|
Most current facts and things that arise (since
9-11-01 till 2003)
11-16-02
We now find ourselves with Republican control in the House, Senate and the White House.
No one will be there to stop judicial nominees, the overriding cause that the
‘Christian Right’ leaders considered voting for Governor G.W. Bush above other
candidates. Howard Phillips’ first ‘issue’ was to end legalized abortion as
has been described elsewhere on the site.
For the first time since 1973, it may be possible that some babies may be saved due to
legislation! The Partial Birth Abortion ban will pass both the House and the Senate.
President G.W. Bush has promised to sign it.
The pro-life vote arranged for this overwhelming Republican victory in a midterm
election against all odds. So, why can’t we be elated? First, there has been a real
problem with a bill (H.R. 333, Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act)
that narrowly got defeated (the first vote- it was later passed without this ‘poison
pill’- Schumer Amendment) that would have risked all the financial resources of
pro-lifers if they said anything against abortion. Yes, free speech would be lost. See how
your representative voted.
http://clerkweb.house.gov/cgi-bin/vote.exe?year=2002&rollnumber=478
This dangerous legislation was embraced by the Republican leadership even though the
only reason they had that power was because of the Christian vote. They were, oh so
quickly, ready to sell out the ‘foolish’ Christians. We must be diligent. The
Washington Post reports that the Bush aides are concerned that Senator Lott will send the
Partial Birth Abortion bill to Bush’s desk too quickly for their taste.
They cannot afford to appear as though they actually agree with us.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A40763-2002Nov11
Amazing, assuming that abortionists really live up to the law, the sooner it is passed,
the sooner babies would be saved. How many more would be killed if the White House folks
had their way by waiting? On another note, how long will it take before the courts declare
it unconstitutional? In the meantime, save as many as can be. Our compromising
approach and support of Republicans above God’s commands puts us in such a dilemma.
On Hannity and Colmes post the recent election, a Republican Strategist, Monica
Crowley, went out of her way to comfort the Democrats on the show by reassurring them that
‘we will never get rid of abortion in America, that it is here to stay’, so
don’t worry about the claims of the religious right.
Abortion on demand could be stopped immediately by using the constitution and
declaration that the fetus is a person. Who in the Republican party is courageous enough
to do such a thing? Who is courageous enough to impeach the judges who run over the
constitution? Now, just why was it the Christian leadership chose to willfully shut out
any other candidates for president, especially those who put first things first?
Pray for our nation. Judgment is falling. War is looming. By our failures, we invite
God’s punishment, since He loves us. We must repent, fall on our knees and beg for
mercy. How long will it take to get this accomplished? How much pain must we bear?
October 4, 2002
Our leaders concentrate on a possible preemptive strike against Iraq (Saddam Hussein).
This is an important decision and we must pray for wisdom on our government's part.
We should be concerned about this, the war on terrorism and all other efforts we
consider or attempt. Will God bless our efforts?
| George Mason, the Father of the Bill of
Rights explained, "As nations cannot be rewarded or
punished in the next world, so they must be in this. By an inevitable chain of causes and
effects, Providence punishes national sins by national calamities." |
Individuals who sin will be accountable to God both in this
life and afterwards through God's judgment (unless forgiven through Christ). There
is no such provision for a nation to be served justice in eternity, though.
Therefore, as George Mason explains, God punishes nations (with less patience) through
national calamities. This was also seen in the Scriptures.
To entreat God's acceptance of our war on terror, shouldn't we repent of
our national and individual sins first? What if God chooses to allow our enemies to
harm us until we fall on our faces begging God's mercy and deliverance? A preemptive
humble brokenness on our part could be the difference in great success and disaster.
This is our choice. May God have mercy on us.
| Jeremiah 7:1 This is the word that came
to Jeremiah from the LORD: 2 "Stand at the gate of the LORD's house and there
proclaim this message: "`Hear the word of the LORD, all you people of Judah who come
through these gates to worship the LORD. 3 This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of
Israel, says: Reform your ways and your actions, and I will let you live in this place. 4
Do not trust in deceptive words and say, "This is the temple of the LORD, the temple
of the LORD, the temple of the LORD!" 5 If you really change your ways and your
actions and deal with each other justly, 6 if you do not oppress the alien, the fatherless
or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other
gods to your own harm, 7 then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your
forefathers for ever and ever. 8 But look, you are trusting in deceptive words that are
worthless. 9 "`Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense
to Baal and follow other gods you have not known, 10 and then come and stand before me in
this house, which bears my Name, and say, "We are safe"--safe to do all these
detestable things? |
August 27. 2002
Wouldn't it be great to have political leaders and a party who put God first?
Suppose there would be a party with a platform that would start with such a statement as
below:
Preamble
We, the members of the ____________ Party, gratefully
acknowledge the blessing of the Lord God as Creator,
Preserver and Ruler of the Universe and of this Nation. We
solemnly declare that the foundation of our political
position and moving principle of our political activity is our
full submission and unshakable faith in our Savior and
Redeemer, our Lord Jesus Christ. We hereby appeal to
Him for mercy, aid, comfort, guidance and the protection
of His Divine Providence as we work to restore and
preserve this Nation as a government of the People, by
the People, and for the People...
|
We could stand firm against both foreign and domestic enemies. If God is for us, who can stand against us? (Romans
8:31) Isn't this exactly what men like George Washington, John
Adams, Patrick Henry, and even Benjamin Franklin believed?
By the way, that party does exist. The above is from the Preamble of the Constitution Party, and
this is followed by the number one issue, Life and ending our offense to Almighty God,
abortion. Any patriots out there? If there aren't, the terrorists are right.
They knew we were soft. We won't even stand firm on God's issues, they
wholeheartedly believe in a deceiving spirit. We have the Truth but: 2Timothy3:5 having a form of godliness but denying its
power ..
