to the pollution in this world also. But this does not mean that man alone caused this current warming of the northern hemisphere.
There are plenty of reputable scientists who stand against the notion that man is the cause for this warming trend. But these legitimate scientists will never be heard on our cable and network channels, because they stand in the way of the power elite’s capitalistic agenda. The same power elite who own the mass media, lock, stock and barrel!
Materialistic "Science" at Work!
When was the last time that any of you could count on your local weather man’s (or woman’s) three day forecast? These “meteorologists,” where I live, can’t get the temperature right in the forecast for tomorrow! So why then would I, if I have any mind and common sense, believe them when they predict what’s going to occur, with the environment, in 10, 20, 30 or 100 years from now?
Do these Godless and manipulative pundits-of-paranoia really believe we’re that stupid? Yes, they do! And their proof is, we tend to believe anything a PHd, in any field of study, tells us. We’ve been conditioned, like Pavlov’s puppy, to salivate, cognitively, anytime a person with credentials speaks. This is how they’ve lured, manipulated and coerced us throughout the years.
Having a doctorate in any field doesn’t make a person brilliant, infallible or honest. We need to question human authority figures every time, especially when they seem quick to force us into making major decisions that could ultimately, in a negative way, effect us and our families: in the physical or spiritual realm. We must also realize that most of the authority figures got where they are with the money (from the power elite) that backed them and still backs them. We, if we have any sense, should always be skeptical of issues that involve new ways of making money for the wealthy: alternative fuel sources, for example.
We need new sources of fuel, and everyone is aware of this. Guess what? New sources of fuel mean big bucks and power for those who already yield the wealth and power: the elite and Al Gore, just to name a few.
Get the picture?
Wake up middle class (working) Americans! Smell the roses, and take off those rose-colored glasses! This whole “global warming” ditty is nothing more than a money making scheme. The rich and powerful are merely seeking to get richer and more powerful. This is the way of this world system.
{Didn’t we learn anything from the ’70s, when these same materialists were trying to convince us of a pending, catastrophic ice age, which, by the way, never came to fruition. Remember why they manipulated us then? To start raising the price of gasoline to match the cost in other nations. Now they’re crying wolf again and want us to continue, once again, to chase after their “marsh gas” lies and scams?}
Most importantly, for those who truly believe and seek the Lord, remember that the earth and all else belong to Him. Man cannot destroy what the Lord holds in His mighty hands, whether man believes this or not!
Remember that the sky, the highest heaven, the earth and everything it contains belong to the LORD your God. (Deuteronomy 10:14)
Don’t listen to these materialistic/atheistic “scientists” and the money grubbing elite. Listen to God, and He will preserve you and your children’s lives: in this world and the one to come!
Tags: atheism, corporations, Darwinism, government, greed, Hollywood, hypocrisy, material science, naturalism, Obama, political correctness, relativism
I used “three stooges” (in the post title) to describe the three iconoclastic Darwinian malcontents that are mentioned in the following Pew Forum article. I would never want to besmirch the good name of Mo, Larry or, my hero, Curly by comparing them with the atheistic, Darwinian stooges below!
May 27, 2009
Opinion: Let’s Talk About God
by Lisa Miller
Newsweek
The atheist writers (Three Darwinian Stooges) Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins (Head Stooge) and Christopher Hitchens have presented us with a choice: either you don’t believe in God or you’re a dope. “It is perfectly absurd for religious moderates to suggest that a rational human being can believe in God, simply because that belief makes him happy,” writes Harris in the 2005 “Atheist Manifesto” now posted on the Web site of his new nonprofit, The Reason Project. Their brilliance, wit and (general) good humor have made the new generation of atheists celebrities among people who like to consider themselves smart. We enjoy their books and their telegenic bombast so much that we don’t mind their low opinion of us. Dopey or not, 90 percent of Americans continue to say they believe in God.
This iteration of the faith-versus-reason debate has gone on for years, with no real resolution. Men (yes, mostly men) of faith have published passionate defenses of God. (See Tim Keller’s 2008 The Reason for God.) In response, believers have published accounts of journeys toward unbelief; atheists have testified to conversions. The latest entrant in this category is from the Marxist Terry Eagleton: Reason, Faith, and Revolution: Reflections on the God Debate. Yet despite the proliferation of viewpoints, I’m guessing few readers have ever closed one of these volumes and honestly declared themselves changed.
Robert Wright’s The Evolution of God, which comes out next week, is about to reframe this debate. Wright (the + 1) doesn’t argue one side or other of the “Is God real?” question. He leaves that aside. Instead, he grapples with God as an idea that has changed–evolved–through history. Wright is a journalist who specializes in evolutionary psychology, and his previ-ous book, Nonzero: The Logic of Human Destiny, was a reported meditation on the way human evolution changes us for the better. Over time, we’ve grown more moral, more responsible and more in-spired. In The New York Times Book Review, the British pale-ontologist Simon Conway Morris threw down the gauntlet: he accused Wright “of a failure of nerve.” Why not, he asked (and this is my rephrasing), connect that sublime human capacity for moral behavior to the thing that some people call God? (Writing in Slate, the Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker took the opposite tack, accusing Wright of providing ammunition to advocates of intelligent design.)
Wright picks up the challenge in The Evolution of God. He argues that the scriptures of the three Abrahamic faiths were written in history by real people who aimed to improve things–economic, social, geographical–for their constituencies. (And then he exhaustively, minutely catalogs who those writers were and what those specific aims might have been. This is not a book to read on the beach this summer.) But he never argues that what he calls a materialist view of scripture disproves God. Instead, he takes another approach: as our societies have grown more complex and more global, our conceptions of God have grown more demanding and more moral. This is a good thing, for religion can “help us orient our daily lives, recognize good and bad, and make sense of joy and suffering alike.” Wright is optimistic even about Islam in today’s world: “The ratio of good to bad scriptures varies among the Abrahamic faiths, but in all religions it’s possible for benign interpretation of scripture to flourish.” (emphasis added)
Mr. Wright is definitely the “plus 1″ stooge. In fact, as his detractors point out, he’s a fraud. At least the three original Darwinian stooges, Rich, Sam and Chris, continue to blather on in the same atheistic mode. In other words, the three Darwinian stooges aren’t hypocritical; or at least not blatantly so.
So evidently by staying away from claiming God doesn’t exist, as the original Darwinian stooges claim, Mr. Wright (wrong) thinks he can manipulate those who believe into chasing after his fairy tale.
This quote, in particular, is what I’m talking about,
…as our societies have grown more complex and more global, our conceptions of God have grown more demanding and more moral. This is a good thing, for religion can “help us orient our daily lives, recognize good and bad, and make sense of joy and suffering alike.”
As with most other atheists, and many church goers also, Mr. Wright has totally confused man’s religion (man’s version of God) with the true God and His Christ. Mr. Wright doesn’t deny God in a forthright manner, he instead covers up his unbelief and hatred of God with deceitful and manipulative statements. Mr. Wright has been blinded by the god of this world and therefore, can’t discern the truth: God didn’t evolve through man’s needs and desires anymore than man evolved by chance and mutation. God created man, and man created religion: whether it be Islam, Christendom or atheism.
Mr. Wright, listen carefully, God has always been and will always be. Everything you see, Mr. Wright, was created by His Son, the Christ. Man didn’t create God. The Christ (the Logos), God’s Son, created man! Get it…? Got it…? Forget it! No way will Mr. Wright ever get this, or at least not in this age!
What Mr. Wright can’t comprehend is that God, unlike man’s religious version of Him (Christendom), is not a magic genie who allows us (who believe and have been called) to live a better life, according to our own will, and go merrily along the way to destruction. The Lord was not just a great orator and prophet, He was the divine image of God in the flesh. The Lord is our only way, truth and life that can proceed to the Father!
I have no respect for any of these “men,” needless to say. But at least the Darwinian stooges, as opposed to Mr. Wright, remain constant in their spiritual blindness and stupidity!
The entire article can be found here:
Religion News: Opinion: Let’s Talk About God.
Tags: atheism, Atheists, Darwinism, eugenics, evolution, hypocrisy, material science, naturalism, relativism
So you think we live in a nation of personal rights and freedom, well you might want to reconsider!