August 26, 2002
Pray.
| Proverbs 16:7 When
a man's ways are pleasing to the LORD, he makes even his enemies live at peace with him. |
July 8, 2002
Let us not forget to pray. Our nation and ourselves have no hope outside a serious
effort to gain righteousness. The route to this requires scriptural knowledge. Is there
anyone who can save us from ourselves and our enemies? Only the LORD.
Lack of morality lead to Enron, Worldcom, Imclone, Arthur Andersen, etc. We have less
to fear from terrorists. Company CEO’s and officers do multiples of the degree
of damage done by bank robbers. Employees who cheat stockholders also are guilty.
How do we fix our problems? Fear of God. Without this, people forget
there is a coming judgment that will right the wrongs. We have lost our love for others
leading to self-centeredness instead of selflessness, as we try to please ourselves
instead of Him.
We have an FBI that cannot bring itself to declare the truth. As they look foolish by
stumbling around as to whether or not the Egyptian man, with 2 guns, extra clips, a knife,
2 driver’s licenses- one showing his birthday as July the 4th, known to
hate America, attacks on July 4 at El Al, could it be anything but terrorism? Israelis
knew the truth immediately. Days later, we still lack official acknowledgment of the
obvious. Until we see clearly we can not prevail. More pain is in store for us. This is
also true about our relationship with God. If we don’t see Him clearly, as He
portrayed Himself in the scriptures, we will miss our opportunity for salvation. There is
truth. The scriptures are clear. So is our duty. We must pursue truth in all things.
What was our president thinking as he gave away a great opportunity to get an up or
down vote in the Senate to ban cloning humans. No, sorry, he didn’t give it away, he
lobbied to get it removed. He worked against pro-lifers. There is absolutely no
excuse. Oh, by the way, who heard the silent outcry of the Christian leadership?
Oh, yes, there was silence. Of course we didn't hear it. See details
here: http://humaneventsonline.com/articles/06-24-02/freddoso.htm
Mr. Bush has, again, hurt the struggle for truth with the appointment of Dr. Julie
Gerberding, a proponent of the "safe sex" ideology to be the new head of the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Her stance on abstinence is flawed and
has shocked those of us who know better (and is historically proven in Uganda). Abstinence
and monogamy prevent AIDs. Maybe that sounds foolish. When we ignore it,
though, we only hurt ourselves- then who looks foolish?
See details here: http://www.family.org/cforum/feature/A0021308.html
Political scales over truth, again.
That sort of reasoning has welcomed the current state of affairs, reported today:
"A study of young gay and bisexual men in major U.S. cities found that more than
three-quarters of those infected with HIV were unaware they had the AIDS virus.
The finding, presented Monday during the first day of scientific sessions at the 14th
International AIDS Conference in Spain, is a worrying sign that the epidemic could be in
danger of accelerating again in the United States.
The study indicated that lack of awareness of infection among HIV-positive gay and
bisexual men was three times as common as previous estimates, which were based on HIV test
results of people entering the military or jobs that require screening.
Those have indicated that one in four people were unaware they were infected, according
to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which conducted the survey.
The survey "helps explain, at least in part, why many young gay and bisexual men
in the United States are becoming infected," said Duncan MacKellar, who led the
study."
For a complete story, see: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20020708/D7KKPH3G0.html
May 15, 2002
We have had some good news lately. In the previous update, there was strong evidence that our president has been departing from
Biblical direction when it comes to the homosexual agenda. Now, thankfully it seems
that there is more balance to the imbalanced approach. In addition, we have good
news, attributed to the power of prayer and some of Bush's appointments to the U.N. that
have made modest changes in the recent World Summit on Children. Please see the
articles below, recognize that The Advocate is a gay publication.
Quick comments: Dr. Coburn is right on the money. President Bush picked an
excellent chair for a difficult position, especially since other choices are poor (a
rather schitzophrenic approach). As the opening sentence overtly says,
"condoms" are the homosexual agenda's way of preventing disease. This has
been proven to not be the ultimate answer for getting rid of the HIV epidemic. HIV
continues to increase despite public health efforts to condomize the world. This is
true with the prime exception of Uganda. Their
public health program centered around abstinence and monogamy. By saying that
condoms are the answer in this nation which has worsening statistics and at the same time
seeing a great number of lives saved and decreasing rates of infection in Uganda, largely
due to Biblical based values- even Old Fashioned!,implies that we are simply
foolish. A nation in Africa has proven wisdom beyond our own. Here is
a statistical source for AIDS in the world according to the U.N.
The U.N. and specifically, The World Summit on Children is a good report, an answer to
prayer and a breath of fresher, but still stale air. Why must we play these
games? The United Nations opposes Christian interests at every step. Why don't
we elect leaders who will recognize this truth and end our support of this bureaucratic
organization of those who believe with their elite thinking that they can solve problems
without God.
| http://www.advocate.com...
Bush’s abstinence man Tom Coburn, head of the
president’s
AIDS advisory council, preaches his preference for“just say no” over
condom-based HIV education
By Chris Bull
From The Advocate, May 28, 2002
Gay men have long subscribed to an AIDS prevention strategy
that can be summed up in a single word: condoms. But now one of
President Bush’s top AIDS advisers,
conservative Oklahoma physician and former U.S. representative Tom Coburn, says he would
like to change that strategy—both inside and outside the gay community.
“I do believe in condoms for HIV prevention,” Coburn tells The Advocate.
“But I also believe
in informed consent about the effectiveness of condoms. Ask any expert you want, and they
will tell you that condoms are not always
effective, and people have a right to know this.”