The Religion Clause article below would seem to suggest something other than freedom, especially when it comes to parent’s rights in decision making about their children’s health. Parent’s rights with their children’s health are all well and good until, that is, they come between the top 3% power brokers and their bank accounts. The all-powerful and all-knowing AMA (American Medical Association) and its cohorts (physicians, hospitals and insurance and pharmaceutical companies) evidently don’t like losing money, especially to alternative, and possibly more effective, medicine.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Minnesota Boy’s Mother Returns Him For Cancer Treatment
AP reports that 13-year old Daniel Hauser with his mother Colleen returned to Minnesota yesterday, after Daniel’s father Anthony urged them to come home. Daniel Hauser, who has Hodgkin’s lymphoma, had objected to treatment on religious grounds, and his mother fled with him after a Minnesota court overruled the objections and ordered her and her husband to obtain a new X-ray and select an oncologist for Daniel. The X-ray revealed that a tumor in Daniel’s chest had grown. The arrest warrant that had been issued for Daniel’s mother was lifted after their voluntary return. The FBI believe that Daniel and his mother may have been heading for one of the many alternative cancer clinics in northern Mexico. Daniel is now being evaluated at a hospital in the Twin Cities, according to the Hausers’ attorney. CNN reports that while Daniel’s mother intends to urge the court to permit alternative cancer treatment, she will allow her son to undergo chemotherapy if that is ordered. (emphasis added)
So I guess treating your child with alternative medicine is now a crime. From the capitalistic vantage point of the American Medical Association, I’m sure the AMA wants it to be considered a crime. After all, the AMA’s biggest fear is that the public will eventually find out they can remain or get well, for the most part, through alternative/natural (God created) cures. Of course, if this would ever actually happen, then the over-paid doctors and drug dispensers, as well as hospitals (filled with staph infections) and insurance companies, would have to look to Obama for another bail-out plan.
I can just hear the top 3%, in this country, crying out in great fear, “God forbid that should happen! Oh, the humanity! What will become of our poor doctors, hospital boards and administrators, pharmaceutical companies, insurance companies and politicians whose pockets are filled with our lobbying bucks (’payola’)? And more importantly, what will become of us and our windfall profits that have always been at the expense of the middle class working American: our mansions, yachts, expensive clothing, butlers and maids etc that we so rightly deserve and are entitled to?”
The atheistic materialists and/or power brokers (and their privately-owned news-media-puppets) will continue to try to smear this woman as a religious fanatic putting her child’s life on the line. But that is merely a political dodge (lie) to get around the real issue that I’ve already mentioned here: AMA greed and its materialistic control of this government. This woman, in reality, was just looking for a better treatment than chemical poisoning (chemotherapy) for her ailing son.
Yes, it’s a free country, in some ways. But its only totally free if you’re part of the elite power structure (top 1 to 3%). This is the way it always has been in this world system, and, until this world “passes away,” it will remain so. I just want someone, anyone, up there on that heap of ungodly greed and power, to know that a few of us, down here (who are caught up in the Lord’s truth), are more than aware of your manipulations (lies) and corruption (theft or worse), that’s all. In other words, some little siblings are watching back, big brother, and on that “great and fearful day of the Lord” we will stand as witnesses for the prosecution!
The entire article can be found here:
via Religion Clause: Minnesota Boy’s Mother Returns Him For Cancer Treatment.
Tags: alternative medicine, AMA, despotism, freedom, hypocrisy
As Stevie Wonder points out in his classic song, “When you believe in things that you don’t understand, then you suffer. Superstition’s not the way.”
This Pew Forum article deals with a humanistic “religion” that, in my estimation, is no better than a superstition.
May 25, 2009
Church of Scientology on trial in France accused of defrauding the vulnerable
by Lizzy Davies
The Guardian
The two main branches of the Church of Scientology in France go on trial today on charges of organised fraud in a case that could lead to the nationwide dissolution of the organisation.
Six senior members of the church, as well as its Paris “celebrity centre” headquarters and its bookshop, are accused of targeting vulnerable people for commercial gain.
The case centres on the testimony of a woman who claims she was preyed upon by the organisation at a time when she was “very psychologically fragile” and encouraged to spend more than €21,000(£18,000) – her life savings – on Scientology products including “self-purification packs”.
The investigating magistrate in charge of bringing the case against the church, Jean-Christophe Hullin, argues she was the victim of a deliberately manipulative system that exploits people’s weaknesses to make money. He claims the church, which in some countries is considered a religion but in France is categorised as a sect, is “first and foremost a commercial business” whose actions reveal “a real obsession for financial remuneration’‘. (emphasis added)
When this woman chose to believe in something that she didn’t understand, she then ended up suffering the loss of her life savings.
It isn’t just pseudo religions like this one that are manipulative and only out to make a buck. It’s also most of the televangelists (and many (non) denominations also) who have managed, as millions of their kind before them, to turn the way, truth and life of Christ into a superstitious and fear-oriented legalistic and corporate money-making scheme.
The Apostle Paul said,
As many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons (daughters) of God. (Romans 8: 14)
Jesus warned the multitudes,
“Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. “You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? “So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. “A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. “Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. “So then, you will know them by their fruits. (Matthew 7: 15-20)
It is only the spirit of God that will lead us into all truth: not any pastor, minister, priest, pope, bishop, politician or movie star. We, as believers, must test the spirits to see if they are truly of God. This is our only way to avoid the ravenous wolves of this world system!
The entire article can be found here:
via Religion News: Church of Scientology on trial in France accused of defrauding the vulnerable.
CHRISTENDOM:
Two thousand years after Jesus made this statement to the Pharisees, who were accusing Him of breaking the sabbath, the largest portion of Christianity (Christendom, or the world-wide religious structure) is still worshiping at the materialistic/worldly “temple” of religion-driven man’s design and will (the “church”).
Christendom has evidently chosen to ignore the scriptures that speak of the end of ritualistic, sacrificial and idolatrous religiosity, which culminated with Christ’s sacrifice on the cross and His resurrection.
“Behold, days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt… “But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the LORD, “I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. “They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the LORD, “for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” (Jeremiah 31: 31-34)
{This “new covenant” was rejected by Israel when they had the Christ put to death, through Roman law. So instead, it would be the gentiles, in this age, who would benefit from this “new covenant.” This will remain so until Christ returns, in the next age, to bring Israel into His light, truth and life and complete the reconciliation of all creation to God!}
“But I say to you that something greater than the temple is here. “But if you had known what this means, ‘I DESIRE COMPASSION, AND NOT A SACRIFICE,’ you would not have condemned the innocent. (Matthew 12: 6-7)
Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. “You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. “But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us.” Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He.” (John 4: 21-26)
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? (1 Corinthians 6:19)
None of these scriptures describe the man-made version (for man’s own worldly purposes) of the Body of Christ, or church, which was exhibited by the “ecclesia” {gathering} in the Book of Acts.
This lacking of spiritual discernment, or perhaps, willful ignorance/manipulation, by the institutional church, has led, over the past seventeen hundred years, to the secularization and politicization of Christianity: clergy/laity (hierarchies), “factions” (denominations and non-denominations), doctrines and dogma (used to strengthen religious man and his government) etc. To sum up this corporate religious ritualism in one word, CHRISTENDOM!
Christendom has corrupted Christ’s message, which is most evident at Sunday morning services, Sunday morning television or on the evening news. The church, for the most part, never manifests, in any real sense, Christ and His way, truth, love and life. Instead, the American church is, more often than not, caught up in the worship of the constitution, “conservative values” and, at the very same time, being politically correct, or “seeker sensitive:” avoiding the less popular scriptures (those that deal with Godly conviction, awareness and responsibility towards others) for fear that the word of God might offend potential pew sitters in our hedonistic society.
Christendom is just a distorted upside down and backward version of the true Body of Christ! The spiritual enemy of our Lord (Satan), just shortly after Pentecost, took the gospel of Christ and coerced man into using it for his own worldly needs and desires. This coercion culminated with the Emperor Constantine, and the establishment of his state conceived and operated religious institution called “the church” (Catholicism, Christendom). Since then, Satan has managed to divide and subdivide this first religious entity into hundreds or thousands of little copies ({non} denominations, or “factions”) that all disagree with each other, doctrinally. Satan had, and still has, effectively “divided and conquered” what he believes is his only threat (the church). He is badly mistaken, and the Lord, at the prepared time by God, will make known the defeat of all of His enemies!