During his tenure in Congress, Coburn, who in January was tapped to cochair the
Presidential Advisory Council on HIV and AIDS (along
with former Health and Human Services secretary Louis Sullivan), called for warning labels
on condom packages stating that they do not prevent the spread of some sexually
transmitted diseases. In 2001, Coburn demanded the resignation of the director of the
federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Jeffrey Koplan, who he charged
had kept from the “American people the truth of condom ineffectiveness.”
Coburn’s position is a fundamental break with mainstream public health thinking. And
even in the Bush administration, he hardly represents
the majority view. Scott Evertz, the president’s openly gay director of the Office of
National AIDS Policy, is a proponent of education that includes instructions about the
proper use of
condoms. Nevertheless, since Bush tapped Richard Carmona—a man many expect will focus
on bioterrorism-related health
concerns—as U.S. surgeon general in March, activists believe Coburn will become the
president’s go-to guy when it comes to HIV and AIDS.
Coming at a time when HIV infection rates are climbing among sexually active gay
men—some of whom are eschewing prophylaxis altogether—Coburn’s new role is
yet another major challenge, AIDS educators say.
“In our years of following the epidemic, we’ve never seen such a triumph of
conservative ideology over sound concern about public
health from someone who is in such a position of power,” says Bill Smith, director of
public policy for the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States.
“Time
and time again, we learn in focus groups with young people that they are being taught that
condoms don’t work, that HIV can get through holes in them. So they don’t even
bother using them. While it is true that condoms are not effective 100% of the time, we
know for a fact that they are effective against the transmission
of HIV.”
Coburn, who peppers his remarks with references to exposure rates for a long list of STDs,
says that instead of safer sex, he advocates abstinence or, in the case of gay men,
monogamy.
Traditionally, advocates of abstinence-until-marriage education have ignored the situation
of gay men and lesbians, who of course are denied the right to marry. Coburn, who
opposes same-sex marriage, has
obviously given this conundrum some thought.
“If you asked if all gay men were monogamous, would there be fewer HIV infections,
the answer is yes,” he says. “The consequences of
nonmonogamy are terrible. It tears up
relationships and can make people vulnerable to STDs.”
In addition, Coburn seeks to emphasize what he calls “responsibility” in
HIV-education
campaigns. “If you already have HIV, you have an ethical obligation not to give it to
someone else,” he says. “Unless both partners are
positive and have the same strain of the virus, I don’t think that anyone with HIV
should be doing anything to put anyone else at risk.”
Asked how health officials should respond to those who refuse to let their sex partners
know they are HIV-positive, Coburn points to
European nations as a model. “If someone is running around infecting others with
tuberculosis, health officials can quarantine someone,” he says. “Look, I’m
not proposing
quarantine here. Most people are ethical and will do the right thing. Human beings are
capable of terrible things and great things. I’m just saying that we should make the
ethical responsibility clear here. If people who know they are HIV-positive, whether
straight or gay, would simply take care not to give the virus to anyone else, we would
have 25,000 infections
per year instead of 50,000.”
Smith agrees—to a point. “Everything Coburn
is talking about—marriage, monogamy, moral responsibility—are good things,”
he says. “How can anyone argue with them? But he erects straw men all over the place.
The problem is usually not that young people are
irresponsible or immoral or uninterested in monogamy. The problem is that they are quite
often not getting the information and education they need to protect themselves.”
The 35-member AIDS council Coburn now leads, which retains nine members appointed by
former president Bill Clinton, is deeply
divided along ideological lines. Coburn has insisted he is willing to subordinate his
personal beliefs to help forge consensus on the council. And Coburn, a strong Republican
advocate for AIDS funding while in Congress, has been known to have a politically
unorthodox streak. In 1999, for example, he addressed a meeting of the Log Cabin
Republicans, a gay group.
But at the same time, Coburn faces some obstacles of his own making. Longtime AIDS
educators are deeply suspicious of his political and religious beliefs, especially when it
comes to gay rights. As a member of Congress from 1995 to 2001, he earned a 0 rating from
the gay
political group Human Rights Campaign. And in 1999, responding to questions about his
appearance before Log Cabin, Coburn told the
Family Research Council, a conservative Christian lobbying group, that “no one stands
harder against homosexuality than I do. But
Jesus went not to the righteous but to sinners. Homosexuals are caught in a
desperate situation, and they are trying to defy it any way they can.”
Coburn has not backed down from these views. Indeed, as an obstetrician and
gynecologist, he
does not always carefully separate his religious-based political beliefs from his medical
practice. Asked what he, as a physician, would tell a young man struggling with his sexual
orientation, Coburn responded with what could be a very clear indication of how he will
handle the public policy concerns of gay men and lesbians. “I would send him to
people I know who are gay,” he says. “And I would also send him to people I know
who used to be gay and who are not living that lifestyle now. But no matter what, if he
were
my patient, I would support him. That’s what’s most important. We have to
support people who are our patients.”
Advocate.com © 2002 by Liberation Publications Inc.
|
http://www.family.org/... May
14, 2002
An Answer to Prayer
By Pete Winn, CitizenLink associate editor
The World Summit on Children is over, and pro-family experts are ecstatic at what was
accomplished. They say the final consensus
document wasn't just the most pro-family policy to come out of the United Nations in
decades — it was literally an answer to prayer.
One of those experts, Bill Saunders of the Family Research Council — who was a member
of the United States delegation to the summit — called the document a
"triumph" for
pro-family Americans and for the children of the world.
"On both family and life issues, I think it was a big win for us," Saunders
said.
It was what the document didn't say that mattered most. Unlike United Nations (U.N.)
agreements from the Clinton era, this first major U.N. document during the Bush
administration does not contain the term "reproductive health services" —
diplomatic jargon for abortion.
Thomas Jacobson, U.N. analyst for Focus on the Family, said the entire U.S. delegation
performed superbly in defending the culture of life, holding firm at a critical time.