ONE EXAMPLE OF CHRISTENDOM’S POLITICAL FANATICISM:
If you want to experience the ungodly, political fanaticism of Christendom’s supposedly “God fearin’” far right, then you should check out this documentary, “Jesus Camp!”
This is the most Godless and obnoxious example of American, political/religious hypocrisy I have ever encountered. These worshipers of capitalism and democracy, under the guise of Christianity, are nothing more than political wolves in religious sheep’s clothing: Christendom’s religious/political and blasphemous version of a type of “Hitler Youth Camp!”
The woman who runs this camp arrogantly claims she is using the same tactics (without explosives, of course), in training these “Christian” children, as the radical Islamics are using in their terror training of children. The children, dressed in combat fatigues and carrying sticks, while using coordinated movements that suggest physical violence, are like angry little robots. They carry out their militaristic moves while singing songs that supposedly glorify Jesus.
This misguided or corrupt camp “counselor” also touts George W Bush as a modern day savior of the church and Christianity. The same George W Bush who, against the advice of American intelligence (note the oxymoron), began a political-greed-driven war that has gone on longer than World War II. The same George W Bush who, in great arrogance, condoned the incarceration and torture of (Arab) prisoners who are still being deprived of justice and judgment. This is the savior of Christianity in the United States? No wonder millions are fleeing the church!
This woman is, needless to say, without any spiritual understanding of the Lord or His word. She is nothing more than a “blind guide” and a “white-washed tomb.” And she has control of impressionable children who will tend to trust anyone in an authoritative position. She is, in reality, the living, breathing antithesis of the message, will and life of Christ, which is love, faith (in God, not man), hope, grace (not paying back evil for evil), peace, patience, kindness, gentleness and self control (Galatians 5: 22).
Here is the scriptural definition of this type of “believer.”
If anyone advocates a different doctrine and does not agree with sound words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the doctrine conforming to godliness, he is conceited and understands nothing; but he has a morbid interest in controversial questions and disputes about words, out of which arise envy, strife, abusive language, evil suspicions, and constant friction between men of depraved mind and deprived of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. (1 Timothy 6: 3-5)
Why would anyone let this woman indoctrinate their child with this kind of perverse and hateful type of false gospel? Is it any wonder that many people are fleeing from this kind of mental and spiritual illness (religiosity) today?
The woman in this documentary needs to take heed of this statement by our Lord:
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’ (Matthew 7: 21-23)
Information on this documentary can be found here:
Tags: Christendom, Christian doctrine, Christianity, dogma, evangelicals, faith, God, government, hypocrisy, Jesus, life, Pentecostalism, Truth, “Jesus Camp”
According to the Apostle Paul then, we are to pray, as the Body of Christ, that the Word of God (the “logos,” the Christ) will spread rapidly and be honored. This then is to be our primary focus in praying: a prayer life focused on the eternal will of our Lord and Father first, and then intercessory prayer for those around us and our own needs. We are also to pray for the secular leaders who have been placed over us, but only with the will of God in mind, not the will of political man. In fact, the Apostle Paul tells us, on the subject of prayer,
In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. (Romans 8: 26-27)
Thus, we are led to pray by our indwelling spirit, not by our own will or anyone else’s.
The following Pew Forum article deals with the sad spiritual state of this country and a conservative/political/religious call to prayer.
May 20, 2009
Conservatives urge nationwide prayer on July 5
by Adelle M. BanksReligion News Service
The Family Research Council, the conservative Christian group that’s best known for its efforts to shape public policy, is spearheading a call for churches to pray for the nation on the day after Independence Day.
“I think increasingly there’s an awareness that there is a problem in America that is not political at its heart but rather it’s a spiritual problem,” said FRC President Tony Perkins on Tuesday (May 19).
“And it’s incumbent upon the church … to assume the responsibility for where the nation is and leading us forward.”
Organizers hope the initiative, named “Call 2 Fall,” will involve tens of thousands of churches, with people praying on their knees for at least “three to five minutes,” Perkins said.
Although Family Research Council is usually a critic of the Obama administration’s policies, those spearheading the event say it is not focused on the new president.
“This is not an anti-Obama or anti-administration movement,” said Pastor Larry Stockstill of Bethany World Prayer Center in Baton Rouge, La. Rather, he said, it is a call for church leaders and members to repent.
“We know the problem lies in us and not in anyone else’s issues or policies or persuasion,” he said. “We are therefore bringing ourselves to God and asking for his mercy upon us.” (emphasis added)
Yes, I agree with Larry Stockwell, the problem lies with him and those who choose to follow that particular political/religious path!
There is nothing wrong with exhorting true brothers and sisters in Christ to humble themselves before the Lord and pray on their knees. In fact, this is not only scripturally sound, but it’s what all sons and daughters of God should be doing.
Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit; do not despise prophetic utterances. But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil. (1 Thessalonians 5: 16-22)
{Note this scriptural imperative: “EXAMINE EVERYTHING CAREFULLY; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil.” It seems that, when it comes to ourselves and our country, we have a tendency not to “examine everything carefully!”}
BUT… if the exhortation to pray is merely “to assume the responsibility for where the nation is and leading us forward (in a repentant way),” then I say it’s for the wrong reasons and a waste of time. I believe this call to prayer is politically motivated: “We’ve turned our religious and political back on God, as a nation, and we’re suffering for it now. So let’s ask for forgiveness, and then the Lord will hear and fix us, as a nation.” This reminds me of the Hebrews running to Moses, as well as the other leaders the Lord had given them, and crying out for God to spare them: after, of course, they had committed yet another faithless act of rebellion. The Hebrews weren’t really repentant (turning back to the Lord, in truth and spirit, and truly being sorry and seeking His forgiveness), in their hearts and minds, they were merely frightened, desperate and wanted deliverance from the mess they had gotten themselves in.
Sound familiar? Ring a spiritual bell somewhere in your heart and mind? It should, since I have just described our unrepentant and hypocritical “one-nation-under-God.” We, as a nation, are in a tough spot right now, in many ways, and now the “church,” as with the hypocritical Hebrews, is crying out to save this nation. We are not the new, chosen nation of God! Christ died (and arose again) to do away with that Hebrew system (the “old covenant”), which was merely a shadow of the abundant life that God would offer all of His children through Christ’s sacrifice! {Hebrews, Chapter 8}
If the “church” wants to pray, then it should be praying about this warning from the Lord. This warning has nothing to do with preserving the USA (or any other nation, country or government), constitution, winning wars or remaining corrupt and powerful. This warning is strictly a spiritual one, and we, as the Body of Christ (and even the American “church” goer), should take heed.
‘I know your deeds (the “church”), that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. ‘So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit (vomit) you out of My mouth. ‘Because you say, “I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,” and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked, I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see. ‘Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent. ‘Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me. ‘He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. ‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches (ecclesias: gatherings, the Body of Christ).’” (Revelation 3: 15-22)
Christendom (the “church”) has become, over the last few centuries (especially in America and Western Europe), more and more in line with the liberal (Godless or heretical) and conservative (idolatrous and hypocritical) tendencies of our constitution/rights-oriented/materialistic/atheistic nation.
Christendom, in its rush to reshape God in the image of man, has been the driving force used by Satan to drive the Lord from our nation (as in other nations): making a mockery of God, His Christ and His truth with hundreds of denominational doctrines and dogma that contradict the love, grace, unity and service that Jesus, the Christ, exhibited in his life on earth.
This has been happening for seventeen hundred years, ever since the Emperor Constantine first married faith in the Lord in accord with his (man’s) political needs and desires: this marriage gave birth to Catholicism, Christendom.
We should pray about the state of our nation and the world. As we pray, however, we should keep in mind that our nation and this world (and its “system”) are slowly decaying and will ultimately “pass away,” just as scripture foretells. Thus, what I’ll be praying, as opposed to the folks at the Family Research Council, is that the Lord’s will be accomplished in all of creation, even if that means the end of our nation, the earth and great suffering on my part. His will be done!