"I see this as a Roe versus Wade moment," Jacobson said. "One bad decision
in 1973 has resulted in the deaths of more than 40 million
children in one country alone. To have made that same mistake worldwide would have been
an unspeakable tragedy."
As the summit neared completion last Thursday with no agreement in sight, Jacobson, who
attended the negotiations, said talks went
around the clock. Despite pressure to cave to the demands of pro-abortion nations, he said
the United States stood strong.
Moreover, he said the Latin American nations of El Salvador, Costa Rica, Argentina,
Honduras
and Nicaragua all added statements reaffirming their pro-life and pro-family support.
The U.S. delegation also helped thwart efforts to include homosexual unions in the
definition of the term "various forms of the family." In a
letter to the president, the head of the U.S. delegation, Ambassador Sichan Siv, said
though the term "various forms of the family" was included in the final
document, "the United
States understands this to include single parent and extended families" — thus
rejecting a recognition of homosexual relationships. He
added that the United States "reaffirms that governments can support families by
promoting
policies that help strengthen the institution of marriage and help parents rear their
children in
positive and healthy environments."
Saunders said the U.S. delegation tried to get the nations of the world to define marriage
as consisting of "one man united with one woman."
"Although they couldn't get that language in the document itself, in its interpretive
statement the language made it absolutely clear that the U.S.
sees the family as being based on the marriage of a man and a woman," Saunders said.
On the issue of sexual abstinence,
Ambassador Siv wrote that the delegation stressed "the practices of abstinence, of
delaying sexual initiation, monogamy, fidelity
and partner reduction in order to . . . prevent HIV infection." He added: "(The
United States) stresses the need to further address the
importance of family stability, the role of fathers, and parent-child communication on
responsible
sexual behavior, especially abstinence, and delaying sexual initiation."
The delegation also defined "children's rights" to be "in relation to the
rights, duties and responsibilities of parents, who have the primary responsibility for
their children's education."
What caused the dramatic turnaround?
"This enormous victory would not have happened without tremendous prayer,"
Jacobson said.
Indeed, as the negotiations went deep into the night, Jacobson said he found himself like
countless others — staying up all night, deep in
prayer. Saunders said he, too, could sense the spiritual victory that emerged from
the diplomatic battle.
"We got more bad language taken out than I expected us to be able to do, and we were
exhilarated by how much we achieved," Saunders said. "I think (the victory) must
have been (the result of) prayer, because, until the last second, I didn't see it
coming."
He expects the win will cause pro-abortion forces of the world to retaliate.
"It will cause all our opponents to be extremely upset," Saunders said.
"Pro-abortion forces have been arguing that there is some
international right to abortion based on documents out of previous U.N. summits. Now, we
have a document that clearly does not cover abortion, and the U.S. has made it clear that
it
will not accept language that covers abortion. So, now we have shot a hole in their
argument."
The negotiations actually began last year, but the conference, which was set to begin
Sept.12, was postponed after the Sept. 11 attack on America.
TAKE ACTION
Please contact the president to thank him —and the U.S. delegation to the World
Summit on Children — for holding the line in favor of the
culture of life, the traditional family and sexual abstinence.
President Bush
Comment line: 202-456-1111
E-mail: president@whitehouse.gov
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Copyright © 2002 Focus on
the Family. All rights reserved. International copyright secured. |
April 24, 2002
The conflict in Israel has been the main topic of the news for some time now. Our
moral relativism, secondary to a failure to learn God's will, has left us with a tepid
response to a growing problem. We fail to see that there is no agreement with a
terrorist (similarities with Chamberlain and Hitler's agreement that Hitler broke at the
beginning of WWII) and we show a kind of schizophrenia between our response to
terrorists and that of our criticism with the Israelies. We must pray for Jerusalem.
Psalms 122:6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem :
"May those who love you be secure.
Debka files (http://www.debka.com) had a report, once
again showing the trapped nature of followers of a religion that is evil and is deceptive.
This young boy is severely traumatized as he worries whether or not he will see
heaven if he refuses to be a suicide bomber. He has good parents. Other
youngsters have deceived parents who welcome their children's false 'martyrdom', further
trapping these kids. Christianity is the source of true freedom.
| Would-be Suicide Bomber Runs Home (debka
files) 
22 April: Israel’s month-long offensive to smash Palestinian terrorist
strongholds in the West Bank has had a side effect worth noting: some ordinary
Palestinians are no longer afraid to speak out and admit their distress – in front of
television cameras.
In the Jabalya camp of the Gaza Strip, the local correspondent for Israel’s
Channel 2, Seliman a-Shafi, gave Sunday night viewers a rare glimpse into the
mind of a would-be suicide killer - a terrified adolescent aged 14 who freely told his
story. Sent on a suicide mission against an Israeli military position – he did not
say by which group - he set out with another boy in the dark of night.
Halfway there, he stopped. "I didn’t want to die," he said, tears rolling
down his face. "I wanted to go back to my family." He tried to persuade his
friend to return home with him. The friend refused. The boy turned back alone and a few
minutes later heard an explosion. Filled with fear, he ran hard until he reached the
safety of home.
The boy’s family took part in the interview, led by his comfortably ample mother
surrounded by her large brood. "They take our children when they are too young
to understand, to decide if they want to die. Why don’t the take the louts hanging
round the markets? My boy is in shock. He can’t stop weeping. He doesn’t know
whether he did right or wrong. We don’t let him out of the house without his father
– in case he changes his mind again, or they catch him. We are all in shock."
In a strong, assertive voice, she told the interviewer that she was not the only mother
in this situation. The Gaza Strip is full of women keeping a tight hold on their young
sons. "All of us here are badly traumatized. But there is not a
single psychologist in the whole territory to help us."