P.S.
By the way, I won’t just be praying on July 5th or the National Day of Prayer, since I pray and seek the Lord every day.
The entire article can be found here:
via Religion News: Conservatives urge nationwide prayer on July 5.
Tags: Christianity, church, faith, God’s will, government, hypocrisy, Jesus, life, prayer, scripture, Truth
{By posting on this particular subject, I am not suggesting terminating Memorial Day, or that Americans shouldn’t show appreciation to those who have served our country. But we are obsessed, as a nation, with war, and there is no doubt about that. In my estimation, war should never be glorified, as it is on this holiday and a few others, since it is, in reality, nothing more than legalized or condoned murder!}
According to the cartoon above, it would seem that many conservative folk’s blessings come from the “THINGS THAT THEY HAVE,” as opposed to Whom (the Lord) “THEY HAVE.” And these “THINGS” (”worldly” freedom, rights, entitlements etc) seem of utmost importance to them and their conservative/political (“worldly”) ideology and life: and much to the exclusion of all else, including the Lord.
I thought Thanksgiving was a day of being thankful to the Lord for everything He has given us and done for us? You know, like creating us, coming down and dying (for our sins), so we could be reconciled (“justified by faith”) to His Father and “have life and that abundantly.” But I guess, from the religious right’s perspective, it’s ultimately the war “heroes” who have given them all of their (“worldly”) American desires and thus have taken the place of the Lord. Or at least it would seem that way, once again, from the cartoon above and the war-glorifying rhetoric that will flow, I’m sure, for the next few days.
{My uncle and grandfather were war veterans. I only know of their pain and sorrow through my mother, since I never heard either of them speak of the two world wars they served in. They had suffered through great ordeals, and the last thing they wanted was to rehash or be reminded of them. Neither of them took part in holidays celebrating war, nor did they wear patriotic garb and wave the flag. In fact, my uncle was outspoken about his hatred for the war in Viet Nam. I respected both of these men for their silence and willingness to stand against the tragedy of war.
What I see today, however, are many vets who served on ships or other places in the world, during Viet Nam and Iraq (1st time), and yet they are the first to glorify war and hoop it up for the good old USA on Memorial Day. Perhaps, as with my two relatives, if these men had served in actual combat and experienced that horror, then maybe they wouldn’t be so quick to spew their overt and obnoxious patriotism that glorifies war. On this singular issue, I find it hard to respect anyone who evidently loves war and promotes its glorification and continuance, when they managed to escape combat while “serving.”}
It seems odd to me that conservatives in this country, who yell the loudest about the Ten Commandments being removed from government buildings and the dangers of “gay marriage,” should be so lacking in thankfulness to God; which, of course, brings me back to the main subject of this post.
Yes, folks, it’s that time of year again: Memorial Day. The time when cable channels will broadcast, day and night, war movie after war movie. Americans will stop what they’re doing for three days and wave the flag, sing God Bless America and praise the political gods of war and death. John Wayne’s family, or whoever gets the cash, will, once again, see an increase in royalty checks. The far left will smugly refuse to take part, and almost everyone else will barbecue, swim, sunbathe and try not to burn the flag waving over their grill. It’s such a tranquil and heart warming picture, don’t you think?
What many will call “cynicism” here is, in fact, my spiritual discerning of and standing on the truth of God. I am “cynical” of the ways and means of this world system (“the world forces of this darkness…”), because it keeps most people in bondage to its lies: hedonism, wealth and power. So, I’m cynical of what man chooses to glorify in this world, since most of what is in this world is from the enemy of my Lord. My “cynicism” also comes from sixty years of witnessing and experiencing the same, sad parade of man’s ungodly and destructive political and pseudo-scientific “solutions” (wars and materialistic/Godless hypotheses: myths): over and over again, year after agonizing year.
Yes, thank those who served this country, but don’t worship them or the entity (this nation) they served. Neither are worthy of our worship. Only the Lord is truly worthy of our thankfulness and worship! And, from my perspective, the Lord rarely ever gets a true “God fearin’” American to bend their knees to Him, whether liberal or conservative.
Tags: God, government, Jesus, life, patriotism, scripture, Truth, war