The boy from Gaza was not by any means the youngest child to be marked out
as a "martyr". In Jenin, where the walls were plastered with large posters
depicting dozens of dead youths, Israeli soldiers learned to beware of innocent-looking
10- and even 7-year olds with hidden bombs.
|
Unfortunately, it seems that our president is failing Christians who voted him
into office from the moral standpoint. In regard to the homosexual agenda,
he has failed to protect those values our country was founded on and many of us hold
dearly as we try to please Almighty God. Here is a great synopsis
of G.W. Bush's proliferation of homosexual activist values written by Chuck Baldwin.
Christians must never hate anyone. We must reach out to
help those trapped by deceptive lifestyles. We must first clean up our own acts. We must show love to others, knowing we are
no better than they are and we could be similarly trapped if it had not been by the grace
of God Himself. Nevertheless, God's values are straight forward and clear cut,
especially on this lifestyle.
Our representative form of government should not show favoritism to any group that will
further our descent into decadence and separation from God. Our leader, Mr. Bush,
has traded this truth for political expediency, at ours and our children's expense.
When we made decisions for Christ, we willingly chose to put God first. We fail
God when we decide our own intelligence takes the place of the scriptural teaching,
demonstrating our lack of faith. Our erroneous reasoning
told us to elect the decent Mr. Bush instead of Al Gore all the time willfully ignoring
candidates (such as Howard Phillips) who we knew would hold stronger to God's teaching.
It seems the most disappointing thing is that we will not hold Mr. Bush
accountable. He too, is most importantly, accountable to God for these mistakes.
As much as Mr. Bush is a likeable guy, all who voted for him also bear blame for the
moral failures and will be accountable to God Himself for these decisions.
Sorry. The founding fathers would not have chosen this way. They risked their
lives and property. If only Christians would take God's Word seriously, not
something to be bartered with in politics.
Pray for President Bush. Pray for yourself and your walk with God. Search
the scriptures for answers. Pray for your neighbors and especially the Christ's
church. Please awaken and redirect our President to where he should stand in order
to hopefully enlist God's blessings on our nation and even our war against
terrorism.
March 5, 2002
Last month, President Bush did something that deserves credit, at least for the time
being. Despite some protests, he has put our funding of the UNFPA (United Nations
Population Fund) on an indefinite hold. Those dollars are currently not being used
for killing babies. His father and President Reagan also denied China these funds,
but President Clinton did fund this.
This has been known for some time but has not made it to the web site since praise may
turn to disappointment - if he should play a political card and choose to fund this as
quietly as possible. Maybe this is too cynical. Maybe we should be wary and
expect disappointment, after all this has happened before without complete conviction that
this matters greatly to our God.
Without conviction and absolute committment to this responsibility to end the legalized
destruction of individuals, we cannot please God and we cannot win the struggle. The
Mexico City policy looked good on the surface but it is enacted with huge loopholes carved
out by Colin Powell, reported before here.
With huge funding from the American taxpayers, it can be guaranteed that additional
dollars are finding there way to kill the innocent.
Democrats are "Borking" judicial appointments by the president. Judge
Pickering is an example. Mr. Bush has chosen poorly before on judicial appointments.
Unfortunately, his first judicial appointments- (Barrington Parker Jr. and Roger
Gregory), now confirmed were pro-abortion Democrats first named by Bill Clinton.
Maybe Judge Pickering would be suitable.
According to the 'panel' (both Fred Barnes and Mort Kondracke, also others) on Brit
Hume's "Special Report" show today, Mr. Bush took much too long to get engaged
in this fight to win Judge Pickering's nomination. Congressional members have
similarly complained. It seems that Mr. Bush's press taping today, complaining that
Pickering will not get out of the Judicial Committee is political. Now, with a great
public relation film of him fighting the Democrats, he will have the ability to complain
in the future. If this nomination meant a great deal to our president, wouldn't he
have fought this battle before the day before the vote? Mr. Bush has already shown
great savvy in getting his way with passages of various bills. Where is his fight on
what should be of paramount importance.
Mr. Bush, our Lord expects each of us to put His values first and to stand firm.
You will be rewarded by Almighty God if you do His
will.
January 2, 2002
Welcome to the new year. May it truly be one of prayer, repentance and humility
calling for our Lord's mercy. May He protect us and those overseas. Please
pray for the peace in Jerusalem, as we were told to do.
There has been some question as to the response of the American people since 9-11-01 in
their walk with God. Christians are always looking for God's Spirit to send revival
and many were claiming spiritual renewal due to the terrorism. It seems that this
was not widespread and possibly may be over.
New York City certainly had some increased interest in religion and there have been
increased Bible sales before the holiday. In the travel section of our Sunday paper,
the writer claimed the demeanor of New Yorkers has returned to it's old self. More
importantly, two excellent pollsters have looked into exactly this. Both Barna and
Gallup report no significant change in church attendance, etc., as compared to before
9-11. See these reports here: Barna
Gallup.
And here: Barna
Gallup
Here is an excerpt:
POLL ANALYSES
December 21, 2001
Religion in the Aftermath of
September 11
A question and answer session with George Gallup,
Jr. and Frank Newport
GALLUP NEWS SERVICE
Message to the Author
PRINCETON, NJ –
There has been a great deal of talk about an increase in
religious attachment and church attendance among Americans
after the terrible events of Sept. 11. What do the survey data
show?
Frank Newport: We don’t find any indication in our regular
Gallup poll measures of a significant change in religious
behavior since Sept. 11.
These poll questions ask people directly about their religiosity --
without any direct reference to Sept. 11 -- and are probably our
best measures of any real or enduring impact that the events may
have had.
Church attendance is one of the putative changes in religion that has
received the most discussion. There was a great deal of anecdotal
evidence that the pews in churches, synagogues, and other houses
of worship were filled to capacity in the week or two immediately
after the terrorist attacks. But the answers to our classic Gallup
question, "Did you yourself happen to attend church or synagogue in
the last seven days, or not?" show no lasting change.
Over the last decade, the responses to this question have averaged
right at about 40%, with the usual fluctuation that occurs from
survey to survey. The last time we asked the question before Sept.
11 was in May, when 41% of Americans replied that they had gone
to church or synagogue within the last seven days. Right after the
attacks, in our Sept. 21-22 survey, the percentage moved up slightly
to 47%, but in two subsequent surveys, in early November and this
past weekend, Dec. 14-16, the percentages have been 42% and
41%.
In other words, church attendance as measured by this question has settled right back
down to where it was.
Do you have any other measures of religious behavior?
Frank Newport: A different question asks the public to
estimate how often they attend church or synagogue, and
the 45% who say "once a week or almost every week" is
little changed from what we have found in recent years.
What about other measures of religiosity, such as the personal
importance of religion to Americans. Has that changed?
Frank Newport: No, the self-reported importance of religion
to Americans is no different now than before Sept. 11.
Sixty percent in our December 14-16 poll said that
religion was very important to them in their daily life.
That’s down slightly from the 64% who said religion was
very important immediately after Sept. 11, but in recent
years the percentage saying "yes" has hovered around the
60% level, with fluctuations up and down from survey to
survey, so our interpretation is that this reflects essentially
no change.
Based on this measure, in other words, there is no wholesale
difference now in how people describe the importance of religion in their lives compared
to before Sept. 11.
Additionally, we are finding a continuation of a slight decrease in the number of
Americans who say that religion can answer all or most of life’s problems -- at least
compared to the last couple of years. Sixty-one percent now say that religion can
answer life’s problems.
That’s little different from earlier in the 1990s, although down a bit
from the last couple of years when our polling has been showing a
slight increase in the sentiment that religion can answer life’s
problems.
Do these findings surprise you?
George Gallup, Jr.: Frankly, yes. Certainly the period
immediately following the terrorists’ attacks could be
described as "a dark night of the nation’s soul." And, in
view of the fact that studies have shown that many people
tend to turn to God at a time of personal emotional,
physical, or spiritual pain or turmoil, I had assumed that
this would be the case following the attacks.
Since there has been so much discussion about the impact of
Sept. 11 on religion, do Americans think that others in the
country have become more religious, even if they themselves
have not?
Frank Newport: Interestingly, there has been a wholesale
change in Americans’ perceptions of the impact of religion
"out there" across America. For many years, Gallup has
asked, "At the present time, do you think religion as a
whole is increasing its influence on American life, or
losing its influence?" The percentage of Americans saying
"increasing" in response to that question has now
skyrocketed to 71%, the highest in Gallup Poll history. To
put that in perspective, only 39% said yes in February of
this year. The highest percent saying yes in recent years
has been 48% in January of 1998. Way back in 1957, a
Gallup poll found 69% saying yes.
How do you explain the fact that Americans overwhelmingly feel
that religion is having a greater influence on society, but
haven’t changed their own religious behavior or attitudes?
George Gallup, Jr.: It would, I believe, be very difficult for
the average American not to believe that religion is
increasing its impact on society, in view of the near total
media coverage of the New York scene, including reports
of record numbers of people flocking to houses of worship.
Clearly, behavior, at least in terms of religious practice, is not
reflecting perception. In this respect, I think it is important to note
that surveys can often serve as a kind of objective "reality check."
Traumatic events on the national or world scene appear to have a
powerful but short-lived impact on the spirituality of the U.S.
populace. As a case in point, at the time of the Gulf War 10 years
ago, many more Americans than usual reported praying. However, in
the weeks that ensued, the level of praying, as well as other
measurements of religiosity, returned to normal levels.
As others have noted, lasting changes of heart most likely come
about in response to close-at-home personal and family traumas, not
because of these types of national tragedies.
Why do you think there has been so much discussion about
religion increasing its influence since Sept. 11?
George Gallup, Jr.: Certainly there may be some wishful
thinking involved. Religious leaders have long sought a
"turning to God" among the populace in a society that they
would describe as materialistic and self-absorbed. It is
understandable why religious observers would speculate
about a spiritual awakening or a revival after the terrorist
attacks. Over the last decade, Gallup has documented an
explosion of interest among the U.S. populace in spiritual
matters -- an intensified searching for spiritual moorings, a
hunger for God.
Is it possible that the measures reviewed here aren’t picking up
some type of changes that may have taken place?
George Gallup, Jr.: Possibly, but I think our measurements
would register any kind of broad national spiritual
awakening.
At the same time, however, it is possible that these terrible events
are leading people to look more deeply into their own hearts, or are
being manifested in more subtle ways that will take additional types
of questions to pick up. The challenge to survey researchers is to
continue to devise measurements that will explore the spiritual life of people on the
deepest level possible.
Survey Methods
These results are based on telephone interviews with a randomly
selected national sample of 1,019 adults, 18 years and older,
conducted Dec. 14-16, 2001. For results based on this sample, one
can say with 95 percent confidence that the maximum error
attributable to sampling and other random effects is plus or minus 3
percentage points. In addition to sampling error, question wording
and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the
findings of public opinion polls.
|
It seems our wish for a revival must wait. It seems we have told
God we don't need Him, again. When will we hear an outcry from the Evangelical
church that the saber of God's wrath is dangerously being waved around and will fall with
power upon us if we continue to fail? It is interesting to look back at the prophets
(which I am not) in the Old Testament who clearly warned of specific judgments on the
Israelites. They were always right, sometimes it took a few hundred years.
Is this why the clergy today are largely muted in their call of judgment?
They claim personal comfort, peace and safety as they choose to 'more importantly try to
win others to Christ'. First, this was never the approach of the Biblical figures we
all hold high, examples for how we should conduct our lives. Second, failing to
speak the truth inappropriately negates its value. This approach has failed in the
past as the cleansing of the church is replaced by inappropriate acceptance of sin.
This occurred in the churches prior to the Civil War and therefore led to the Civil War as
the salt and the light were lost.
The people of Ninevah repented. Others paid dearly for their failure to repent.
By the way, on the pro-life front - since President Bush was elected, nothing is new.
Many things are wrong. We owe repentance to God. We compromised when we
put him in office knowing that pro-life things fell way down the list of goals (~#22).
Our witness to fellow Americans was compromise. Our compromise deserves
judgment. We are getting what we asked for. We look foolish.
Lives have been lost, we are losing freedom, we must pay for these expensive weapons.
Our failure has also allowed 'domestic' terrorism with anthrax scares, bomb
threats, etc. We have failed to show non-Christians a better way of life.
They, too, our brothers, are perishing and we approach these problems in a powerless,
non-Biblical approach, destined for continuing failure.
Wouldn't it have been better if we chose to seek God on our own, likely maintaining His
protection on our nation?
December 2, 2001
A few comments.
First, on Tuesday, Dec 4 this is from the 'Whip Notice' regarding our legislature.
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 4
ON TUESDAY, THE HOUSE WILL MEET AT 12:30 P.M. FOR MORNING HOUR AND 2:00 P.M. FOR
LEGISLATIVE BUSINESS. VOTES WILL BE POSTPONED UNTIL 7:00 P.M. FOR THE NATIONAL DAY OF
RECONCILIATION CEREMONY BEING HELD IN THE CAPITOL ROTUNDA FROM 5:00 P.M. - 7:00 P.M.
This is appropriately somewhat out of range of the press, with the exception of some
mention by Christian ministries. There will be no cameras, theoretically. This
is for our nation's leaders to ask for reconciliation to God, and for our country to do
the same. We owe our prayers for this event and for
our own reconciliation to our God and for our country. Let there be
a backdrop of prayer asking for the Holy Spirit to attend this event with pleasing results
to God.
Second, the Rev. Jerry Falwell was interviewed last Fri on The O'Reilly Factor.
Rev. Falwell clarified his misstatement after 9-11-01 that seemed to place the blame on
the homosexuals and abortionists. Friday, he said it right. The events of
9-11-01 happened due to the profound evil of the suicide terrorists and due to God's
withdrawal of His protection-because of our failure to seek Him. American
Christians, starting with me, are at fault because we have willfull deserted Him as
explored elsewhere. On Friday, Rev. Falwell said it
right. We must also pray for our Christian leaders.
Franklin Graham said it right recently as well. Islam is an 'evil and wicked
religion' which the Bush administration has been distancing itself from this statement.
As Christians, we know that the Bible has proved itself to be true. If it is
true, even when we do not understand it or want it to be true, it still is true. The
scriptures clearly say that Christ is the only way for salvation (Acts 4:12, etc.).
Since Christ is the only way, therefore any other religion that claims otherwise is, by
default, satanic since it deceives people causing their condemnation in hell. The
following is excerpted from an email regarding this situation.
The Bible verifies itself to be absolutely true by hundreds of prophecies
pointing to the future that have perfectly been fulfilled and are beingfulfilled. It is
coherent and consistent (unlike the Koran and books of other religions). If Jesus Christ
really was God's son, and God allowed Him to die for our sins, wouldn't it be presumptuous
of us to think that there were other, equally plausible
ways to get to heaven when this Bible that has shown itself to be true elsewhere and says
that there aren't any other ways? If
you were God, having given us your only Son to suffer and die a terrible death, wouldn't
us trying to make up other ways of
salvation be offensive to you when you gave up your most precious son in this manner? How
could we do as much? We have all fallen short of salvation on our own. If we could, Jesus
didn't need to suffer and die. What a silly waste that would have been.
Having said that, God says He is just, merciful, loving, etc. He is truth. In order to
make all of that work out, He will do
what is right come judgment day. If not, He is a liar and I am a fool. That is not my
problem, that is His dilemma and He is
up to the task.
As Christians, we must love others (even those of other faiths - in contradistinction to
the teachings in parts of the Koran) to
live up to Christ's teachings. I cannot pick and choose which teachings I can believe,
when the whole Bible is truth.
Therefore, I cannot ignore Christ teaching us that only He is the way to eternal life and
I cannot ignore Acts 4:12 that says
that there is no other way given unto man in which we must be saved. Therefore, to be true
to the scriptures and to
ultimately please God, I and people like Rev. Falwell must accept and stand for this
truth. If not, I compromise God's plan
to work in other's lives, potentially allowing them to perish in hell because I should
fail to warn them of pending judgment.
This is greatly different from Islamic teachings of Jihad that theoretically would quickly
send us to hell.
What then is love? Is it love to fail to warn people who will ultimately spend eternity in
hell, as you would suggest,
contradicting the scriptures but keeping them comfortable? Or is it love to personally be
uncomfortable and warn all of our
need for Christ to be saved, in line with scriptural teaching?
All religions are not equal. Do you worship the declared god - Shirley McClain? Try to get
to heaven counting on her to
pull you through. Islam cannot be from Almighty God or else it would contradict God who is
"truth" and proved it's truth in
the scripture. Therefore, by default, Islam is satanic, trapping many and causing eternal
destruction for many of their
believers, oppressing women and us infidels. Franklin Graham is right. Will we wake up?
|
If you would like more information or feel the above info is incorrect, please email your
comments. mailto:diojqa@dutyisours.com
Christ is the only way, but He is merciful and wants all to believe.
That does not negate the absolute need for Him in order to be saved. Praise God for
His gift.
October 2, 2001
President Bush has done an admirable job of uniting a country. Have we humbled
ourselves before God in repentance so we have His help in our declared war?
Here are a couple of pertinent facts that cause great concern when we pray to Almighty
God that He might actually hear our prayers and yet He will see our great pride and our
lack of true repentance. Therefore, we offend Him!
First, this is recent news.
Tuesday, September 25, 2001
Bush Appoints Openly Gay Man as U.S.
Ambassador to Romania
MEDIA CONTACT:
NGLTF Communications Department
ngltf@ngltf.org
202-332-6483
Pager: 800-757-6476
Last week, Secretary of State Colin Powell presided over the
swearing in of Michael Guest, an openly gay man, as U.S.
Ambassador to Romania. Guest, a career foreign service officer,
won easy confirmation from the Senate last month. At the
ceremony, Secretary Powell acknowledged Guest's domestic
partner of six years, teacher Alex Nevarez, who plans to join Guest
in Bucharest.
"With this nomination, George W. Bush put into practice what we
have known all along - that a person’s sexual orientation has no
bearing upon one’s ability to do a job and successfully serve our
country," said Lorri L. Jean, executive director of NGLTF. "We
applaud this appointment and hope to see many more openly gay,
lesbian, bisexual and transgender people serving in this capacity.
Unfortunately, this is only the second such person named out of
many thousands of appointments in the Bush Administration."
NGLTF's W Watch web site, which has chronicled the
appointments of the Bush Administration and tracks the
appointment of openly GLBT people, increased its count to the
whopping grand total of two. The first was AIDS Policy Director
Scott Evertz. [ Go to W Watch. ]
Although Guest will not be the first openly gay man to serve as a
U.S. Ambassador, his appointment marks the first time an openly
gay person has been confirmed by the Senate to serve in such a
post. The first openly gay man to assume the position of U.S.
Ambassador was San Francisco philanthropist James C. Hormel.
Nominated by President Clinton, Hormel's confirmation was held
up in the Senate's Foreign Relations Committee by Chairman
Jesse Helms. Helms' stonewalling of the confirmation simply
because Hormel was gay became front page news and vividly
exemplified the job discrimination faced every day by gay,
lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people. Clinton eventually
appointed Hormel during a Congressional recess, bypassing the
confirmation process.
"Our community owes a serious debt of gratitude to Jim Hormel
for blazing the trail of Ambassadorial service with great
competence and grace," stated Jean. "It is because of exemplary
service by Jim and his partner, Tim Wu, that Mr. Guest could
receive Senate confirmation without even a mention being made
of his sexual orientation. Thanks to the leadership of Mr. Hormel
and Mr. Guest, let's hope that the prejudice against openly GLBT
Ambassadorial candidates has been buried forever."
Jean, added, "We congratulate Ambassador Guest and send him
best wishes in his new post."
-30-
The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force has worked to eliminate prejudice,violence and
injustice against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people at the local, state and
national level since its inception in 1973. As part of a broader social justice movement
for freedom, justice and equality, NGLTF is
creating a world that respects and celebrates the diversity of human expression and
identity where all people may fully participate in society.
About NGLTF . News + Views . Issues . State + Local Organizing
Federal Advocacy . Library + Publications . Events
Take Action! . Join NGLTF . Contact NGLTF . Get E-mail . Site Map . Search
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Washington, DC 20009-2624
202-332-6483 . FAX 202-332-0207 . TTY 202-332-6219
Copyright © 2001 National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
Creating Change™ is a trademark of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.
All other trademarks mentioned herein belong to their respective owners. |
Second, in the National Cathedral's Memorial Service in Washington D.C.
(Sept 14, 2001), we saw all types of clergy take the stage. "The Very
Rev. Nathan D. Baxter, Dean, Washington National Cathedral" was one of the speakers
who prayed to the "God of Abraham, Mohammed and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ"
(~51
minutes in CSPAN account)
Political slight of hand. Will this appease our jealous God?
To make matters worse, guess which verse was left out of this great hymn in that service? A
Mighty Fortress is Our God!
A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing;
Our helper He, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing:
For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe;
His craft and power are great, and, armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not his equal.
Did we in our strength confide, our striving would be losing;
Were not the right Man on our side, the Man of God’s own choosing:
Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He;
Lord Sabaoth, His Name, from age to age the same,
And He must win the battle.
And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us,
We will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us:
The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him;
His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure,
One little word shall fell him.
That word above all earthly powers, no thanks to them, abideth;
The Spirit and the gifts are ours through Him Who with us sideth:
Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also;
The body they may kill: God’s truth abideth still,
His kingdom is forever. |
You got it! Verse 2. Everything is allowable
except Jesus Christ (unless equated with Mohammed). (~1:09
CSPAN RealAudio version)
Are we really broken, down on our knees, or are we playing the god card to
justify our actions. Certainly those behind the terrorist attacks deserve great
punishment. We should, as a nation, deliver it. We cannot expect God's help as
we bask in our arrogance and pride pointing out their evil. We cannot win this war
if God is not on our side! If we do repent, no one will help them, they will be
destroyed and we will be safe.
We may ignore the one (prophetic) verse that could bring us victory. "Did
we in our strength confide, our striving would be losing...;" How
much pain must we suffer before we learn this lesson?
September 11, 2001 - A Day Remembered Forever
Pages here.
| Ecclesiastes 3:1
There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: 2 a time to
be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, 3 a time to kill and a
time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, 4 a time to weep and a time to
laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, 5 a time to scatter stones and a time to
gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain, 6 a time to search and a time to
give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, 7 a time to tear and a time to mend, a
time to be silent and a time to speak, 8 a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war
and a time for peace. |
August- Thankfully there are increasing reports regarding the
plight against Christians in Sudan,
President Bush has elevated this problem to help gain support for them.
08-09-01
President Bush's mistake regarding embryonic stem cell research. Click here.
Copyright © 2001, 2002 Dio, Inc.
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